Football – BVB dismisses coach Şahin: The end of the nostalgia

There were apparently not much to discuss. Actually, the BVB managers wanted to have the 1-2 loss in the Champions League against the previously still winless Bologna. “We will go home tomorrow, then we will all sit down in peace (…) and discuss what the best for Borussia Dortmund,” said sports manager Lars Ricken after the next, frighteningly weak appearance of Borussia on Tuesday evening in the Stadio Renato Dall ‘ Era.

But this meeting was no longer needed. The separation from Nuri Şahin was already certain on Wednesday morning. After four defeats in a row since the restart from the winter break, the club icon was put at the door. The fairy tale of the little boy from Lüdenscheid, who moved to the Dortmund football boarding school as a twelve-year-old at the age of 16 in the BVB jersey to the youngest Bundesliga player in history, who became German champion in 2011 under Jürgen Klopp, and then after the end of the career on the coaching bench of the Westfalenstadions It is over – without a happy ending after almost exactly one year.

Inkonstance and inexplicable loss of performance

Şahin failed above all due to the inconsistence of his team, which was sometimes showing unexplained non -performance, as in the 1: 5 in Stuttgart, against Union Berlin and finally in the 2: 4 against Holstein Kiel. The appearance in Bologna on Tuesday also fit into the series of eerie guest appearances. Even a flattering penalty that BVB striker Serhou Guirassy just put over to Bologna’s goalkeeper in the 15th minute did not help the black and yellow to more self-confidence. Instead, sports director analyzed after the game: “After the 1-0, you noticed that there is already a certain uncertainty” – a phrase that normally has to serve after early residue. But the BVB is currently also unsettled by its own leadership.

Accordingly, the Dortmund made it easy for the Italians in the second half. Two long balls were enough to protect Borussen defense and turn the game in a very short time. Just 21 seconds passed, after the restart after the 1-1 equalizer in the 71st minute, the ball was already in the goal of keeper Gregor Kobel. In the end, the 1-2 defeat was still flattering for Bologna at a goal shot ratio of 17: 3. A fact that TV expert and BVB consultant Matthias Sammer made the verdict: “Unfortunately, this team cannot defend, but it cannot attack either.”

At the latest after this statement by the former BVB player and master coach of 2002, who is considered one of the closest confidants of club boss Hans-Joachim Watzke, Şahin’s fate was as good as it was. Everything had started so promising twelve months ago: In January 2024, the Borussia bosses Şahin initially installed a co-trainer. After a weak first half of the season, the sensational move into the Champions League final was even achieved under him and ex-coach Edin Terzić. After that, it was only consequently that the former midfield director was appointed the new head coach in the summer after Terzić’s mutually agreed departure.

Utopian task for a young trainer

Şahin’s order was as clear as it was utopian. After the departures of Mats Hummels and Marco Reus, the last remaining from more successful BVB days, he should be the new link between the club’s glorious past and the ambitious present-and he should further develop the rejuvenated Dortmund team, to dominant ball possession football. It is now clear that the squad is completely incorrectly put together for these requirements. Keeper Kobel is not a fellow goalkeeper. After many injuries, there is simply no personnel in the defense center and with the full -backs. And in midfield only national player Pascal feels comfortable with long balls.

This BVB squad would also have become difficult for an experienced trainer to silently bring the upheaval this season silently. For Şahin, who had only worked as a chief coach for two years before his commitment in Dortmund for two years with the Turkish first division club Antalyaspor, the task was simply too great at this time of his coaching career. The decision-makers of Borussia around sports director Sebastian Kehl, sports manager Ricken and Club boss Watzke should therefore ask themselves whether they gave the 36-year-old Turk a fair chance so that the fairy tale from the club icon can succeed on the sidelines.

The eternal dream of the Klopp feeling

In fact, the Dortmund executive floor still seems to be chasing the dream of being able to get the feeling of the Klopp years so successful-including the conviction that the right trainer (with a stable smell and/or Klopp connection) also a qualitatively inferior BVB team again can lead to titles. Because the Borussia squad has become weaker and weaker in recent years. World -class players like Erling Haaland or Jew Bellingham could still hide this. However, there is currently no footballer from this format in the Dortmund ranks.

Therefore, the next Borussia trainer should face the insoluble task of reconciling the longing for the years with the unpleasant truth that this team is not good enough in many places to play in the Bundesliga and Champions League. U19 coach Mike Tullberg will take over the home game against Werder Bremen next Saturday. After that, the Dortmund decision -makers have to prove whether they can free themselves from their own nostalgia or whether they succeed again as in 2008 in the obligation of a certain future world coach from FSV Mainz.