Marco Rose stated that his 3-0 demolition of Borussia Dortmund to start his time at RB Leipzig did not give him any extra happiness.
On Saturday, goals from Willi Orban, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Amadou Haidara gave Leipzig the perfect start under Rose as they closed the gap on Dortmund in the Bundesliga standings by four points.
Rose guided them to a second-place finish during his one season in charge of Dortmund last year. However, he was fired in May.
Edin Terzic, who served as Dortmund’s technical director throughout Rose’s administration, was able to enter the dugout after his leave. Some people speculated that the pair will have an unpleasant reunion at the Red Bull Arena.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Rose said he took “zero point zero” satisfaction from beating his former colleague.
“I enjoyed being with the club. This is a great club,” he said.
“I’ve met great people. Ultimately, it didn’t fit anymore. And I had to go. I have a very good relationship with Edin. I wish BVB and the boys personally all the best.”
Rose was later full of praise for his side’s performance, declaring:
“We were very present from the first minute. It wasn’t perfect in terms of content, but we were intense, showed something and took the whole stadium with us.
“But I’m very happy with how we performed today. One of the keys to our success was that we could use our pace and bring the quality of play onto the pitch.
“Leipzig is my home, with which I identify strongly. I feel very comfortable, I like the people, and you saw that you can spark something together here.”
Only once before, in their first competitive encounter in September 2016, Leipzig managed to keep a clean sheet against Dortmund.
In each of the next 12 matches between the clubs, Die Roten Bullen has let up at least one goal.
In contrast, Rose has only triumphed over BVB twice in his past seven encounters (five losses).
Goal scorer Szoboszlai, who worked with Rose at Salzburg between 2017 and 2019, claims the 45-year-old is responsible for his professional success.
He said:
“I’ve known Marco since my time in Salzburg.
“We had both good and bad times together. But it’s very clear that I wouldn’t be where I am now if he hadn’t been there in my career.”
Rose will face another of his former clubs when Leipzig goes to Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga next Saturday.
However, on Wednesday, he must first navigate a Champions League trip to reigning champions Real Madrid.
Likewise, for more football news like this, click here.
