Coach Marco Rose failed because of the squad and his own lack of ideas

First, there are the bare facts: Dortmund was kicked out in the Champions League group stage and then in the first knockout round of the Europa League. In the DFB-Pokal there was a defeat against second division club FC St. Pauli, in the Bundesliga most hopes of a title fight with Bayern Munich had already died after the 2-5 defeat against RB Leipzig in February. Of course, the failures of top striker Erling Haaland or the plight of injuries in defense can be used as arguments in favor of Rose.

But apart from the start of the season, BVB could never really convince in terms of play. Rose was always working on the basic formation – six different formations were used in the Bundesliga alone. However, the basic game philosophy remained blurred until the end. The pressing seemed too harmless, the build-up game too sluggish and stereotypical, the creation of scoring chances too focused on individual actions. A counter-argument in this respect would be the form of important key players. Whether Marco Reus, Julian Brandt or Raphaël Guerreiro – players who should actually be pillars of this team regularly went through troughs.

What speaks against Rose, however, is that he lacked a clear handwriting in his second season at Borussia Mönchengladbach, i.e. immediately before moving to BVB. The fact that this was repeated in his first year in Dortmund should not have increased confidence in the 45-year-old. Rose once came to the Bundesliga with an excellent certificate from Salzburg. He had led the Salzburg U19s to the Youth League title and was also able to impress with the first team. Rose stood for the pressing and switching-strong football of the Mozart city like no other.

Little of that is left now. BVB allowed more passes than in the previous season and was weaker in preventing the opponent from gaining space. If possession football is also very vulnerable, as demonstrated by Ajax in the Champions League and Rangers in the Europa League with their respective defensive styles, then the result is an uncomfortable mixture of mediocrity in terms of play, which does not do justice to BVB’s expensive squad.

Talking about the squad: although some players will leave Dortmund or be allowed to look for new employers, the separation from Rose will not necessarily improve the dynamics within the team. Now the blame obviously lies with the coach again and not with the players themselves. Even if Rose had his share in the mixed season, a mental change is also needed in the BVB team, coupled with hard training work on the tactical processes with and without the ball , so that more grip in the pressing and more security in the passing game return.

Whoever succeeds Rose will have to attempt some sort of soft fresh start. Otherwise, BVB stays where it is at the moment.