BVB is in the table where it belongs in terms of the squad. Mediocrity.
After Klopp there was a similarly good coach, T. Tuchel. But he was performance-oriented and that didn’t suit players like Schmelzer and Sahin, who sat on Aki’s lap and Tuchel had to go. The disrespectful interviews after the 2017 cup final are legendary.
In my opinion, this takes a very deep look into the character.
And someone like that is now BVB head coach. What do you expect there?
And the coaches afterwards… I can remember how Lucien Favre put Roman Bürki, one of the worst Bundesliga kickers in all statistics, on the bench for years. Then there was Aki & Susi directly on the lid.
On the other hand, failure at BVB has been systematically glossed over for almost two decades. By the way, that started with Kloppo too. (“A silver medal in the CL is great”). The 2021 or 2023 championships that were given away were nicely talked about by Aki with “We are the only ones who can challenge Bayern until the last matchday” – blah blah. However, this performance-sensitive environment is annoying for ambitious players. It’s not for nothing that those around us said “the cabin isn’t unhappy that Bellingham is leaving”. Bellingham is a champion and has resented defeats and draws. That annoyed the fair-weather players in the squad and caused trouble.
Other management mistakes are the injury problems that have been going on for years. I can’t say whether it’s the training, whether it’s the medical staff or the water in the shower. Haaland was e.g. B. was constantly injured at BVB, even Pep couldn’t resist taking a swipe at BVB. (“I don’t know what they did with Haaland at BVB”). Compared to other clubs, the downtime due to injuries is terrible at BVB.
And the transfer policy is a complete disaster. BVB was very good at discovering talent, promoting it and developing it into world-class players. But BVB was rather bad at buying experienced professionals. Be it players like Schürle once or players like Malen in the current squad – expensive, mediocre at best. Burning money. The millions for Haaland were burned for a Haller. Haaland mentality: monster. Haller mentality: The main thing is cool shoes and a good hairstyle. Missing a penalty in the decisive championship game? No problem, as long as your hairstyle fits. It was tragic that Haller became ill, I wish him to stay healthy. The fact that he passed the medical check at BVB three days before it became known that he had cancer speaks volumes about the quality of the medical department. Injury statistics say hello.
And all in all, this results in a mediocre team, with expensive players like Süle, Sabitzer, Malen, Haller (even if they were just unsuccessfully loaned out) – who cost a lot and do nothing. The great talents are no longer available. And so you are where you belong in the squad: cup exit in round 2 and midfield in the Bundesliga table.
In the 2021 cup final, five to six world-class players were on the pitch: world champion Hummels, legend Piszczek, Sancho in the Prime, today’s Real Star Bellingham, today’s ManCity stars Akanji and Haaland. This was a team that was competitive.
However, the millions for Bellingham, Akanji, Haaland & Co. were only used to buy very expensive mediocre players like Haller, Sabitzer, Nemcha, Can etc. or finance them like Süle.
Apart from Kobel, there is no player in the BVB squad who would play in the first 11 at Bayern or Leverkusen. The squad has systematically deteriorated.
If BVB isn’t careful and urgently changes course, in 10 years they will be closer to HSV and Schlake than to Bayern and RedBull Leipzig.
You mention a lot of the right things, but sometimes you exaggerate them too much.
Regarding Klopp’s statement: You also have to put into perspective where BVB came from, namely from (almost?) bankruptcy. Getting from there to the CL final in less than 10 years is certainly commendable, even if it’s always extremely annoying, no matter where, when you lose a final, but that’s why you can’t have the whole performance beforehand, which wasn’t expected , forget.
I would like to shed light on the statement about “Bellingham is a champion” from another perspective: Bellingham is a player who cannot lose at all and, if it does happen, at least at BVB he has a tendency to look like a little one child is offended. That no longer has anything to do with a good mentality, but rather just brings down the mood in the team.
I agree with you about the criticism of the transfer policy, but I think the example of painting is completely wrong. He was signed at 22 and has clear potential for improvement. I would attribute the fact that his performance fluctuates over the long term less to him and more to a problem of transfer policy that you haven’t mentioned yet.
FOR YEARS they have signed strikers who worked in double-striker systems (Malen at PSV, Adeyemi at RBS, Füllkrug at Werder, Haller at SGE, Beier at TSG), but NEVER let this system play. The fact that the players are then (partially) unable to exploit their strengths is simply logical, as they are used in a system that does not allow them to be showcased so well.
In my opinion, BVB is definitely not a mediocre team when it comes to the Bundesliga. Players like Sabitzer, Malen, Adeyemi, Süle and Schlotterbeck have already shown that in the right system they can definitely belong to the elite of the Bundesliga, but they can make it in Dortmund not to get the players to perform at this level, be it due to injury or other reasons, that brings us back to the things you already mentioned.
But if you were referring to the CL, I agree with you that it is not (much) more than middle class.
About the 21 cup final: Piszcek wasn’t world-class back then, despite all the love, Akanji was always highly controversial at BVB and under Pep has simply taken huge steps to be at this level now.
And let’s wait for the second half of the season, I can well imagine that a Schlotterbeck would be in the first eleven at Bayern, as a certain player there tends to have a worse phase (even if I wish he did). this year will be different).
However, I think your final sentence is a lot of nonsense, because before BVB is relegated to the 2nd league, Schalke first goes to the 3rd (I’m sorry dear Schalke, I just couldn’t resist saying that, please take it with humor)