Opinion: Is Hans Joachim Watzke at fault for Borussia Dortmund’s woes?
Borussia Dortmund have finally parted ways with Peter Bosz after a disastrous spell at the Westfalenstadion. But is Hans Joachim Watzke responsible for BVB’s woes?
The problems began back in the second season of the Thomas Tuchel era at Borussia Dortmund. The Black and Yellows were in a rebuilding phase, bringing in heaps of talent from all over Europe which gave them much more to look forward to in the future. When Tuchel took over, they adapted brilliantly to his tactics which included possession-based football with an attacking mentality. Not only were they very successful but were also a joy to watch. With a team that was playing incredibly well with a lot of potential, where did it all go wrong?
One of the reasons why Tuchel left Dortmund was because of a “toxic relationship” between him and the board. Tuchel and the board did not see eye to eye with everything and had their fair share of disagreements. For example, young talent Alexander Isak joined Borussia Dortmund without the approval of Tuchel. And then Tuchel wanted to bring Leverkusen defender Omer Toprak in but that move didn’t seem to happen, and that was when the problems began.
Despite all these problems, Tuchel was still able to bring Dortmund their first piece of silverware in five long years. The DFB Pokal victory against Frankfurt should have been enough to let the pair both come to terms with themselves and let bygones be bygones. But a couple of days later Tuchel was sacked and Dortmund’s rebuild process had gone with him. Was Watzke’s ego too high for an apology for the two and let the club continue with its ways?
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Watzke let go of Dortmund’s chief scout who bought in players such as Robert Lewandowski, Ousmane Dembele, and Christian Pulisic to Premier League side Arsenal. Lucien Favre was a viable replacement but it was Peter Bosz who eventually replaced Tuchel. Bosz on paper was a great option to replace Tuchel because he also uses talents and an attacking mentality all of which Dortmund possessed. There was hope for the Black and Yellows.
But in the pre-season, it was evident that Dortmund’s defence was clearly struggling but Bosz addressed the situation and his start to the season was magnificent. They had won their first seven games and their defence was looking rock solid. But in their opening game in the Champions League, Tottenham exposed their defence and countered their attacking mentality.
Bosz was finally sacked after Dortmund only managed one win in thirteen games and that too against third division side Magdeburg. Watzke should have acted earlier as Dortmund salvaged a Europa League spot with the skin of their teeth. They went from first in the Bundesliga to eighth along with a win-less Champions League season.
Koln’s former manager Peter Stoeger will take over until the end of the season to try and salvage whatever he can from Dortmund’s start to the season.