Sahin: 'It's so much fun right now'

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Dortmund - Borussia Dortmund midfielder was a central figure in Saturday's eventual 4-2 success over 1. FSV Mainz 05, laying on an assist at both ends of the pitch.

Afterwards, the Turkey international understandably had plenty to say after a thrilling game which saw BVB cement their place in the group stages of next season's UEFA Champions League with three games to spare...

Question: Nuri Sahin, congratulations on qualifying for next season's Champions League!

Nuri Sahin: Thanks! It was important for us to qualify for the Champions League again. It's nice we've managed to do it with three games of the season still to play. Now we can move onto our next task. We want to hold onto second place in the league and we want to win the DFB Cup. They're our remaining goals for the season.

Question: BVB are playing really well right now. Can you keep it up until the cup final?

Sahin: You can't always go full throttle in football. We also went through a really bad patch, but now everything's going well and we're having fun. We're in top gear and we're scoring goals. It's so much fun right now. Football can be great sometimes!

Question: You were involved in two standout moments against Mainz - you played a brilliant pass that helped put Dortmund 2-1 up and you also gifted Mainz their subsequent equaliser.

Sahin: Two assists in one game doesn't sound all that bad. It happens thousands of times and I've seen it happen time and time again on TV. Now I've experienced it for myself. It's definitely an experience you can do without, but that's football - even though I shouldn't have let it happen. Unfortunately I just completely ignored Shinji Okazaki.

Question: Can you shake these sort of things off fairly quickly? What went through your mind at the time?

Sahin: I asked myself: Do I let the ground swallow me up or play on? I looked at the clock and thought: damn, still 35 minutes to go. It was obvious I just had to get on with it, so I played on, held the line, got the basics right and got back into the game. It's one of those experiences that I think has served me well (laughs), even though I'll probably get some stick for it.

Question: You played alongside Oliver Kirch in midfield. What have you made of his performances in recent weeks? He's enjoying something of a second coming...

Sahin: It's not easy for players like 'Olli', who haven't played for a long time, but he always works hard and always keeps calm. I experienced it for myself on Tuesday against Wolfsburg - and it's not nice when you're not playing. I'm even happier for 'Olli' now that we're friends outside of football. He's developing really well and it just goes to show that we need everyone we've got.

Dietmar Nolte reporting from Dortmund