BVB winters in sixth place. This sobering table picture reflects the discouraged mood in and around Borussia quite well. Despite all the justified criticism, the famous church must remain in the village. Some aspects are neglected in BVB’s assessment.
In terms of sport, tactics and personnel, BVB is currently far below its potential. All players at Borussia have to wear this shoe. And it is clear: the sometimes devastating criticism of the black and yellow is justified, but there is hardly any appropriate counterweight. Nevertheless, there are a few points that are neglected in the analysis and ultimately in the evaluation of and at BVB, which clearly dilute the current picture of the completely run-down BVB.
He did it (again): Hans-Joachim Watzke spoke about Jürgen Klopp. For years, the narrative has been formed around the BVB managing director that Watzke can’t get along with anyone except Klopp and is secretly looking for a Kloppo 2.0. The fact that Edin Terzic is now a “Dortmund boy” on the sidelines fits into this narrative. The fact that Terzic has so far been able to convince emotionally and less tactically in football is also the case. The fact that Watzke has always been closely associated with BVB and appreciates family relationships in the club is unfortunately overlooked: that justifies Terzic’s employment in all respects, which was well received not only by Watzke, but by numerous BVB fans and it continues to do. Now Watzke has spoken the magic words – and the outcry is great. But what did the managing director of BVB actually say? “Jürgen Klopp has dedicated himself to the club for seven years. I see parallels to Edin [Terzic], who is also totally focused on the club,” Watzke told Bild say he never got over Jurgen Klopp. The statement can also be interpreted quite differently: as a testimony to the need to go the long way with Terzic. As a reminder that not everything at Klopp worked from one day to the next, that BVB also went through difficult times with Klopp. And it is absolutely clear that the Jürgen Klopp era is exactly where BVB wanting to go back: sporty to the top, emotionally united and passionately appearing as a family BVB. Watzke shares this need with almost every Dortmund fan. It takes time to get back there and you have to have the patience to let some processes mature. Maybe Hans-Joachim Watzke didn’t want to express anything else with his “Klopp comparison” than a request for Edin Terzic to have time to shape an era.
BVB has easily qualified for the round of 16 of the Champions League. BVB is confidently in the round of 16 of the DFB Cup. Despite a meager season in the league, everything is still possible there. That’s not a satisfactory result, but it’s an acceptable result when you consider that BVB has played with a core eleven since the start of the season. The bad luck with injuries that has accompanied BVB this season cannot be compared to any other team in top European football. The downtime of the top performers at Borussia is so ludicrous and runs so constantly through all parts of the team that it is actually unbelievable that Borussia hasn’t given up a long time ago. You have to give Edin Terzic and his team credit for that at this point: they don’t look for excuses, although they exist! Alone the absence of Sebastien Haller. The top striker par excellence, committed as the direct successor to Erling Haaland, will be out for an indefinite period due to cancer. That’s a break in the neck for a team playing with a clear nine. To make matters worse, with Gio Reyna, Marco Reus, Mo Dahoud and Raphael Guerreiro, the best footballers in the team, who are actually responsible for the ball forward, were absent for large parts of the first half of the season. Both the target player and the initiators are out. With Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, one of the unpredictable players for the wing got caught. In addition, there are the failures of Mateu Morey, Thomas Meunier and Marius Wolf. Oh, top performer Gregor Kobel was also absent for a few weeks in the meantime. Considering this injury history, BVB can hardly be blamed. Not only is there a lack of staff to implement the targeted football on the field: without alternatives, BVB is and was so predictable for opponents that the team’s game all too often seemed sluggish and unimaginative. The fact that very few top performers like Jude Bellingham or Julian Brandt were allowed to take a break due to the personnel situation makes it even more difficult.
Who is talking about Gladbach? Who is talking about Leipzig? Who is talking about Leverkusen? It remains BVB, which is full-time for the competition with FC Bayern. Borussia has made this development their own since the club’s management clearly communicated that the annual goal is the championship. The pressure that comes with it is now eating away at BVB. Newcomers – including coaches – are hardly given any development time, and a defeat is usually tantamount to the team declaring bankruptcy. This is the result of poorly formulated goals. Now imagine that Edin Terzic, for the first time, is in charge of a complete pre-season as head coach and that the numerous newcomers are given an acclimatization period that can last for the duration of a season. Why does everything have to happen immediately and not be the result of a process necessary in football? It is precisely at this point that the church must remain in the village: in recent years, BVB has had little chance of growing together as a team over a longer period of time (players leaving or not). And the team needs this time right now. I stand by it: with a little more patience – and a little less bad luck with injuries – this team can achieve a lot with Edin Terzic as coach.
The way in which. This is where the criticism of BVB comes together in the most justifiable way. There is simply not enough, although the personal situation hardly makes a really respectable football possible. Apart from that, BVB is of course mainly measured by the results. As of Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. (with the SGE, Union and Freiburg games still to come), Borussia is only three points away from second place. Either the other teams – FC Bayern, which has been proven to have more than twice the financial budget – did it just as badly as BVB or the benchmark is simply wrong. A table picture can be dazzling, purely in terms of points, BVB is good in the race in terms of results. The league has become stronger, which explains the many defeats that BVB suffered this year. Incidentally, FC Bayern had not filed before that either. In the cup competitions, BVB is also fully on target. In terms of results, Dortmund is a lot in the green. The way the light breaks in black and yellow. But again: without Haller and without the players who feed the strikers, miracles are simply not to be expected. With an average injury history, we would hardly be talking about how at this point. And probably not from a Dortmund crisis.
The criticism of BVB is justified, there is no question about that. However, the way of looking at and evaluating it is once again far too one-dimensional. Black or white: there seems to be nothing in between when analyzing Borussia Dortmund. Given the above signs, BVB’s situation is not as dramatic as it is portrayed – even if that is hard to believe given the current position in the league and the general mood.
This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as Despite the justified criticism: Why BVB must also be defended.
