Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund meet again in the Champions League. Just four and a half months after the battle in last season’s finale. Dortmund are not the traditional Champions League favorites and no one expected to see the German team at Wembley in June. This season, as always, less attention is paid to Dortmund than to Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or other big European clubs. How has the sensational finalist changed in recent months? Why not among the leaders of the Bundesliga? We tell you about it in our material.
In fact, Dortmund has changed too much for a Champions League finalist. Edin Terzic no longer manages the team. Dortmund are missing defenders Mats Hummels and Jan Matsen, midfielder Jadon Sancho, forwards Niklas Füllkrug, Sebastien Aller and, of course, Marco Reus, who played against Real Madrid. Defender Marius Wolf, midfielder Salih Ozcan and striker Yussuf Moukoko, who were on the bench in the final, also left.
The resignation of Terzic, who, among other things, had also been a Dortmund fan since childhood, seemed very strange from the outside. Borussia had two good seasons under his direction. In 2023 he had Bundesliga gold in his hands, but in the last round he gave the trophy in spectacular fashion to Bayern. Last season the results in the German championship worsened, however, the black and yellow solved the problem of qualifying for the Champions League, finishing in the top 5 of the Bundesliga, and were one step away from the title of best team in Europe . .
Edin Terzic
Photo: Getty Images
Terzic’s contract was simply not renewed. Edin said after his departure that Dortmund needed to restart with someone else. But in this story there remains a feeling of not having been told. Fatigue did not prevent the coach from talking about a new contract. Terzich also has the most suitable age for active work: 41 years old. Apparently, the reason is solely due to problems in relations with management. German media wrote that Edin was dissatisfied with the way his work was evaluated.
In just a few months of hiatus, Terzic was once again full of strength to face a new challenge. He is currently in the shortlists of Milan and Manchester United. Negotiations carried out with Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
“I’m ready for the next chapter of my career,” Terzic tells Coaches Voice. “I thought and prepared myself, I thought about the good things of the past and what I don’t want to repeat. I don’t know where or when the next chapter will start, but I want to be prepared. I am a young coach, but in my three seasons as a coach I have managed to compete for trophies every season. Luckily, in my first season I won one: the German Cup.”
Terzic’s place at Borussia was taken by former midfielder Nuri Sahin, 36 years old. His coaching experience is limited to a couple of seasons at Antalyaspor. In January 2024, Shahin was brought to Dortmund as a possible replacement for Edin, for the role of his assistant. If Terzic had stayed, Nuri could have returned to Türkiye and taken charge of Besiktas. However, already in June the Turkish option became irrelevant.
Borussia legend Marco Reus played less than he would have liked last season under Terzic and a crack appeared in his relationship with the coach. At 35 years old and after a million injuries, Marco, of course, was no longer the same as his prime. Even before Terzic left, it became known that Royce’s contract would not be renewed. He reached an agreement with the Los Angeles Galaxy and went to the MLS, where, by the way, he is recovering from the injury.
Let’s remember how Real Madrid defined Borussia Dortmund at Wembley:
It’s a shame for Borussia. Real Madrid wins the Champions League
Hummels, at 35 years old, also collided with Terzic. It was reported that Mats will remain at Borussia and will renew his contract only if the coach resigns. As a result, they both left Dortmund. Already as a free agent, the defender moved to Roma. There were also those in the management of the German club who doubted Hummels’ ability to continue playing at a high level.
Borussia, as stated, simply did not have enough money for Matsen and Sancho to buy the players rented from Chelsea and Manchester United, respectively. For the Dutch defender we would have to pay around 45 million euros, and for the English winger: at least 30 million euros went to Aston Villa in the summer window, and Sancho was rented to Chelsea with a mandatory purchase option.
