Lawsuit against colleagues bears fruit: Tragic Modeste treats himself to become a BVB hero

FC Bayern leads 2-0 in the Bundesliga top game against Borussia Dortmund and actually has the duel under control.

Lawsuit against colleagues bears fruit: Tragic Modeste treats himself to become a BVB hero

FC Bayern leads 2-0 in the Bundesliga top game against Borussia Dortmund and actually has the duel under control. But then comes Anthony Modeste. The heavily criticized Frenchman first creates a goal, then forgives bitterly and still becomes a hero.

For Anthony Modeste, the evening was actually over. The Borussia Dortmund striker, who had been ripped off by 1. FC Köln in the final transfer meters to replace Sebastián Haller, who was suffering from testicular cancer, had become a tragic hero in the 83rd minute of the Bundesliga's top game against FC Bayern. He had the 2:2 on his feet for his team, who woke up late. But from close range, after a perfect cross from the strong Karim Adeyemi, he didn't hit the ball properly and was unable to overcome Manuel Neuer, who was sitting on the ground. A madness for the striker, a shock for the stadium.

It was just really up to temperature when the 34-year-old messed up so bitterly. He stumbled (or something like that) and helped FC Bayern back into the saddle for the moment. Because in Dortmund's final gallop, coach Julian Nagelsmann's team slipped from their sovereign position. But the wild ride did not end. But on the contrary. BVB pushed ahead. Led by the completely unleashed Joker Adeyemi. The national team player ran down the right flank obsessively, fooling his opponent Josip Stanišić. And once Kingsley Coman, who fouled and saw yellow-red. The stadium was raging, BVB went wild.

And he rewarded himself. After 94 minutes, Jude Bellingham wobbled Leroy Sané. Although his cross fizzled out, the 2:2 (the end result) grew out of this attack. Because Bayern didn't clear well, Adeyemi lobbed the ball from the half-field up into the penalty area, where Nico Schlotterbeck defended it with a tackle on the outer goal line and then placed it softly as butter on the far post. There lurked... Modeste. And beheaded mercilessly. Freezing. What a goal. What a release. The "south" escalated at this moment, which transformed the collective despair of the black and yellow family into collective euphoria in a flash, which was a wonderful declaration of love for this fascinating sport. And the striker? He ran and ran. He ran his frustration and happiness out of his mighty body in a short sprint. A Dortmund heroic story was written. The fans celebrated the Frenchman, whose euphoric children jumped into his arms after the final whistle, with "Modeste" chants.

It's a classic of all things story. One that makes football so endearing, so unique. Because the French came as a beacon of hope and became a foreign body. He had lost his regular place to youngster Youssoufa Moukoko. And the 17-year-old provided plenty of arguments as to why the new black and yellow storm hierarchy should manifest itself. In the derby against FC Schalke 04 he became the celebrated savior. Even then, the stadium exploded as gigantic as on this Saturday evening, in this 95th minute, when Modeste wrote his little Dortmund fairy tale. When he sent greetings to his critics. The old man, he still can. If he is properly cared for in the penalty area. And that's exactly what he had done with his colleagues on the subject. As he revealed on Sky. "I won't make a secret of it: I complained a bit during the week. We don't cross enough."

No sooner said than done. But initially not with success. "Now I might have been surprised – but I shouldn't be surprised," Modeste admitted to his faux pas. "In the end I believed in myself, who else would do that?" The fans didn't let him down. Not mocked. They might have sensed that something could still go in this game. About Adeyemi. About flanks. About Modest. Moukoko couldn't help anymore, he was sitting outside. He, the can opener to catch up. On a very fine pass, from Modeste of all people, he threw the ball past Manuel Neuer. It was his third goal of the season. Together with Bremen's Niclas Füllkrug, he is increasingly offering the national coach a World Cup alternative in the problem area of ​​the storm center. And at Borussia? Is there a double leadership possibly an issue?

BVB wasn't the better team that evening. But that wasn't the priority. After the recent blunder at 1. FC Köln, the eternal mentality issue jumped out of the poison cupboard with a loud hurrah. It should be recaptured quickly. And so BVB worked hard and physically into this duel. There were yellow cards for Bayern, but Dortmund also crashed into the duels. For one, Jude Bellingham saw yellow. He had played the ball, was stunned and from then on in his game much more inhibited than usual. That was not good for Borussia. But what did her good: referee Deniz Aytekin left the Englishman on the pitch just before the break. Bellingham had kicked Alphonso Davies in the face. Unintentionally, but powerfully. The FC Bayern full-back had to be hospitalized with a suspected concussion.

Coach Nagelsmann was anything but happy. "If I remember correctly, we had a training four months ago. If you hit a player with a high foot in the face, it's a straight red card. I don't know if that was different rules. There's not much to it discuss. Whether intentional or not, he kicks him full can in the face. That's not yellow, that's a red card. But it's definitely yellow, "he scolded Sky. It was definitely a key scene. Bayern replaced Davies with Stanišić. And he was overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, Edin Terzic struggled with his feelings. The BVB coach had wet eyes after the 2:2. Apparently something was on his mind. Something more important than football. "I was happy, you noticed that at the goal. It wasn't an easy week for me personally, I was very emotional. I don't want to talk about it, please. A few feelings came up," he said on Sky and steered it focus on the game. "I'm happy that we were able to show people that we really wanted to win the game. It's not easy, especially when you're 2-0 down. In the end, we deserved to take that point because we were all down up front. I would appreciate a mentality question." In Dortmund everything good started that evening with "M" - mentality, Moukoko and Modeste.

(This article was first published on Sunday, October 09, 2022.)