Borussia Dortmund have a rich history in German football. However, they had slipped away from the top of the Bundesliga table when Jurgen Klopp took the reins in May 2008. Although, it didn’t take long for the German maestro to turn the club’s fortunes around, guiding them to the Bundesliga title within three seasons, and claimed it again a year later.
Dortmund’s consecutive titles broke a spell of Bayern Munich dominance, in which they had won five Bundesliga titles in just eight seasons, and duly earned the Black and Yellows the title of ‘Germany’s second best team’.
However, after finishing in second place in three of the last four years since they claimed the 2011/12 trophy, Borussia Dortmund have lost their place this season, with newly promoted side RB Leipzig challenging Bayern for the crown. Although, Dortmund haven’t just fallen into third place - they are currently ranked sixth, with Hertha Berlin, Eintracht Frankfurt and Hoffenheim all placed ahead of them.
The struggling side still have plenty of time to turn things around, and now have the winter break to regroup ahead of a tough second half of the season which kicks off against Werder Bremen on January 21st.
However, while most would tip Dortmund to bounce back before the Bundesliga comes to a close in May, this season has offered plenty of signs that Dortmund will struggle to be a major challenger for the title.
The club have coped well against the smaller sides, produced a number of convincing victories that we have all come to expect from the Black and Yellows, such as a 6-0 thrashing of Darmstadt and 5-2 victory over Hamburger SV. Yet, it is against sides in the top half of the table where Thomas Tuchel’s side have come unstuck.
Despite beating Bayern Munich back in November, they have suffered defeat to RB Leipzig and failed to overcome the likes of Hertha Berlin, Frankfurt, FC Koln and Hoffenheim. These games often prove to be worth much more than three points at the end of the season and, so far, Dortmund have shown themselves to be undeserving of a place above the five teams that sit above them.
Tuchel is likely to dip into the transfer market in an attempt to solve the issue, yet it remains to be seen exactly how he plans to plug the hole.
While Dortmund should be happy with their recent success, it is the high profile that they have earned over the last decade which has ultimately cost them their place as Germany’s second best club, as heavyweight sides such as Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Manchester City continue to pursue their star players.
The club are clearly suffering the results of yet more big losses in the summer, in which key players Mats Hummels, Ilkay Gundogan and Henrikh Mkhitaryan all departed, which appear to have hit them harder than they predicted, as they have struggled to attract players of a similar quality.
Raids on the club are unlikely to stop any time soon, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus the latest star players to be linked with moves away from the club - two players that will once again prove to be almost impossible to replace. As Tuchel’s squad continues to get picked apart, their title rivals have the chance to pull further ahead.
Dortmund have sat back and allowed their squad to be torn apart over the last five years, all while failing to bring in like-for-like replacements. The rebuilding process is an urgent matter for Dortmund and they have attracted many young and very talented players.