Online Reporter
BORUSSIA Dortmund beat Monterrey 2-1 in the Club World Cup last 16 on Tuesday but Jobe Bellingham’s booking for the German side means he will be suspended for the quarter-final against his brother Jude’s Real Madrid.
Jobe Bellingham was booked for a tackle on Nelson Deossa in the first half and, because he picked up a yellow card in a group game against Ulsan HD, the 19-year-old will miss his team’s next match.
Club World Cup rules dictate that two yellow cards in two different matches result in a one-game ban, with yellow cards only being wiped out after the quarter-finals.
“I think we all saw that he (Jobe Bellingham) was very disappointed,” said Dortmund manager Niko Kovac.
“I think he did not exactly know that the second yellow card is a suspension at half-time. He was a little bit surprised.
“OK, he’s young. His brother is also young so I’m convinced they will face each other, maybe next season in the Champions League and then the future. The future is for them.
“The Club World Cup would be nice but now it isn’t. Someone else must play for him but it’s also OK.” Dortmund earned a 2-1 win against Monterrey to set up the last eight meeting with Real Madrid, who had booked their place in the quarter-finals by beating Juventus.
Serhou Guirassy struck twice for Dortmund in the first half, with Karim Adeyemi setting him up both times as the German side took control of the game.
German Berterame pulled a goal back for the Mexican side as they fought back after the break before Jobe Bellingham, who joined Dortmund from Sunderland this summer, was replaced by Marcel Sabitzer.
Monterrey, whose fans had to be warned for discriminatory chanting late in the second half as they shouted a word considered homophobic when Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel took goal-kicks, nearly equalised through ex-Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos but he headed just wide.
“We are happy. I think we overperformed. We passed the group stage,” said Kovac.
“This is a bonus for us and now playing against the biggest team and biggest club in the world is a good challenge.
“I think that for us, Borussia Dortmund, and for German football as a whole, this is a big, big deal.”
Real Madrid appointed Xabi Alonso as manager this summer after the Spaniard’s stint in charge at German club Bayer Leverkusen included him winning the 2023-24 Bundesliga title.
“We know (Xabi Alonso) very well. He worked two and a half years in Germany and he did a fantastic job,” added Kovac.
“Now he’s implementing everything he had in Leverkusen at Real Madrid. So we’re expecting what we had in Leverkusen, only with different players. — BBC Sport.
