Es hätte einige gute Gründe gegeben, um mit dieser mäßigen Leistung von Borussia Dortmund nachsichtig zu sein. Der Champions-League-Finalist hat einen neuen Trainer, ein neues Spielsystem und dazu noch ein stark verändertes neues Team. Da kann ein 0:0 bei Werder Bremen am zweiten Spieltag der neuen Bundesliga-Saison schon mal passieren.
Allein: Es war der neue Dortmunder Trainer Nuri Sahin, der am Samstag nach dem Spiel keinen einzigen dieser Gründe gelten ließ. „Das ist ein Prozess, klar. Aber bei Borussia Dortmund muss dieser Prozess schneller gehen. Für uns ist dieser Punkt heute natürlich viel zu wenig“, sagte er. „Als Borussia Dortmund müssen wir anders auftreten, auch wenn die Mannschaft Veränderungen hatte und einen neuen Trainer hat.“
„Wichtig, Spiele zu gewinnen“
Dass nach dem Totalumbau des Sommers vieles in Dortmund erst zusammenfinden muss, war diesmal deutlicher zu sehen, als noch beim erfolgreichen Saisonstart gegen Eintracht Frankfurt (2:0) oder der Pflichtaufgabe im DFB-Pokal gegen Phönix Lübeck (4:1).
Mutige Bremer setzten dem BVB vor 42.100 Zuschauern ordentlich zu. Am Anfang stellte Sahin sein 3-4-3-System schon früh auf eine 4-2-3-1-Formation um. Und am Ende spielten die Dortmunder sogar in Unterzahl, weil Nationalspieler Nico Schlotterbeck nach einem Foul an Justin Njinmah in der 73. Minute Gelb-Rot sah.
“For us, every game is a development,” said Sahin about the big change. “It’s only in this process that it’s important to win games. That speeds up the process.”
The 35-year-old himself, as the successor to Edin Terzic, is only part of the change at all levels. Together with sporting director Sebastian Kehl, the new sports director Lars Ricken and the new squad planner Sven Mislintat, Sahin completed transfers worth around 80 million euros this summer.
“Brutality of business”
Maximilian Beier made his debut in the starting eleven in Bremen. Two of the five new signings, striker Serhou Guirassy and defender Yan Couto, were not even there. The major changes continued even after BVB had already arrived in Bremen on the evening before the game.
Striker Sébastien Haller was the tenth player to leave the team this season, being loaned out to Spanish club CD Leganés directly from the team hotel. “That’s the brutality of the business,” Sahin told broadcaster Sky. “He gets on the bus with us to Bremen and then later that evening he’s gone.”
But even after this experience, the coach still said: “The transfer market has its own rules. But that shouldn’t stop us from winning our games. It would be a very cheap excuse to say that it was because of the transfer period.”
Squad too thin?
At least: The day after the transfer window ended, those responsible at BVB were very satisfied with their squad planning. Even if there was a suspicion in Bremen that Borussia might have sold a few too many players and is now too thinly staffed for a long season in the Bundesliga, the new Champions League format and the DFB Cup.
After just 52 minutes on Saturday, all four Dortmund defenders had received a yellow card. However, Sahin only had one defender left on the bench, whom he was able to substitute as a precaution.
Sports director Kehl sees this point, but defended the decisions of the sports management. “Part of the squad planning this year was to slim down the squad a little and fill it with young players who are hungry and who we want to give playing time to,” he said. “That’s why we are very reliable, because the squad offers many options and also has a few versatile players.” In other words, professionals who can play different positions.
Kehl was the one who was much more forgiving of Dortmund’s performance in Bremen than his coach. But he also said at the end: “We didn’t play well today. So we didn’t deserve more today.”
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