This spring marks a decade since Borussia Dortmund last won the Bundesliga. The sun was shining as Jürgen Klopp made it back-to-back league titles in Westphalia, but the open-top bus parading the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Mario Götze and İlkay Gündoğan around the city was to be the last time they would taste success for five years, and served as Klopp’s last piece of silverware in Germany. Dortmund fans were blissfully unaware of this at the time, and if you’d told them that 12 months on, when they were preparing for their first Champions League final since 1997, they’d have said you were foolish.
Bayern Munich were the opponents that day — an all-German affair at Wembley for the 2013 final, and a team that would prove to be a persistent thorn in their side even now. While Dortmund had exceeded expectations in the two previous campaigns, Bayern had once again regained their relentless stranglehold on the league and were in search of a treble under Jupp Heynckes.
Despite Klopp’s best efforts, a late Arjen Robben goal broke black and yellow hearts as Dortmund were unable to overcome the odds stacked against them by even the best betting exchange.
Since then, Bayern have really established their authority on the Bundesliga. The short, but memorable Pep Guardiola era was one laden with silverware, and while the Spaniard couldn’t quite get over the line in Europe, he compensated for it with a domestic barrage, hoovering up and plundering any trophy in his path with a swashbuckling side built in his image and philosophy. Dortmund simply couldn’t compete and things weren’t helped when the Bavarians poached Lewandowski, Götze and star defender Mats Hummels for a combined £35 million.
There have been far too many false dawns at Dortmund since Klopp’s departure, and even with this promising band of players that have been in the works post-covid, Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland are the latest to leave the Signal Iduna Park, this time though commanding sizeable price tags which Marco Rose can use to compete. It’s looking like another second-place finish is on the cards, but Haaland’s move could well serve as a catalyst for a changing of the guard in Germany’s top flight.
Indeed, the Germans were as swift as they were proficient in replacing the Norwegian talisman. No quicker was Haaland being presented with his roses and fans reception than a new number nine was ready to arrive on the conveyor belt of attacking talent — this time, Karim Adeyemi. Like his predecessor, Adeyemi had been signed from RB Salzburg after impressing in both Austria and Europe, and for £35 million, he could well prove to be another bargain.
Then there’s the issue of defensive weaknesses. For too long now Dortmund have been a shell of their former selves at the back and as it looks like Bayern’s decision to resell Hummels back to the black and yellow looked like a stroke of genius from Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Dortmund have exacted a measure of revenge in prising Niklas Süle away from the Allianz Arena. The German is approaching the prime years of his career and having won the league every year, feels like an incongruous presence in a back line with a reputation for conceding cheap goals. The number four was ready for a new challenge, but chose to stay in Germany as opposed to joining Real Madrid or Chelsea.
Then there’s Nico Schlotterbeck. The Freiburg centre-back, who joins next summer for £25 million, could well form a formidable partnership with Süle in a revamped defence. It’s clear Rose is using the Haaland money to restructure the spine of the team, and coupled with the blend of experience and youthful exuberance that forms from the dichotomy between the likes of Raphaël Guerreiro and Marco Reus to Jude Bellingham and Giovanni Reyna, Dortmund finally look like they have a team worthy of matching Julian Nagelsmann for next season.
Dortmund can’t spend another year treading water. They must sense this is the perfect time to mount a title charge on a Bayern side that simply must start to become complacent. Only time will tell if the side have the mentality to get over the line.
Robert Griffith is a content and essay writer. He is collaborating with local magazines and newspapers. Robert is interested in topics such as marketing and history.