Dortmund in crisis
Sahin counts BVB star: “Jule is one of these players”
January 16, 2025 – 4:27 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
After the embarrassment in Kiel, BVB is under a lot of pressure in Frankfurt on Friday. The tone towards the professionals is also becoming sharper on the part of the coach.
Will Nuri Şahin still get things going with his moody star ensemble at BVB or not? In any case, the coach of Borussia Dortmund is working intensively to get the club back on track after the embarrassing 2:4 at newly promoted Kiel. The 36-year-old relies on open conversations. However, time to solve fundamental problems is short.
The debacle in Kiel kept Şahin very busy, but he remains optimistic before the important game at Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday evening (from 8:30 p.m. in the t-online live ticker). “I know that the boys will be there tomorrow. I know that we will show a reaction,” emphasized Şahin. A flu epidemic that recently put many players out of action has been overcome. With the exception of central defender Niklas Süle, all players are available to him.
Despite the return of numerous players, the question of leadership remains unresolved. Experienced players like Julian Brandt, Marcel Sabitzer and captain Emre Can have not been able to drive the team decisively recently. Şahin expects these players to take responsibility, especially in difficult moments. He now demanded this publicly. “In games like in Kiel, I want to see that they take control,” he explained. The coach sees Brandt in particular as having a duty: “It’s clear that Jule is one of these players. He wants to get involved.”
Şahin reported that the team had been very self-critical about the defeat in Kiel. The coaching team has completed the analysis and now it’s time to focus on the upcoming tasks. “It has to continue for me and my team,” emphasized the coach.
After a disappointing first half of the season, the club’s worst in a decade, the pressure on Şahin is growing. Although he enjoys the support of those in charge, if he suffers another defeat, the air could become tight for him. A first prominent name as a possible successor was already floating around the boulevard after the Kiel game.
A change of coach would be a bitter setback for managing director Lars Ricken and the BVB bosses, because Şahin is supposed to develop the team further in the long term. However, the coach must at least achieve Champions League qualification. Before the start of the second half of the season, Dortmund is already five points behind fourth place.
Eintracht Frankfurt is an opponent waiting on Friday who is eight points ahead of BVB in the table. Of all places, BVB has to improve its weak away record against Eintracht, who are strong at home and whom Şahin describes as their “top opponents”. In the current Bundesliga season, Dortmund have only managed one win away from home. Nevertheless, Şahin hopes that the game against the Hessians will be the turning point: “Maybe that is exactly the opponent we need to make up for what we have achieved.”
More than ever, it depends on his supposed leading players.