Andrea Pirlo - l'architetto

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We again chose to give players a chance despite some people thinking that we are 'struggling'

The performance was exceptional and on his debut for the first team since signing in the summer, Yuri Mamute didn't disappoint with two goals on his debut; his second being one of real quality. We hammered them everywhere on the pitch today and this competition is giving me ideas for players.

Jonas Hofmann was another player who impressed today and has found regular starts hard to come by. With performances of these quality, Jonas will be knocking on the door for Henrikh's spot in the team.

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What a fantastic performance. Dead and buried in 10 minutes was Leverkusen, we was just relentless and hit them like a train before they even expected it.

We have made strides forward in such a short space of time and yet another brace for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in a fantastic start he's already had, also another Man Of The Match award for young winger Jonas Hofmann who has been wowing us here at the Signal Iduna Park recently.
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What a performance in the derby today.

A special mention toe Auba who claims the matchball with a fantastic individual performance. He was prolific and has been all season.

Another special mention to the defence who was solid throughout and although under pressure of the derby we prevailed and smashed Schalke to pieces. Onwards and upwards.

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Reviewing October

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A pretty perfect month.

We averaged just under 3.5 goals every game this month, pretty amazing. There was some convincing wins this month aswell despite us being slated in the media before we have gone on our amazing run. If there is something to be negative with it is only got to be that we have only kept one clean sheet but I don't mind outscoring teams playing attractive & entertaining football. We are on a winning streak and there is confidence breathing throughout the team.

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Pretty much where we want to be at the end of the season. Bayern yet again look unstoppable and we are the only team to have nicked a point off them. I would like to make more of a gap between me and teams below which we can only do by winning more games! Very interesting to see Wolfsburg still languishing at the bottom although I expect their form to soon pick up dramatically.

Player of the month

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He is tearing it apart. Keeping over a goal a game ratio he has been amazing. He is electric fast and has a great finish on him, there has been interest from abroad which I would only expect but we have a huge price tag which would need to be paid. His stand out performance of the month was the hat-trick in the derby against Schalke.

Novembers Fixtures

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Only four games next month. All winnable and we could keep this run going. Two games in the Europa League where alot of players will get their chance to impress.​
 
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Players got chances again, we didn't have an easy ride away from home like we did at home against AZ.

We showed some incredible guts and determination to come from 2-0 down to salvage a draw. Yuri Mamute got on the scoresheet again but also missed a penalty so it's a mixed game for him; he's still got plenty to work on.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan saved our blushes with a great game today with a goal and assist to keep us undefeated in the competition.

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Frustrating.

Hannover came to park the bus and that's exactly what they did. Mustering an only goal with one shot on target all game they sat on it and put 11 men behind the ball at all times.

We could have done better at breaking them down but they made it hard for us and probably earned a very good point, we move on and are still unbeaten.

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Thats more like it.

We crushed Werder Bremen in true style. The lads reacted well from a dry result last game where we deserved more. We had a variety of scorers on the chart today including Ginter who has found first team football hard to come by here this season but he is slowly breaking his way into the team and will soon cement a spot I'm sure.

Jonas Hoffman was the Man Of The Match again today, four assists and some direct running which had the left back running after shadows all afternoon; he was absolutely fantastic today and has gone from a rotational player to one of the first names on the teamsheet quite recently.

There was some other positive news today aswell as a special player got some precious minutes under his belt since the horrific injury he has suffered.

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The goals are flowing.

Yet again we triumph in the Europa League. We have given players who havn't really been getting much first team time a chance in the Europa League but my god are they performing! Another brace for young Yuri Mamute who by the end of the year will be knocking for a permanent place in the first team. Young Felix Passlack who has been permanantly moved to the first team got his first ever goal for us today and for the third match in a row Jonas Hofmann claims the Man Of The Match.

This sees us qualified for the Knockout Round of the competition so next time round I may be blooding some youngsters for a taste of European action.

