All those promoted know the challenge: managing to stay in D1 the second season after a first year in the elite. In a word: confirm. But what about a Champions League finalist club? Logically, we expect to see him continue to play leading roles and, failing that, stay in the race to secure a place in the following edition via the championship. However, one only needs to look at Borussia Dortmund’s current state of form to find the perfect counter-example. A few hours before facing Eintracht Frankfurt on home soil (this Friday, 8:30 p.m.), the BvB are in tenth place in Buli, 17 points behind Bayern, leader, and 8 points behind their evening opponent, third. So how can a club which, a little over six months ago, lost with honors in the C1 final against Real Madrid (0-2) now get back on track?
The fall of the yellow and black hawk
Maybe, to start, by forgetting the C1 for a while. “When we are eight points behind (in fourth place, last qualifying ticket, Editor’s note)we have no right to talk about the Champions League. Our reality is completely different »lamented coach Nuri Şahin after his team’s debacle this Wednesday in Kiel (4-2). On the pitch of Holstein, which has no other objective than to remain in the Bundesliga after having been promoted there at the end of last season, Borussia Dortmund confirmed, after having achieved its worst first leg in ten years, that he was completely on the street with a second defeat in two matches since the start of 2025. Unexpected consequence, the club’s share price fell by 10%, finding itself valued at 2.81 euros. Here again, we have to go back a decade to observe such a fall.
And while the time is at “ reaction » when facing Frankfurt (“What gives me courage is knowing that the guys will be there tomorrow”Şahin shyly declared at a press conference, after ensuring that “everything that was lacking was re-discussed”), speculation is rife as to whether the 36-year-old coach will manage to finish the season on the bench. It must be said that the elder of the house black-yellow has a bit of bad luck: between a flu epidemic (Can, Schlotterbeck, Anton, Bensebaini, Mane, Adeyemi), the suspensions of some (Bensebaini, then Gross), the injuries of others (Süle) and the winter departures (Malen) , difficult to build a truly typical XI. By adding a schedule worthy of the NBA (by 1is February, the BvB will play five matches, three in Buli, two in C1), Şahin knows that the sword of Damocles that he has over his head can fall at any moment. “I don’t think this is the time to have a discussion about the coach”however, cut general manager Lars Ricken after the Kiel defeat. Okay, but until when?
-Temporize or decide straight away?
Ten years ago, the last time we saw Dortmund so in trouble at the same time of the season, we found a certain Jürgen Klopp at the helm. From last place to the winter break, the BvB finally finished seventh and won the last European ticket available. Proof that a happy turnaround is always possible without necessarily turning everything upside down. Unless this kind of scenario only works with experienced profiles like Klopp, which is not (yet) Nuri Şahin. This Thursday, the South German newspaper recalled that names such as Erik ten Hag, Roger Schmidt, even Sandro Wagner were available on the market. But to consider them as firefighters on duty, nothing indicates that this is the appropriate solution. Indeed, if we are content to talk about big money, with the view that Borussia would fail to qualify again in the Champions League (and with competition from Bayern, Leverkusen, but also Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Leipzig and even Mainz, the operation already seems ruined), his participation in the Club World Cup could bring him 30 million euros. Enough to limit the financial damage before starting from scratch. For the second year in a row.
Dortmund at a standstill, Frankfurt and M’Gladbach at full speed
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