Three former BVB professionals experienced the evening in the Bochum jersey in very different ways. One of the trio is now really turning up the heat, one is in a dead end again.
His upward trend continues: Bochum’s Patrick Osterhage IMAGO/Team 2
For Felix Passlack, returning to his former place of work basically brought nothing new. With his move from BVB to local rivals Bochum, the versatile winger wanted to really get his career going again. At the start of the season, Passlack was often in demand at VfL, but now he no longer plays a role at all and spent the 90 minutes early on Sunday evening on the bench.
Another dead end for Passlack – Broschinski pale
Basically, it is of course important to have such a versatile player in your ranks who can play all positions on the wing, both on the left and on the right. Bitter only for passport varnish: it is currently not needed, and that hasn’t just been the case since yesterday. So Passlack is once again at a dead end.
At least Moritz Broschinski, who was allowed to start as a center forward in Dortmund, was given a chance right from the start. However, the athletic attacker, who also previously played for BVB, had little effect. The 23-year-old can be important as an aggressive runner, with his power and athleticism, as well as his speed, but he often doesn’t really find his way into the game.
Osterhage’s upward trend continues
Patrick Osterhage, on the other hand, confirmed his upward trend against his former club. The midfielder didn’t make it into the senior team in Dortmund due to a number of injuries, but he’s getting better and better in Bochum. In the current season he has really established himself in the center, mostly as a partner to Captain Anthony Losilla.
In Dortmund, thanks to his running strength and aggressiveness, he not only helped to seal the center, but also set the tone forward. For example, with Bochum’s equalizing goal, when Nils Schlotterbeck directed his cross into his own goal. Osterhage is becoming more and more self-confident, is taking the initiative himself and has of course long since established himself in the center of Bochum with performances like the one in Dortmund.
What makes Bero important – and what he’s missing
The fact that VfL’s courageous performance was not rewarded with at least one point was also due to the key scene of the evening. Matus Bero proved once again that he is extremely important for the overall structure as a liaison between defense and offense and thanks to his immense volume – but the Slovakian is by no means a goalscorer.
If we had stayed a little calmer in this scene and scored the goal, it would have been a really great away game.
After winning the ball, he suddenly had free rein in the middle of the second half, but he hesitated for too long and was ultimately stopped by Ian Maatsen. “If we had stayed a little calmer in this scene and scored the goal, then it would have been a really great away game,” said playmaker Kevin Stöger afterwards.
After the win against Stuttgart and the draw against Werder Bremen, the Bochum team suffered their first defeat of 2024. On Saturday, VfL can play at home again, then against FC Augsburg.