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At the moment of his greatest triumph, Edin Terzic paused.
Moments earlier, referee Felix Brych's final whistle had ended the cup final and made Borussia Dortmund the winner in 2021.
Terzic paused for a moment, then Youssouffa Moukoko jumped into his arms.
Sebastian Kehl and Michael Zorc followed.
Those responsible at BVB knew who to thank.
A few meters away, Julian Nagelsmann began to console his players.
It was perhaps the scene of the evening when Terzic and Nagelsmann were emotionally the most distant.
Julian Nagelsmann moves to Bayern without a title
Source: dpa
Even before the kick-off it was clear that one of the two coaches would be happy about his first title as a professional coach.
But the way there could not have been more different: Julian Nagelsmann, the super talent, the youngest head coach in Bundesliga history and recently the most expensive coach in world football on the one hand.
Edin Terzic, who until a few months ago was only known to insiders, on the other.
Party boat
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Almost exactly 45 minutes before the biggest game of their careers so far, the two coaches stood next to each other and gave interviews for the broadcasting TV stations. While Terzic quickly disappeared back into the players' tunnel, Nagelsmann patiently wandered from microphone to microphone, his hands casually in his pockets. Since the announcement of his move to FC Bayern, media interest in Nagelsmann, who will inherit Hans-Dieter Flick in the summer, has increased noticeably. And with it the expectations.
Before the kick-off, the 33-year-old could definitely be sure that the new employer would keep his fingers crossed for him.
“I have to honestly say that I am partial.
That would do Julian well and as ambitious as he is, he would of course also want to win this title.
And to come to Munich with the cup win is not so bad, "said Oliver Kahn before the game to" Bild ".
It is also a first taste of the pressure to succeed with the record champions.
Or as Bastian Schweinsteiger, an ARD expert, put it on the evening of the cup: "You have to win a few titles, otherwise it will be a bit more difficult."
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It is currently unclear where Terzic will go after the season.
The former assistant coach of Lucien Favre is considered extremely loyal.
However, it is hard to imagine that the trained sports scientist will become an assistant in the coaching team of new coach Marco Rose.
Especially not after the 38-year-old finally saved Borussia from a disappointing season.
The danger seems too great that in the event of a false start, Roses will call for Terzic in the Dortmund stadium, which will hopefully soon be sold out again.
Dortmund coach Edin Terzic thanks captain Marco Reus after the final whistle.
Right: Assistant trainer Otto Addo
Source: dpa
Four minutes before kick-off in Berlin, Terzic came quickly into the interior, ran to the BVB bank and then quickly turned off to give his opponent on the other side a warm hug. Then suddenly everything happened very quickly: the trophy is carried in, the golden object of desire. Anthem, choice of sides, kick-off and the first goal of the game. After less than five minutes, Jadon Sancho made it 1-0 for BVB. Terzic screams, turns to the bench and disappears into a crowd of cheers. Then he clenches his fist.
In general, both coaches seemed even more committed than usual in the initial phase, giving instructions to their players almost non-stop.
But with the Dortmund 2-0 by Erling Haaland in the 28th minute, the scenery between the coaches' benches changed for the first time.
While Terzic stood rooted to the sidelines for a short time before he screamed happily, Nagelsmann remained seated on the bench.
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The fact that Erling Haaland of all people made the small preliminary decision that evening was the reward for a very courageous decision.
Because Terzic was likely to have pondered until kick-off how much risk he could really take with his striker.
The Norwegian striker, who recently missed two games due to muscular problems, was almost a surprise for many in the BVB starting line-up.
At the latest when Haaland pushed his opponent Dayot Upamecano aside at the goal like a schoolboy, Terzic's courage had paid off.
Nagelsmann, on the other hand, completely gambled away with his line-up: Alexander Sörloth and Hee Chan Hwang found no way to the goal at all against the Dortmund defense.
