There is little to speak for the crisis-ridden Dortmund ahead of the top Bundesliga game against Leipzig.
Goes through difficult days
BVB-Trainer Nuri Sahin.
imago images/Kirchner-Media
After the final whistle, Gregor Kobel angrily threw his gloves against the bench and shouted his frustration into the evening sky. The Swiss national goalkeeper had conceded 0-1 with Dortmund against Wolfsburg in the 117th minute – with the second round exit in the DFB Cup, BVB wasted what was possibly their last realistic chance of winning the title.
The negative series began with the bitter 2:5 in the Champions League against Real Madrid. After last weekend’s 1-2 defeat in Augsburg and the cup exit, Nuri Sahin’s team has lost three competitive games in a row. And now Leipzig, who have been unbeaten in 19 league games, will be visiting Dortmund next on Saturday. RB is in second place with the same number of points as leader Bayern Munich, BVB is only in 7th place, already 7 points behind.
The fact that Dortmund have won every Bundesliga game at home this season is almost the only positive note before the big game on Saturday evening. Because the crisis – it can no longer be explained away. Those responsible at BVB demonstratively supported coach Sahin. “We only have discussions about how we can get our quality onto the pitch or win games. About nothing else,” said managing director Lars Ricken recently Bild.
Project Sahin is in danger of failing
But the encounter with ex-BVB coach Marco Rose could be a game of fate for Sahin. After the coaches in Dortmund changed comparatively often in the last 9 years after the end of the Jürgen Klopp era, the project with the club icon Sahin, who is only 36 years old, should be a long-term one. But now it threatens to fail after just 5 months.
What’s also not exactly encouraging: Last season, both direct duels fell victim to Leipzig. And Sahin continues to be plagued by personnel concerns. Regular goalkeeper Kobel missed the Leipzig game. Karim Adeyemi, Julien Duranville, Yan Couto, Niklas Süle, Julian Ryerson, Gio Reyna and Kjell Wätjen are also out injured. Waldemar Anton is questionable, Almugera Kabar suspended.
“Ten failures are quite a number,” emphasized Sahin at the media conference on Friday. But he doesn’t want to hide behind excuses.
Swiss