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What a player

He's up there with the best. 3rd Hat-trick already this season and I'm sure it won't be the last for the young man. He breeds confidence to other players on the pitch and they know exactly where he will be and will cause defences havoc.

I must stress that the team performance was excellent but Auba needed to be pointed out today for his sheer brilliance so far this season and this game in particular. Great way to end the month.

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Reviewing November

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Another month unbeaten, we got better as the month went on and looked more convincing.

We finally look like we are fluid with our tactics and understand our roles in the team. We have a very good squad so many players can come into the team and replace someone should they not perform. Felix Passlack and Jonas Hofmann are prime examples of this and have flourished so far this year.

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Just look at that turnaround and our unbeaten run since a poor start.

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The gap at the top is closed by a few points, although I don't think we will catch Bayern it would be nice to have a chase with them just to see how far we can go and then bridge a gap over anyone who is 3rd. I've made it my main objective to finish 2nd this year.

Player of the month

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Despite not being a first choice player when I first come into the club, despite moaning and wanting out of the club he got his head down and worked hard in training. In minutes he got as a sub he impressed and managed to get more time where he is now leading the assist charts in the Bundesliga.

Decembers Fixtures

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Again, all winnable but in the Bordeaux game I'll be fielding a younger team and players will get their chance in the cup. I'd be happy with two wins in the league and progression in the cup next month.

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I'm delighted to have signed the deal. I didn't even look at the contract put infront of me regarding wages, I've enjoyed myself so much in my small tenure as a manager here in Germany. When I had a difficult start I had advice from plenty of the heirarchy and they made sure I had full confidence. Everyone in and around the club are brilliant and it's made my job so enjoyable since coming here despite win, lose or draw. The last and most important thing is the fans, they create an atmosphere like the Italians would say 'Coliseum'. They are like the fans spectating the old ancient battles roaring our lads onto victory. I hope to be here and have success with Dortmund for many more years to come and win lots of trophies together.

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Wow.

I can't have another game entirely dedicated to him so I'll talk about the team comeback. We started off amazing, going into the break with a two goal advantage and looked very comfortable but after the break they looked like they had received a grilling from their coach Martin Schmidt.and managed to pull it back to a draw.

When it looked like we would be settling for a point until a late inspired substitution from me, Shinji Kagawa replaced Henrikh and slotted a beautifully weighted ball through to you know who... and he finished it with aplomb and managed to win us the game yet again. We didn't win the game in the manner we would have wished but this attitude shows we never give up and rest on any result we have.

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We did what was needed today.

With no other recognised striker available Auba had to have 45 minutes under his belt as we only had 19 year old Alen Ozbolt as second option and I felt we needed a goal to steady the ship first. There was a debut today for 16 year old Patrick Fritsch today who enjoyed the half an hour he played once introduced.

We qualified comfortably and I wasn't really phased with the result today I just wanted to be competitive and that was a bonus. Nuri Sahin had a very solid game and has found it hard to come by playing time recently with our packed midfield.

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What a great run in form this is! Not sure you can challenge Bayern this season, but next I think you will!
 
xJamieWilliams said:
What a great run in form this is! Not sure you can challenge Bayern this season, but next I think you will!
Click to expand...

Thanks Jamie! Yeah finally settled a tactic and keep rotating players bar Auba as his goal/game ratio at the minute is exceptional; we will see my mate!
 
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A draw felt like a loss today.

We should have put the game to bed before half-time. I said in the dressing room if we didn't take our chances they would come back to bite us in the **** and look what happened. Darmstadt will be celebrating like it's a victory and wondering how they've got a point despite being beaten to a pulp for 80 minutes. That's football at the end of the day and we learnt a very harsh lesson, no matter how good you play it only takes one chance for them to equalize and it was too late for us to make major changes to rectify this.

We move on and remain in our heads we are still unbeaten in nearly 3 months and go smash the cup tie against Nurnberg.



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