Dortmund's Thomas Tuchel admits 'awkward' feeling over bus delay

Posted Thursday, April 20, 2017 by ESPN

Thomas Tuchel said Borussia Dortmund's morale was affected when police stopped their team bus from leaving the hotel before Wednesday's Champions League game against Monaco -- calling it "the worst thing that can happen.''

Police delayed the bus for around 20 minutes, delaying kickoff for about five minutes. Tuchel said police told him it was for their safety, while UEFA said the late start was merely due to "late team arrival caused by heavy traffic.''

The move came a week after three explosions went off as the Dortmund bus headed to the first leg in Germany, and Tuchel said it brought back bad memories.

"We wanted to leave at 7:15 p.m. Everyone was prepared and in the bus, but we couldn't move for 16 or 17 minutes,'' Tuchel said after after Dortmund were eliminated following a 6-3 aggregate defeat.

"The police was there to escort us and we asked them why we couldn't move and they just said 'for safety reasons.' You can imagine that eight days after the attack that [this is] the worst thing that can happen.''

Tuchel, who also said his side made too many mistakes in Wednesday's 3-1 second-leg defeat at Monaco, told BT Sport that the delay affected the team's focus.

"I had the feeling that we were focused and full of joy to play this game but then there were awkward mindsets going around. Very calm, everybody was very quiet, and I did not feel so good," he said.

"I'm not sure if it had an impact, you would have to ask the players. For me, not; for the players, I don't know."

Dortmund's Thomas Tuchel admits 'awkward' feeling over bus delay
Borussia Dortmund arrived at the Stade Louis II 20 minutes late for Wednesday's game.

Before kickoff, Tuchel had told Sky: "We didn't know what was going on. This quarter-hour [delay] meant we couldn't think of football, although we were actually well-prepared for the game. To be careful how I put it: the [security] behavior was very unfortunate.''

In the attack before the first leg, Marc Bartra needed hospital treatment following injuries to his wrist and arm after a window was shattered. The match was hurriedly rescheduled for the next day and Monaco won 3-2.