Dortmund bus attack suspect 'led ISIS unit'

Thomas Tuchel, Klopp's successor as Dortmund coach, had claimed the club were "completely ignored" by Uefa over the rescheduling of their game against Monaco and he received the backing of fellow managers as well as the world players' union.

The fixture was postponed from Tuesday after three explosions rocked the Dortmund team bus and left Spain worldwide Marc Bartra with a broken wrist.

Reus, 27, has recovered from a thigh muscle tear against Bayer Leverkusen on March 4.

And it was practically cruel to force Dortmund on to the field this week, so soon after shrapnel from one of the bombs was found in a headrest on the team bus and mere hours after the players were told they were lucky to be alive.

Even as the probe appeared to be in its preliminary stages, Dortmund officials criticised the decision to play its postponed Champions League match just 24 hours after the attack, with the perpetrator or perpetrators still at large.

Sometimes, it's hard to focus on a football game.

"I know football's like this and we have to continue".

"Unless you experienced it, you can't understand how bad it was for us". "We have to find a way to deal with it". But in all parts of life we can only give our 100% and I'm sure everyone is doing this to give you the best security you can have. Until I was on the pitch in the second half, I did not think about football to be honest.

During the warm-up, Dortmund players wore T-shirts displaying messages of support for their injured colleague Bartra, who had earlier posted a picture of himself on social media with his arm bandaged and giving the thumbs up after undergoing surgery.

Dortmund, who eventually played the delayed match against Monaco a day after the attack, are preparing to host Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

And yet while that final sentiment especially could not be more true, while football can feel distinctly unimportant in times of turmoil, the opposite can also be accurate.

Spanish defender Marc Bartra was injured as team was being driven to the stadium.

"What will stay in history is not the result but what happened last night".

Goalkeeper Roman Burki, who was sitting next to Bartra at the time of the attack, wore his teammate's No.5 shirt before kickoff, while fans had placed banners in the stands wishing the Spaniard a speedy recovery. But it's important not to forget that we're just human beings too.

Tuchel may have been trying to protect his players but it's clear that the attack had an effect on his side. I was on way home from Melwood and Matt [Liverpool's press officer] called to tell me that something happened on the bus and I tried immediately to get some information.

"I do not regret leaving Barcelona", Bartra said last September (via BeIN Sports).

'We were informed by text message that UEFA was making this decision, ' said Tuchel.

"It will stick with us that we have to function and that everything else plays no role".