There has long since been an issue in the Bundesliga for seventeen teams, and it is the existence of Bayern Munich.
Bayern have dominated the league for a decade now and even when the challengers can produce something special, it’s never enough.
Borussia Dortmund are often the closest contenders and they are far from their usual special selves as they endure plenty of struggles. Whether it be under Lucien Favre, Edin Terzic or now, Marco Rose, they have been painfully inconsistent in recent years. What is going wrong with Dortmund?
Troublesome Times for Borussia Dortmund
Recent Results
In truth, we could be here a while if we want to get to the bottom of every single one of the issues at the Signal Iduna Park.
A lack of consistency must be the most frustrating factor for Borussia Dortmund fans over the last few years. As previously mentioned, the highs can be oh so exciting whilst the lows are dowsed in despair. Under the stewardship of Marco Rose, they have flattered to deceive, dropping out of their Champions League group before then exiting the Europa League too. Rangers beat them 4-2 in their own backyard, the pair then playing out a 2-2 draw at Ibrox.
You'll never forget this night, Rangers! 💙❤️
Ibrox is absolutely bouncing as Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side defeat Borussia Dortmund.
✨ For there's not a team like the Glasgow Rangers…#UEL pic.twitter.com/vkHuTUkwId
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 24, 2022
On a domestic front, it has been as rocky a road as we should be used to by know. They currently occupy second and are eight points behind Nagelsmann’s Bayern which is all well and good. Putting together a run of good performances and results seems out of the question though, with one weekend being completely incomparable to the next.
They beat Frankfurt, Freiburg and Hoffenheim in January, scoring eleven in the process, before then conceding five to Leverkusen. In between the two legs against the Scottish champions, they smashed Borussia Monchengladbach on home turf by six goals-to nil. Marco Reus scored either side of the break with Donyell Malen, Marius Wolf, Youssoufa Moukoko and Emre Can also finding the back of the net. Last time out, they visited a struggling Augsburg whose fight and passion shone through; substitute Noah Sarenren Bazee cancelling out Thorgan Hazard’s solo effort.
Players Come and Go
The pull of the Bavarian giants Bayern as well as other members of Europe’s elite has long since been a struggle for Borussia Dortmund. Mats Hummels, Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski have all switched Dortmund for Bayern, the former two returning after a while. Elsewhere, Achraf Hakimi chose Inter Milan over the Black and Yellows plus Jadon Sancho recently left for Man United.
Jude Bellingham, what a player. ✨
— Jadon Sancho (@Sanchooo10) February 24, 2022
Erling Haaland is the next name on this list as the crème de la crème of European strikers has every big club on red alert. Man City have familial links to the Norwegian forward and so they may well be leading the race for his signature. Real Madrid are also said to be interested- although them snatching Kylian Mbappe and Haaland out from under the noses of the rest of Europe’s elite would be quite a coup.
On top of the inability to hold on to their prized assets, injuries are wreaking havoc for Rose at the moment. Axel Witsel suffered a horrible ACL injury last term and Haaland has been sidelined a number of times this season for example. Hummels and other members of the defensive cohort have struggled with knocks of their own and this had led to mass frailties at the back, even when considering the impact that goalkeeper Gregor Kobel has had since arriving from Stuttgart in the summer.
Marco Rose defends Jude Bellingham:
"Where Jude comes from, you might communicate a bit harder in English. That's part of it. Jude wants to win games, he's angry – and that's what makes him and what we actually need more of."#BVB https://t.co/D8pTQXhjPk
— BVB Newsblog (@bvbnewsblog) February 28, 2022
Haaland’s departure isn’t the only inevitable struggle for the Borussia Dortmund hierarchy with English teenager Jude Bellingham continuing to go from strength-to-strength. He may be in the early stages of his career in Germany, but Bellingham is already one of the most elite midfielders on the planet and him playing in the Europa League is somewhat of a waste. It is becoming all the more likely that he will move to pastures new. When you combine this two major departures with the ageing out of key figures such as Reus, Can, Witsel and Hummels, Dortmund are left in quite a predicament as they need to regenerate to keep pace.
There have been rumours that the club are closely monitoring the progress of young Salzburg forward Karim Adeyemi as he continues to deliver on the goals front both domestically and on the continent. The aforementioned Malen was only recently brought into but tasking the likes of him, Julian Brandt and Thorgan Hazard with matching the output of Reus and Haaland is a difficult task indeed.
Dortmund will fetch eye-watering fees for Haaland and Bellingham when they do eventually make that next step up. What they do with this money is imperative. In fairness, the club have tended to be very frugal and savvy when it comes to transfers and so it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that they are able to find the next best thing. Being a selling club which they sadly are more often than not comes with its struggles, and these are certainly at the fore for Borussia Dortmund right now. Without Haaland and Bellingham in the side, they are a very different team- a much tamer beast in fact.
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