Football
ESPN staff 7y

Thomas Tuchel 'completely dead' after Dortmund win DFB Pokal

Thomas Tuchel said he would like to stay on as Borussia Dortmund manager next season, though he felt "completely dead" after securing the DFB Pokal title on Saturday.

Dortmund needed a strong finish to the season to secure third place in the Bundesliga and qualify for the Champions League group stage, leaving doubts about Tuchel's future with the club.

And after leading Dortmund to a 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the cup final, Tuchel said "yes" when asked by Sky Sports if he wanted to remain with the club, but only "I don't know" after being asked whether that had been his final game in charge.

Dortmund needed a second-half penalty from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to see off Eintracht after Ante Rebic had cancelled out Ousmane Dembele's opener, and Tuchel said it was an exhausting affair.

"I'm dead, completely dead," he told ARD. "That was a really tough task. It was not our best game, but that doesn't matter. We did it!!

"I'd like to pay a big compliment to my team. We made a good start and got the goal, but then we stopped playing football. We conceded that goal and were somewhat fortunate that we did not fall behind.

"The second period was almost a carbon copy of the first: we dropped off a little bit after taking the lead and played a lot of long balls. But no-one will be talking about that now because we won."

Aubameyang also may have been playing his final game with Dortmund after being heavily linked with a summer departure.

The striker chose to the crucial penalty moment to try a chipped "panenka" attempt, but he beat keeper Lukas Hradecky, and Tuchel could have no complaints.

"I can only say that it was a relatively sure thing," he said of the penalty. "We analysed Hradecky's penalties before the match and he is unbelievably quick to get down into the corners, that's why he makes so many saves from the spot.

"It might have looked like he made a cocky choice, but it was a conscious decision. Ultimately, it was the safe bet, because we had discussed the topic in the build-up."

Dortmund captain Marcel Schmelzer was the first to lift the cup after the game, and said substance mattered more than style in securing the trophy.

"It was undoubtedly not a spectacular affair. But that's of no importance in a final," he said. "We showed that we really wanted to win. Ultimately we have won the title and rounded off our season in style.

"We can be incredibly proud of that as a team. We knew that it would be important to get the second goal after they had equalised. The fact that we did so from the penalty spot makes little difference to us."

Eintracht Frankfurt coach Nico Kovac said his team should have no shame in defeat after a solid performance.

"I'd like to pay a big compliment to my team," he said. "It wasn't to be today, sometimes you just have to accept that and walk off the pitch with your heads held high. Many congratulations to BVB."

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