The Champions League appearance at FC Bologna on Tuesday (9:00 p.m.) will be a job “final” for Borussia Dortmund coach Nuri Sahin – that much seems clear. But BVB sports director Sebastian Kehl may also have to worry about his position.
According to the club-affiliated “Ruhr Nachrichten”, internal and external criticism of the 44-year-old’s work has recently increased. Apparently a “hard cut”, i.e. a double separation of Nuri Sahin and Sebastian Kehl, cannot be ruled out.
The decision is made by sports director Lars Ricken. The 1997 Champions League hero has only been in office since last May. His name is currently not as strongly associated with BVB’s current crisis as those of Sahin and Kehl. So Ricken’s job should be safe.
This apparently applies to Kehl, who is primarily accused of poor transfer policy, and even more so to Sahin, not at all: The 36-year-old urgently needs a (as convincing as possible) win in Bologna and probably also in the home game against Werder Bremen a Bundesliga trend reversal, otherwise his days as the black and yellow coach will be numbered.
BVB: “Clear expectations” for Nuri Sahin
“It is his and our responsibility that we have to get the best out of Borussia. Nuri will sit on the bench in Bologna with the clear expectation that we now need victories and a sense of achievement,” said Ricken after the 2-0 defeat Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday on “DAZN”.
Sahin himself is also aware of the situation. His “personal well-being” was “of secondary importance” in the unfortunate situation, he emphasized.
Regarding a possible “final” in Bologna, the BVB coach said: “I also know how the game and how business works. The arguments that a coach and a team can provide are always on the pitch. The truth is on the pitch – and we have to deliver.”