BVB fired former fan favourite Nuri Sahin after Tuesday's Champions League loss to Bologna, but their issues go far beyond the dugout
Vincenzo Italiano's Bologna were officially knocked out of the Champions League on Tuesday, and yet when he appeared on after his team's 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund, he was applauded by esteemed pundits such as Fabio Capello and Zvonimir Boban.
"We are eliminated but it feels like we won a quarter-final or a semi-final!" a visibly ecstatic Italiano claimed. "These lads wanted this win at all costs and I'm so happy it's beyond words. It's a dream come true."
For Nuri Sahin, though, it was a nightmare. His side hadn't been eliminated, but they had been humiliated, last season's runners-up not just beaten but outplayed and outfought by a team that had never previously won a game in the tournament.
Given Dortmund had gone into the game at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara on the back of three consecutive Bundesliga defeats, everyone knew what was coming next – and Sahin was subsequently sacked as BVB boss shortly after returning to the team's hotel in Bologna.
So, what on earth has gone wrong for Dortmund since very nearly upsetting Real Madrid at Wembley just over six months ago? And will the German giants' problems suddenly be solved by a change of coach?
'Nuri knows the club'
Dortmund's remarkable run to the Champions League final played a major part in Sahin's appointment. The former BVB midfielder had returned to the club in December 2023 alongside former team-mate Sven Bender to become part of Edin Terzic's coaching staff and made a positive impact at Signal Iduna Park.
Consequently, when Terzic decided to step down last summer, explaining he had taken the club as far as he could, he backed the decision to select Sahin as his successor.
Dortmund sporting director Lars Ricken also felt that the former academy graduate was the logical choice to take over, with Bender almost inevitably installed as his No.2. "Nuri knows the club and its DNA," the ex-BVB winger said, "both from his time as a player and from his time as an assistant coach."
However, externally, there was some scrutiny of Sahin's credentials, given his only previous experience in the role of a head coach had come during a two-year spell at Turkish outfit Antalyaspor. Sadly, the fear that the job had come too soon for Sahin proved well-founded.
AdvertisementAFPTopsy-turvy team
Although Dortmund made a positive start to both their Bundesliga and Champions League campaigns, the team's lack of cohesion and consistency quickly became causes for concern. Encouraging victories throughout Sahin's first few months in charge were often followed by dreadful defeats, and Dortmund just couldn't seem to put anything resembling a decent run of form together.
In fact, they often struggled to play well for an entire game, proving worryingly prone to costly lapses in concentration and seemingly incapable of responding to setbacks.
Getty Images SportDreadful defence
There were some mitigating factors, such as an injury crisis in defence and the loss of Karim Adeyemi to a muscular problem after scoring a hat-trick in an impressive 7-1 rout of Celtic in the Champions League. However, Sahin was also accused of making too many tactical and personnel changes from game to game – which many critics believed was the cause of the team's inconsistency.
Ultimately, though, he was undone by his inability to address Dortmund's defensive deficiencies, with BVB managing to keep just one clean sheet in the Bundesliga since August 31.
Getty Images Sport'We need victories'
The faint hope was that the winter break might spark an upturn in form, as it offered Sahin a chance to shore up his side's backline. However, for the first time in the club's history, Dortmund lost their first three games of a calendar year, conceding nine times in the process.
It was at that point that it was clear that the club's faith in one of the finest players of the Jurgen Klopp era was wavering. After Friday's 2-0 loss at Eintracht Frankurt, Ricken admitted that while Sahin would remain in charge for the Champions League trip to Bologna, it would be "with the clear expectation that we need victories".
