Dortmund keeper Kobel fine after heavy collision

Yahoo

3 hours ago

Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel reacts after the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund at BayArena. Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel has said he fine in the wake of a heavy collision with Fluminense player Everaldo during their goalless draw at the Club World Cup.
Kobel lay on the ground for a while and was a bit dizzy after the incident early in the second half, but eventually could play on.
Advertisement
"My breath was completely gone," he said. "I was super lucky. He mainly hit me on the chest. I would have a bigger problem if he had hit my head."
Kobel said he doesn't expect the incident to bother him at the upcoming games, with Dortmund back in action on Saturday against South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns. Their final group game is on Thursday against Ulsan HD of South Korea.
"IU wouldn't worry about it too much. The most important thing is that the head was spared," Kobel said.
Dortmund were lucky not to lose on Tuesday as Brazil's Fluminense was the better team at MetLife Stadium, with Kobel making several crucial saves.
Advertisement
Coach Niko Kovac said the game reflected that the two teams were in very different parts of their season.
'We have to live with it – and we can live with it too. It definitely wasn't our best game, but it was okay for the first match," he told streaming portal DAZN, naming the point "the minimum we wanted.
"We Europeans think that football only takes place here, but some really good football is played in South America too.
"You also have to remember that we played our last match on May 17 and today is June 17 – that's a month in which we've hardly been together. The Brazilians are in the middle of their season and have only recently been on a break. They're in a completely different rhythm. You have to take all that into account."