The storm clouds are gathering over Signal Iduna Park as Borussia Dortmund find themselves in the midst of a full-blown crisis. After a shock 2-1 loss to Bologna in the Champions League on Tuesday, the club’s fourth straight defeat across all competitions, embattled coach Nuri Sahin admitted he is open to stepping down if he is deemed the root of the team’s woes.
Sahin: “If I am the problem…so be it”
Speaking at the post-match press conference, the 34-year-old Sahin, himself a Dortmund legend who rose from ball boy to star player to now coach, struck a reflective tone as he shouldered responsibility for the team’s abysmal run of form.
“This is not about me. If I am the problem, if a coach change would solve all problems, so be it. We have to deliver and the fact is we have now lost four matches in a row.”
– Nuri Sahin, Borussia Dortmund Head Coach
With the loss, Dortmund slumped to a lowly 13th place in the Bundesliga table with just one match remaining. Sahin admitted that even a draw would have been a crucial lifeline in their pursuit of a top eight finish and automatic qualification for the Champions League Round of 16.
Passive performance punished
Dortmund started brightly and took a 1-0 lead into halftime. But a curiously passive second half display allowed Bologna, who had scored just once in their previous six Champions League matches, to mount an unlikely comeback with two goals in two minutes.
“The plan was definitely not to play passively…We had a solid first half, but eased off after the break and paid the price.”
– Nuri Sahin
Crisis talks imminent
Sahin revealed he has yet to speak with managing director Lars Ricken in the immediate aftermath of the Bologna debacle, but expects to sit down with club bosses on Wednesday to discuss the path forward as Dortmund stare down the barrel of a disastrous season.
“The game is too fresh. It is clear we have to win games but now have lost four in a row. We will see.”
– Nuri Sahin on impending talks with Dortmund management
Ricken, for his part, was non-committal when pressed on whether Sahin still has the backing of the board, ominously stating: “We need wins. We need results. Now we’ve only won once in nine matches.”
From ball boy to embattled boss
Sahin’s Dortmund roots run deep. He famously started out as a ball boy for his hometown club before becoming the youngest player to appear in the Bundesliga at age 16. After a storied playing career, he returned last season as assistant to Edin Terzić, helping guide the team to the Champions League final.
Promoted to the top job this season after Terzić’s departure, Sahin now faces the very real prospect that his first head coaching stint at his boyhood club could come to a depressingly premature end should the crisis talks not go his way.
The trust in the dressing room
Though the knives appear to be out in the BVB boardroom, Sahin remained adamant that he still has the faith of his players despite overseeing a historically poor run of results.
“I would not stay a second longer if the team did not trust me. It is a fact that I would not stay a second longer if I felt the team was not behind me.”
– Nuri Sahin on his relationship with the Dortmund squad
That belief will surely be put to the ultimate test in the coming days as Dortmund, a club perpetually in the hunt for Bundesliga and Champions League glory, face the very real prospect of a lost season and a new man at the helm.
The Sahin era, which began with such promise mere months ago, could now be hurtling towards a swift, unceremonious conclusion. For Dortmund fans, the hope will be that any decision is the right one to get this proud club back on track.
