Tension between Dortmund's top men due to bad results in Bundesliga
Reading Time: 3min | Mon. 27.11.23. | 15:18
According to the reports, Borussia's CEO even raised his voice at the players in the dressing room
On the surface, Dortmund’s ‘alpha and omega’ Hans-Joachim Watzke is talking like everything is fine. But in the Borussia building, tension can be felt in the air, and the team’s performance is the main reason. Last season, BVB players were under pressure to record an easy win at home against Mainz and become champions and they bottled it, only drawing 2-2, effectively helping Bayern to win another title in a row. And much was expected from this season, but after 12 rounds, Borussia is only fourth with 10 points behind league leaders Bayer Leverkusen, with inconsistent performances which are making everybody insecure. The title is all but lost, and it’s not even January.
Watzke on his role: "I think about BVB seven days a week. But I also know that at some point, I will leave the management of Borussia Dortmund. It would be irresponsible if I didn't give my colleagues Thomas Treß and Carsten Cramer or Sebastian Kehl the opportunity now to make… pic.twitter.com/M2OU16xxkH
— ari (@aritrabvb1909) November 26, 2023
"We were hoping for two or three more points at this stage, but the sky isn't falling. We are in first place in the Champions League group which cannot be over-estimated. The group is fragile and anything can happen. On Tuesday, we have a chance to qualify early with a win. I wouldn't have dared to dream of that at the time of the draw. That's the truth. The club has been exposed to a media barrage for months that I have not experienced in ages. I have to double check every week that we're not fighting relegation!" said Watzke at the recently held annual meeting of the club.
But away from the media spotlights, Dortmund’s long time CEO is not satisfied. In fact, according to Bild, he had to come to the dressing room and talk to the players for the first time this week. He was very clear (and loud): This cannot continue like this. And how the players reacted? They were losing 2-0 at home after 30 minutes on the very next game. Monchengladbach stunned the home crowd, but the host eventually won the game 4-2, after scoring three goals in 15 minutes. Dortmund have now rescued 11 points from losing situations this season, the second-highest in the Bundesliga, not good for a title contender. Not to mention that scoring four goals against Monchengladbach is easy, considering they have the worst defense in the league (27 conceded in 12 games). Against Bayern at home, they lost 4-0 and couldn’t score even a single goal.
The things are not good between the coach and the sporting director. Edin Terzić and Sebastian Kehl are not so close as Watzke would like, and are cooperation because they need to. Some players like Bundesliga and Bayer’s revelation Alexandro Grimaldo weren’t brought in during the summer because Kehl has already agreed Ramy Bensebaini from Gladbach. The player is currently not a starter. On the other side, Terzić insisted on some players which turned out to be flops, like Antonio Modeste in 2022. Jude Bellingham was sold to Real this summer but out of all new players which came in, only Niklas Füllkrug proved to be the real buy. And the ‘final days’ are coming. In the upcoming matches, Borussia will play against Milan and PSG in the Champions League, third-placed Stuttgart in the DFB Cup and against Leverkusen and Leipzig in the league. These games will be decisive and if Borussia losses those matches, it will provoke Watzke to react by either sacking Kehl or Terzić.
