In March, with Dortmund, he dominated all five games played, including the biggest one the Bundesliga has to offer against Bayern Munich, and after 27 rounds, he has moved his team to fourth place, which would secure participation in the Champions League. In that very tournament meanwhile, he has taken the team into the quarter-finals at the expense of PSV Eindhoven.
While in February, Dortmund dropped points at almost every turn and notched up only a single win, in March they breathed a sigh of relief with a winning streak capped off with a stylish finish.
One of the main events of the past weekend in European football was another edition of Der Klassiker, the derby between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern. This time, however, it had a completely different flavour than fans have been used to in recent times. For the first time in 14 years, the spring showdown took place in a situation where neither team was at the top of the Bundesliga table.
However, especially in the case of Dortmund, there was still something to play for. After the unexpected 2-0 win, the team is on the verge of securing a place in next season's Champions League, and of course, the prestige of the match itself must be considered.
Bayern went into it with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Leon Goretzka and Konrad Laimer in a double pivot. In the first phase of the build-up, the former dropped deep to form a back three while the full-backs kept the width so that wingers Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sane could move in close proximity to Laimer. The aim was to create overlaps in the middle of the pitch and allow both to look for space to take the ball between the lines.
Dortmund responded by positioning themselves in a very compact midfield block. The players kept short distances between each other in a tight formation, with the trigger for their pressing being mainly the crossing of the outside centre-backs Matthijs de Ligt and Goretzka, who were tasked with attacking Julian Brandt and Felix Nmecha. Emre Can had a key role to play without the ball, and for a long time, he was able to block passes into the middle of the pitch with good movement.
Bayern were therefore forced to play laterally where they had no numerical advantage, and Dortmund were also helped defensively by wingers Jadon Sancho and Karem Adeyemi. If the press was ever already beaten by their opponents, offensive excursions were stopped brilliantly by Mats Hummels and Nico Schlotterbeck, who played a great game.
Dortmund's offensive plan largely consisted of a willingness to play without the ball and strike from possible counterattacks; one such opportunity presented itself in the 10th minute of the game. The home side lost the ball after a misplaced pass in the attacking half, and after a quick turn of play, it came to Brandt. His subsequent cross found the onrushing Adeyemi, whose shot from an angle beat Sven Ulreich. After the goal, Terzic furthered his efforts to clog up the middle of the pitch by changing the formation to a very compact midfield five once again.
Bayern stumped in attack
The defending champions then adapted by using their midfielders out wide more so that Can could not cover as much space. De Ligt began to distribute passes between the lines, which allowed Bayern to dominate on the right side with the help of precise combinations between Joshua Kimmich, Thomas Muller and Sane, hence Harry Kane's big chance late in the first half. However, the Englishman didn't convert that one and his team didn't deal well with many other attacking situations.
After about an hour of play, Bayern's wings were rotated and coach Thomas Tuchel sent on Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman for Musiala and Sane, together with Mathys Tel who replaced Muller.
However, Dortmund continued to defend compactly and were themselves very cautious in the final third of the pitch. After losing the ball, they immediately went back to a very deep block and the rest of the defence worked well.
And while Bayern's play was still uninspired in the final third, Dortmund ultimately increased their lead with some clever play, and after Kane's disallowed goal, the fate of the match was decided.
The visitors didn't dominate the game, but they were effective and showed a very attentive defensive performance, especially from both their centre-backs and Emre Can. Bayern, on the other hand, failed especially in dealing with situations in the final third of the pitch, where they were also a bit unlucky. The thirteen-point lead Bayer Leverkusen now have over them is almost indelible with only nine rounds left in the Bundesliga.
While Bayern are unlikely to drop out of the top four, there is only room for one of the trio of Dortmund, Stuttgart and RB Leipzig. In terms of important data metrics assessing quality at both ends of the pitch, Dortmund is pulling the short end of the stick. What's more, they have a tough run of games coming.
They will face Stuttgart in an important home game this weekend, then travel to Madrid for the first of a Champions League quarter-final double-header against Atletico, and the second half of April will be no better. In it, Dortmund will face not only Leverkusen and Leipzig but also the currently seventh-placed Augsburg.
Terzic will have plenty more opportunities to show off his tactical skills as he did against Bayern.
