Borussia Dortmund sealed their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Sporting Lisbon but one man was notable by his absence. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was forced to watch the match from the Signal Iduna Park stands, as his team went on to defeat the Portuguese, in what was generally a poor game.
It was a surprise to see Aubameyang left off the team-sheet by Thomas Tuchel, as he is the club’s leading goal scorer this season, with 10 goals in 13 appearances and finished as top goal scorer last season,with 39 goals to his name, in all competitions. Therefore, it must have been a very tough decision for Tuchel to make, especially considering Dortmund needed to win the game, before heading to Spain, to play Real Madrid.
Speculation was rife as to the reason why Aubameyang was spotted sitting in the stands and not on the pitch. One report suggested the Gabon striker was caught using his phone during a team meeting and thus banned by the club for one game. However, it turned out he had flown to Italy on Monday, to attend a party at Hotel Villa Borghi. Aubameyang came through the youth ranks at AC Milan, so the occasion may have been linked to that in some way but he did not have permission to attend. Reports suggest this led to Tuchel reprimanding Aubameyang, in-front of his team mates, something which must have been embarrassing for all concerned.
It was an incredibly bold move by Tuchel to do this and not only because Aubameyang is the club’s top goal scorer. The prolific front man has been linked with a move away from the club for two years now, with the likes of Real Madrid thought to be circling. As a manager, you would not want to give your best striker any fuel for leaving the club, especially with teams like that showing an interest but Dortmund did exactly that, by dropping the player from a top European match, which was being beamed live across the globe.
It remains to be seen exactly how Aubameyang will react to being disciplined by the club. Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke, told German television Aubameyang will be back in the squad to face Hamburg on the weekend but will the player be all smiles and happy to accept his punishment and move on or will there be tension in the air, between the player, his manager and his team mates?
One thing is for sure, if Real Madrid or any other club in Europe needed a little encouragement to make a move for Aubameyang, they have just been given it. With the January transfer window approaching, club’s will be looking for any sing Aubameyang is feeling unsettled and could use it to their advantage, by making an offer.
Club discipline is very important but in this case, Dortmund could end up paying a very high price.