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Agence France Presse
July 14 2013
Sahin hails Dortmund's Mkhitaryan as new 'Kagawa'
(AFP) - 10 hours ago
BERLIN - Turkey midfielder Nuri Sahin has dubbed Borussia Dortmund's
new-signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan as the Champion League finalists' "new
Shinji Kagawa" as the Armenian continues to impress.
Kagawa became a club icon by helping Borussia win back-to-back
Bundesliga titles in 2010-11 and 2011-12 before moving to Manchester
United last year.
Mkhitaryan has impressed in his two friendly matches since joining
Dortmund from Shakhtar Donetsk last week for 27.5m euros, (US$36m)
both on his debut in Wednesday's 3-1 win at FC Basel, then Saturday's
4-1 win over Turkey's Buraspor.
"Honestly, he reminds me of Shinji Kagawa," said ex-Real Madrid
midfielder Sahin after Saturday's win in Altach, Austria, near
Dortmund's training camp.
"I think he's even a bit quicker than Shinji.
"We have a lot of quality in attack."
Having finished second to Bayern Munich in both the Bundesliga and
Champions League last season, Dortmund and their Bavarian rivals could
meet next weekend in a pre-season tournament at Borussia
Moenchengladbach.
The rivals then meet in the German Super Cup final on July 27 in
Dortmund and Borussia are eager to integrate their new signings in
preparation.
"Mickey", as Mkhitaryan has been nicknamed, scored against Basel and
the central midfielder was in the heart of Dortmund's attack as fellow
new-signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also scored against Turkey's
Buraspor.
Poland striker Robert Lewandowski and Germany's Marco Reus also got on
the score sheet as the Turkish league side also conceded an own goal.
Having lost Germany midfielder Mario Goetze to European champions
Bayern Munich, Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp said he was happy with
Mkhitaryan's bright start before the Bundesliga starts on August 9.
"We already suspected that Henrikh has the qualities to set up chances
in key moments like he did," enthused Klopp.
Dortmund's other new addition Sokratis also impressed against the
Turks as the centre-back looked calm and composed next to Serbia's
Neven Subotic against the Turkish side.
July 14 2013
Sahin hails Dortmund's Mkhitaryan as new 'Kagawa'
(AFP) - 10 hours ago
BERLIN - Turkey midfielder Nuri Sahin has dubbed Borussia Dortmund's
new-signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan as the Champion League finalists' "new
Shinji Kagawa" as the Armenian continues to impress.
Kagawa became a club icon by helping Borussia win back-to-back
Bundesliga titles in 2010-11 and 2011-12 before moving to Manchester
United last year.
Mkhitaryan has impressed in his two friendly matches since joining
Dortmund from Shakhtar Donetsk last week for 27.5m euros, (US$36m)
both on his debut in Wednesday's 3-1 win at FC Basel, then Saturday's
4-1 win over Turkey's Buraspor.
"Honestly, he reminds me of Shinji Kagawa," said ex-Real Madrid
midfielder Sahin after Saturday's win in Altach, Austria, near
Dortmund's training camp.
"I think he's even a bit quicker than Shinji.
"We have a lot of quality in attack."
Having finished second to Bayern Munich in both the Bundesliga and
Champions League last season, Dortmund and their Bavarian rivals could
meet next weekend in a pre-season tournament at Borussia
Moenchengladbach.
The rivals then meet in the German Super Cup final on July 27 in
Dortmund and Borussia are eager to integrate their new signings in
preparation.
"Mickey", as Mkhitaryan has been nicknamed, scored against Basel and
the central midfielder was in the heart of Dortmund's attack as fellow
new-signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also scored against Turkey's
Buraspor.
Poland striker Robert Lewandowski and Germany's Marco Reus also got on
the score sheet as the Turkish league side also conceded an own goal.
Having lost Germany midfielder Mario Goetze to European champions
Bayern Munich, Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp said he was happy with
Mkhitaryan's bright start before the Bundesliga starts on August 9.
"We already suspected that Henrikh has the qualities to set up chances
in key moments like he did," enthused Klopp.
Dortmund's other new addition Sokratis also impressed against the
Turks as the centre-back looked calm and composed next to Serbia's
Neven Subotic against the Turkish side.