Nico Schlotterbeck caused a stir during the week with his criticism of colleagues. The criticism from BVB officials was unusually mild. One possible reason: the 26-year-old’s pending contract extension.
The great excitement is already over. On the one hand, it stands for Borussia Dortmund the next Bundesliga-Play at SC Freiburg. On the other hand, the most recent, blunt scolding of colleagues (“The players who come in lose every ball.”) from Nico Schlotterbeck after the Champions League game against Bodö Glimt was quickly moderated by those responsible.
Sports director Sebastian Kehl and coach Nico Kovac both apparently had little reservations about their mild assessment of the harsh words. Common tenor: The BVB captain is a leader and is therefore entitled to make such critical comments.
Effects on internal mood
“It’s always about the factual level. It’s not about a personal level. We worked through it this morning. As a leader, he has the right to address certain things. It’s always about getting better,” Kovac told the public the day after.
However, it is questionable whether the coach came to the same conclusion internally. The former professional footballer knows only too well how poorly such criticism, expressed in public, is received by fellow players and can have a negative and lasting impact on the team’s internal mood.
New BVB face
And some team colleagues will certainly judge differently whether Schlotterbeck was actually still on the factual level with his statements. The 26-year-old is likely to have one or two internal conversations in the next few days.
However, Kehl, Kovac and Co. find themselves in a complicated situation. Because they have jointly chosen Schlotterbeck as a figure who will shape BVB in the coming years and who will become the new face of the club as the successor to Marco Reus or Mats Hummels. And that is why the criticism of Schlotterbeck’s statements may have been unusually mild.
Long silence
The problem: The chosen one simply does not want to accept Dortmund’s new contract offer, his contract ends in the summer of 2027. Sports director Sebastian Kehl has been waiting for a confirmation for months (“We are fighting for Nico, I remain optimistic.”).
Rumors persist that the national player is in close contact with other clubs such as FC Barcelona or FC Bayern. Those responsible at BVB probably also want to lean financially out of the window; there is talk of an annual salary of well over ten million euros. So the wait continues unabated.
Lost hope
However, confidence in Schlotterbeck’s hoped-for commitment has not exactly increased among BVB’s sporting leadership after last Wednesday. But now the next Bundesliga game is coming for Dortmund.
