Sahin was once the youngest Buli professional
BVB legend becomes Terzic’s new assistant coach
December 29, 2023, 11:15 a.m
The turnaround mission is getting a new, old face at Borussia Dortmund. With Nuri Şahin, an ex-professional from the club has joined Edin Terzic’s coaching staff. His current Turkish club has already said goodbye to the 35-year-old.
A real club legend is supposed to initiate the turnaround at Borussia Dortmund together with coach Edin Terzic. According to information from Goal and Spox, former BVB professional Nuri Şahin will act as assistant coach. The 35-year-old is currently the head coach of the Turkish first division club Antalyaspor and is expected to move to the black and yellow in the winter.
The Turkish club confirmed an offer from the Bundesliga club and Şahin’s imminent departure. “We as Antalyaspor are sorry to lose a great coach like Nuri Şahin. But we are also proud that he received an offer from a club like Borussia Dortmund,” said deputy chairman Alkan Evren to the newspaper “AA”.
Şahin was most recently active as a professional at Antalyaspor and, after retiring, has been the club’s coach and department head since October 2021. The 52-time Turkish international was trained at BVB in the youth ranks before becoming the youngest Bundesliga professional ever in 2005. In 2011 he became German champion with Dortmund and moved to Real Madrid. Sahin returned in January 2013 and stayed until 2018. He played 274 competitive games for BVB.
In addition to Sahin, Sven Bender is also set to return to BVB. Bender has been assistant coach of the U16 national team since June 2022. According to a report in the “Bild” newspaper, BVB is said to have asked the German Football Association (DFB) for approval for Bender.
Mission turnaround
A few days before Christmas, the club decided to stick with Terzic as coach. Despite the ongoing sporting decline with the last six competitive games without a win and the fall to fifth place, the Bundesliga club is counting on continuing its collaboration with the 41-year-old. This was the result of a discussion lasting several hours with managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke, sports director Sebastian Kehl, club advisor Matthias Sammer and Terzic. Following the critical review of the past few months – as is usual at BVB after this regular meeting at the end of the year – none of those involved wanted to comment publicly.
This saved Borussia from a Christmas earthquake. Despite media speculation about an impending separation, the club management is committed to continuity when it comes to coaching. The fact that Watzke has always appreciated Terzic’s passionate work and maintains a friendly relationship with him may have had a significant influence on the decision. Just months ago, the club boss assured that he wanted to compete with Terzic for “the next few years”. Even the whistles from many spectators after the disappointing 1-1 draw against Mainz on the last matchday before the winter break could not change the managing director’s assessment. Knowing the loyalty of the club’s management, Terzic answered with astonishing confidence after the game when asked whether he believed he would still be BVB coach in the new year: “Of course I believe in it.”
For Terzic, who was born in nearby Menden, the fairy tale of the fan in the south stand who became the coach of his favorite team continues for the time being. His mission to turn things around begins in the training camp from January 3rd to 9th in Marbella. The fact that he was able to rescue the club from a similarly precarious situation twice was an argument in favor of the coach’s stay. As Lucien Favre’s successor, Terzic led the long-stumbling team to cup victory in mid-December 2020. Last season, BVB even went into the winter break in sixth place, but started an impressive comeback and only lost the championship because of a 2-2 draw on the last match day against Mainz.
After the vote of confidence in Terzic, the managers see the professionals as having an obligation to deliver. Above all, the discrepancy between the mostly good performances in the Champions League and the many weak performances in the Bundesliga causes guesswork. When the league restarts on January 13th in Darmstadt, the fluctuations in form should come to an end.