Instead of the connection goal, the coronation for Terzic's tactical concept followed before half-time: A fine pass from the depths to Marco Reus overcame the advanced defense of the Leipzig.
In front of the goal, the outstanding captain of BVB laid down on Sancho who had run along with him and who decided the final with his second goal at the break.
His coach had to wait a short time for the video assistant's decision, but then cheered all the more when the suspicion of being offside was invalidated.
At this point, despite all the tension, Terzic should have slowly realized that he would do the same for Hans-Dieter Flick that evening: Both were reliable assistant coaches for many years, took over the coaching chair from their boss in the middle of the season and then immediately won titles.
At the same time it seemed to Nagelsmann that he would start his trip to Munich with a bitter final bankruptcy in his backpack;
In 2018, Niko Kovac, as coach of Eintracht Frankfurt, even won the cup against Bayern.
Leipzig's trainer stomped into the cabin immediately after the whistle.
Terzic, on the other hand, spoke briefly with his assistants, clapped his players and heated up the BVB delegation in the stands several times on the way to the catacombs.
Nagelsmann corrects the line-up
In the cabin, Nagelsmann's analytical skills were once again in demand.
During his time at Hoffenheim, the then barely 30-year-old amazed the observers with a huge video screen on the training ground, on which he showed his professionals their mistakes during the units and gave them solutions on the lawn.
This time he corrected his line-up errors: Yussuf Poulsen and Christopher Nkunku came into the game in the second half.
A few seconds after the restart, the latter gave up the chance to hit the next goal when he just hit the crossbar.
But from then on Leipzig was at least more determined on the offensive.
Later, Poulsen also missed a good chance to score.
Only Dani Olmo let his coach cheer for the first time in the 71st minute.
1: 3.
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RB sensed a comeback, Terzic's gestures on the sidelines became more hectic.
In the seconds before Haaland's 4-1 win (87th), Dortmund's coach put both hands in front of his mouth.
Seldom has you seen a trainer cheering for such a scene.
Terzic cheered accordingly when the ball hit the goal net.
It was now clear that the Dortmund team would continue to be a kind of feared opponent for Nagelsmann.
The future Bayern coach has so far only won one of twelve duels against BVB;
almost exactly three years ago in the service of Hoffenheim.
He also missed becoming the youngest coach of a DFB Cup winner in post-war history.
“We had a lot of good situations in the last third, but often the first contact wasn't right.
Dortmund take the lead with the first chance, ”he said after the game.
“Dortmund had three situations and scored three goals.
Today that was the difference.
Dortmund makes a lot out of a few situations. "
Nagelsmann watched the black and yellow cheering clusters on the lawn of the Olympic Stadium from the end of his bench.
These are the hardest moments in the life of any ruthlessly ambitious athlete.
He quickly put his medal in his jacket pocket.
Edin Terzic, on the other hand, made the most of the ceremony on the podium.
Together with Marco Reus, he was at the very back of the queue for the award ceremony, and he kept hugging his captain.
Before he picked up his medal, he bowed several times to his team.
Even when he finally held the trophy in his hands, he pointed to his coaching team.
Two gestures that prove what Terzic made so successful in Dortmund after some poor results at the start: The newcomer to the trainer has managed to build a perfectly meshed unit out of a group of individualists.
At the end of a long evening, in the golden confetti rain of Berlin, Terzic looked into an equally bright future.
“It was definitely not our best game, but we scored four goals.
If I have to sacrifice my voice, I'll be happy to do it, ”said a hoarse Terzic afterwards.
From emergency nail to cup winner: Edin Terzic
Source: AFP
And about his uncertain future, he said: “I had nothing in my hand, I also have nothing in my hand now.
We as the coaching team, who all worked to get us back on track, deserved to enjoy this evening.
I ask you: It's a day-to-day business, we get pissed off all the time when things don't go well, now just treat us to the evening to enjoy it. "
After the last question at the official press conference, the team stormed in and poured drinks over the coach.
He could get over it that evening.