Borussia changed the entire offensive line for several reasons. Mukoko, touted for his youth, and Aller, who beat cancer, were disappointed with their performance last season and were sent out on loan. The “future top star” was protected by Nice and the Ivorian moved to Leganés. At the same time, the center forward of the German team, Füllkrug, was the victim of Dortmund’s new transfer to the attack. The club signed last season’s second top scorer, Sera Guirassi, from Stuttgart, for 18 million euros. Füllkrug did not want to sit down with the Guinean: Borussia agreed to let the forward go to West Ham for 27 million euros.
Seru Guirassi
Photo: Maja Hitij/Getty Images
It is curious that Guirassi, taking into account the termination option specified in his contract with Stuttgart, did not become the most expensive newcomer to Borussia. For both, the Dortmund club paid more: Hoffenheim forward Maximilian Bayer was bought for 28.5 million euros, and Stuttgart central defender Waldemar Anton for 22.5 million euros. Furthermore, Brighton centre-back Pascal Gros cost the Champions League finalist €7 million.
Dortmund also did not abandon the policy of attracting young talents from the best European clubs on loan. Dortmund signed Manchester City right-back Yann Couto, who rocked Girona last season. However, it is more appropriate to use the word “rented” in quotes in this transaction. Already in October, Couto’s purchase option was activated for 30 million euros. They still found money for the Brazilian. By the way, according to Bild, Couto’s transfer is one of the reasons for the conflict between Borussia’s new technical director Sven Mislintat and sporting director Sebastian Kehl. Mislintat and Shahin had problems. Nuri was not happy with the interference in the training process.
Nuri Sahin
Photo: Maja Hitij/Getty Images
Under Shahin, Borussia got off to a good start: in the Bundesliga they beat Eintracht (2-0, home) and Heidenheim (4-2, home), and tied with Werder (0-0, away). In the Champions League they beat Brugge (3-0, away from home). But then it ended in the German championship against Stuttgart (1-5, away). The failure seemed accidental after the next two victories over Bochum (4-2, home) in the Bundesliga and Celtic (7-1, home) in the Champions League. However, then Borussia was defeated again in the German championship against Unión (1-2, away). Next up was a nervous victory over St. Pauli (2-1, at home). It turns out that this season, with the new coach, the team performs more successfully in the Champions League, where it leads after two rounds, than in the Bundesliga.
Shahin is believed to play complex football, which not all Borussia players understand yet. His team entered the October international break ranked ninth in the league in shots on goal (13.0 per game) and sixth in shots on goal (4.6). Dortmund was fifth in shots allowed on goal (10.3), as well as shots allowed on goal (4.0). In terms of ball possession, Borussia shares third place with Bayer (61%). Shahin’s team remains one of only four to have never scored from set pieces, not counting penalties.
borussia players
Photo: Jürgen Fromme/Getty Images
After the defeat in Stuttgart, Nouri spoke about Dortmund’s problems: “We lacked basic things, that’s why what happened happened. We played badly from the first to the last minute. Before the game we were in good shape and moving. But our way of playing has nothing to do with physical fatigue. You can make up a million excuses, but none of them will be appropriate. A very weak game, Borussia has no right to play like that. “I wouldn’t want to see something like this again.”
According to Sport.es, Shahin introduced a strict system of fines. For example, for every minute of delay in training and recovery procedures, players must pay €100. For wearing inappropriate clothing and being overweight, the fine is €250. Apparently, this is the reason why Nicolas Süle, who gained weight last season, lost more than 10 kg during the summer to stay at Borussia. By the way, there are now sanctions even for refusing to interact with your fans: if you don’t give an autograph, you’re fined €2,000, if you don’t sign a shirt, you’re fined another €500.
It should be noted that Borussia’s base was made up of newcomers Anton and Gros, who play like a glove for the German national team. And Guirassi is Dortmund’s top scorer at the start of the season. He missed the first two rounds of the Bundesliga due to injury, but then made his successful debut for the team. In the first seven games he scored seven goals: four in the German championship and three in the Champions League. Seru will be the main threat to Real Madrid’s goal (especially in the absence of the injured Karim Adeyemi) in the new meeting of the Champions League finalists at the Santiago Bernabéu.
