Hairdresser ‘had no influence on Borussia Dortmund’s performance’ against Tottenham
Borussia Dortmund insist that the visit of a hairdresser before their 3-0 Champions League loss to Spurs had nothing to do with the result.
The Bundesliga leaders face an uphill battle to reach the quarter-finals after second-half goals from Son Heung-min, Jan Vertonghen and Fernando Llorente in the last-16 first-leg clash at Wembley.
Several players are said to have had haircuts in the team hotel after the final training session and team meeting, resulting in questions being raised about the focus of the squad.
Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke assured that the hairdresser’s visit was an unrelated matter, but revealed that pre-match activities will be reviewed.
"It certainly has no influence on a team's performance,” Watzke told Bild.
“There are sporting reasons for our defeat, and we need to analyse them.
"It's clear the defeat also leads to a critical media view of the hairdresser's visit.
“And that's why [sporting director] Michael Zorc and [squad manager] Sebastian Kehl will review this with the players."
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Dortmund welcome Spurs to the Westfalenstadion for the second leg on March 5.
Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.