“Disappointed, angry, frustrated”
At BVB, which has failed again, things are simmering enormously
December 17, 2023, 8:47 a.m
Things are going well for Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League – but not at all in the Bundesliga. “It’s hard granite that we’re biting on,” says national player Julian Brandt. Sports director Sebastian Kehl is really angry and the discussions about the coach continue to gain momentum.
Bye-bye German championship? After their next sobering appearance in the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund is already ten points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen. And coach Xabi Alonso’s team can even move ahead to 13 points with a win against Eintracht Frankfurt. “When I look at the Bundesliga table, I personally don’t get nervous,” said national player Julian Brandt after the dreary 1-1 (1-1) draw at FC Augsburg. In the catacombs of the WWK Arena, the offensive player finally remembered last season, when Dortmund were sixth after matchday 15, nine points less than then league leaders FC Bayern Munich.
Borussia then delivered a furious second half of the season, but lost the tangible championship on the last matchday with a 2-2 draw against FSV Mainz 05. “A lot of things always happen,” said Brandt three days after the strong performance in the Champions League against Paris Saint Germain (1:1). The 27-year-old knows how to accurately describe the fact that BVB is not doing well in the Bundesliga after being eliminated from the DFB Cup. “It all seems very difficult, very forced,” said Brandt. “It’s hard granite that we’re biting on at the moment.” The team also showed “not enough cold-bloodedness” against Augsburg.
It always becomes dangerous after losing the ball
The plan to transfer the good performances from the European Cup into everyday life has failed again – as is so often the case – against a relatively strong opponent. “I had the feeling that it was always dangerous for us after we lost the ball,” analyzed BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel. “We put pressure on the ball too late. In the end we opened up because we really wanted to win.”
After the renewed setback, sports director Sebastian Kehl has announced an in-depth analysis during the winter break. “We are disappointed, angry and frustrated because we scored two points short,” said Kehl, according to “Ruhr Nachrichten”. The situation in the table “is not our claim.” After the end of the year against FSV Mainz 05 on Tuesday, the sports director wants to evaluate the situation intensively. “Now we need three points against Mainz, then we will draw a conclusion and start the analysis,” said Kehl, and warned: “We must not lose sight of our minimum goal of the Champions League.”
“The result is definitely not enough”
Donyell Malen (35th) was able to compensate for the deficit caused by Augsburg’s Ermedin Demirovic (23rd minute). In the final phase, Dortmund missed the winning goal despite numerous chances. “The result is definitely not enough,” said BVB coach Edin Terzić. “We said before the game that we wanted and had to get six points in the remaining games.” The Dortmunders have already failed with this.
Borussia contests its annual financial statements against Mainz of all teams. A kind of coming to terms with the past for the entire club. “It doesn’t help to complain. It’s just a matter of moving forward and accepting the challenge. We will rise to the challenge and hopefully reward our fans with a win in the last home game,” announced Terzić, for whom the air is getting thinner and thinner.
Kehl did not comment on the coach’s situation. TV expert Lothar Matthäus, however, expects that Terzić will also be questioned at BVB during the winter break. “If such a round table were to take place, the coach would certainly also be discussed,” said the 62-year-old on Sky. Dortmund are “far behind expectations, not just in terms of points, but especially in terms of performance. They are simply not performing, they have not found themselves in this first half of the season so far.”