It’s a match Borussia Dortmund could have done without this weekend, given their current “crisis situation.” But then again, as most dramatic comeback stories go, maybe it’s the perfect time to travel to the Allianz to take on Bayern Munich.
After all, Dortmund have been winning this fixture since February 2010 in the league. The last time Bayern took 3 points from this match, a certain Louis Van Gaal was in charge, Mark Van Bommel was captain, Miroslav Klose was still getting them goals and Mats Hummels was just sold to Dortmund for 4.2 million Euros.
It has not been all doom and gloom for Bayern when it comes to this home fixture though. There was a 2012 German Super Cup win and another victory in the 2013 German Cup quarterfinals 6 months later. But circumstances are different this time around, leading into this much anticipated clash.
Recently the words “crisis,” “bad run,” “worst start,” and “individual mistakes” are being associated with Dortmund. Their football has “stopped making sense.” They have hit their “lowest point.” At the beginning of the season, there were questions over a possible 7-year itch for Klopp at the club. Now, after 6 consecutive league matches without a win and only 7 points collected from a possible 27, everything from the manager’s new system to his lineup is being questioned.
So, is the manager to be blamed for this blip? Maybe.
When a manager has spent more than 5 years at a club, there’s always the danger of over-staying his welcome at a club. Aside from Sir Alex Ferguson, not many managers across Europe’s top leagues can consistently reproduce a winning team 5 years straight. Arsene Wenger is the best example here. Pep Guardiola at Barcelona is another. In contrast to what Wenger achieved at Arsenal, Pep’s final season may have seen 4 more trophies added to the Barca trophy cabinet – the FIFA Club World Cup, the Copa Del Rey, the Spanish Super Cup and UEFA Super Cup – but he failed for the very first time to win La Liga with the Catalans. That was enough for him to decide he could no longer inspire his band of players and opt for a sabbatical year. Klopp’s silverware count from 7 years at the Westfalenstadion is 2 league titles, 2 Super Cups and a DFB Pokal trophy. Not a bad haul.
Injuries, low confidence, disunity and bad luck have all been cited as probable causes to Dortmund’s own domestic stupor. It must not be easy having several first team players pick up long term injuries one after another, only to have them all return at about the same time. Klopp has not been able to field the same back 4, midfield or forward line in more than 2 league matches successively. Is it any wonder the results reflect on this inconsistency? It’s not that he wants to tinker. He doesn’t have a choice.
Could it also be that everyone is over-reacting just a little? It isn’t even the halfway point of the German league season. There is a rather long way to go until matchday 34. A lot can happen in between. Other teams will experience poor form, injuries and even bad luck. It happens. And Dortmund will be able to capitalise on those moments a little later down the road. They have proven so in the past.
So, they might not be able to cruise to a league title win this year. It happens to teams-in-transition. Every season they’ve won the league, they have not lost more than 6 times. Back in 2009/10 Dortmund went through a somewhat similar streak – winless in 6, their 3 losses included a 5 – 1 rout at home to Bayern. But they came stomping back to finish in 5th place. A season earlier, they went on a 7-match winless run at the beginning of 2009, collecting only 5 points from a possible 21. They finished in 6th.
Perhaps Dortmund are actually planning to focus on winning their second European Cup instead, their first with Klopp?
It is bewildering how well the BVB are performing in Europe. Their record is unblemished so far, despite sharing a group with Arsenal, Galatasaray and Anderlecht. And they have yet to concede a single goal in that competition, compared to the 13 they have let in from the 9 Bundesliga matches already played. That form however, could be the saving grace for Klopp and the reason why there isn’t more noise questioning his position at the club. It definitely takes less for fans and the media to turn on the likes of Wenger each season for example, or even David Moyes when he was at Old Trafford. Just look at what Inter Milan’s Walter Mazzarri is going through right now.
Maybe Bayern will slip up?
Stranger things have happened. Dortmund may have some personnel to challenge Bayern but you have to feel a tad sorry for them too. They’ve had to rebuild almost every season after failing to pin down their prized assets. Not only does Klopp need the old stalwarts to warm up to the new boys, the other party needs to learn how to play the Dortmund way too. As it is, they’re still recovering from losing two of their prized assets in successive seasons – Robert Lewandowski and Mario Goetze. Clubs have rebounded more badly than Dortmund following the loss of one talisman, let alone two.
One tiny consolation out of all this, is perhaps how much more fervent the fans have been in throwing their support behind the team and its manager. Where else would you find a fan, sneaking into a press conference to read out a love letter personally to the manager, literally professing what’s been sung in the stands this past few weeks – “6 great years is not ruined by 6 bad games.” As for Bayern, they go into the weekend’s match following an incident with a pitch invader hitting Franck Ribery’s face with a scarf. Give me the former any day, whatever happens at the Allianz Arena this weekend.
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