‘Was quite surprised he came back so quickly’: Karl-Heinz Riedle has high hopes with Haaland’s return against Bayern

Former Borussia Dortmund forward Karl-Heinz Riedle believes that the return of Erling Haaland ahead of the ‘Der Klassiker’ will be a huge boost for Borussia Dortmund, as they attempt to go past arch-rivals Bayern Munich in the points table. Haaland returned after a significant injury lay-off in the side’s previous league game against Wolfsburg, and is expected to play a bigger role against Bayern on Saturday.

Karl-Heinz admitted that it was a “surprise” for him that Haaland made such a quick recovery, as initial reports had suggested that he would be out for the rest of the year. 

On being asked how difficult it is for a forward to make a comeback from injury in a big game such as this, the former German forward told Hindustan Times, “It’s not only a problem for forward, it’s a problem for every player if you come back from such injury. It was quite a surprise that he came back so quickly, people were saying that he might not play whole season. It was like a miracle.”

“You saw his impact against Wolfsburg. He is young. There was always lack of power in front, it was difficult to score without him. This would be lift for the whole team and game against Bayern. You need all 11 players in top form if you want to beat Bayern,” the former Dortmund footballer, who is currently the club’s ambassador, said.

‘One of the best coaches in Europe’

Karl-Heinz Riedle further mentioned that Bayern’s Julian Nagelsmann is one of the best coaches in Europe, as he is being successful in reaping results despite having a significantly razor-thin squad.

“Bayern can be very happy with Nagelsmann, he is maybe one of the best coach in all of Europe. You can see his tactical skills. Even Marco Rose, he did a terrific job at Salzburg. He needs to show it now at Dortmund. He was criticised for being knocked out of Champions League, but now they can focus solely on the Bundesliga,” said the former forward on being asked to compare between the two managers. 

“If a coach like him (Rose) doesn’t have the best striker or the best midfielder, it’s not the fault of the manager. Both have been great coaches,” he further said.

Werner might need to switch if he doesn’t get game time

Chelsea’s Timo Werner has had a torrid time ever since he moved to the Premier League from RB Leipzig. The forward has scored only 9 league goals since moving to Chelsea last summer, and Karl-Heinz Riedle believes if Werner doesn’t step up soon, he should eye a switch away from the Premier League club if he needs regular game time.

“He had a great season in Leipzig and Bundesliga. It’s a completely different setup in Premier League. The game is quicker, it is more physical. He was really struggling, he failed a lot of easy goals and he was criticized a lot for that in the English press,” said the former Dortmund forward.

“I think, with Tuchel, it changed a little bit. Still, he needs to find his form from two years ago, where he was really on fire. It’s not easy, the goalkeepers are better, the defenders are better. 

“He hasn’t mentioned that he wants to move back. He still wants to be at Chelsea. If he wants to be a really good national player, he needs to play all the time. In Chelsa, he has competition with Lukaku. If he doesn’t play permanently, it would be a problem for him. Then, a better solution would be to move to Germany or maybe Spain.”