Opinion: Borussia Dortmund’s strong start is all too familiar

Borussia Dortmund have made a blistering start to the new season. They sit atop the Bundesliga table and have yet to taste defeat under Lucien Favre. Paco Alcacer and Jadon Sancho are performing above expectations and the team is playing exciting football. The Black and Yellows appear to be in prime position to challenge Bayern. Well, so long as history doesn’t repeat itself.

October Blues

On this day last year, Borussia Dortmund had a five point lead over Bayern on top of the Bundesliga. Then came the infamous implosion and Borussia Dortmund endured a two month long winless streak. The recent success of The Black and Yellows makes it seem like a distant memory. More accurately, the drama of each match is leaving lasting impressions.

Both Leverkusen and Augsburg successfully found holes in Borussia Dortmund’s defense and had it not been for two second half comebacks, Lucien Favre’s men wouldn’t be in this position. Future opponents will take encouragement from this as they look to end Dortmund’s unbeaten run. Let’s hope after this international break that Borussia Dortmund continue to win. The project Favre is masterminding looks to have big rewards in the future.

Too early to tweet “We are winning the league!”

With Lucien Favre, it is easy to see why he has come in and made an immediate impact. He has signed players that can fit into his coaching philosophy and that has been clear on the pitch. Whatever issues with the starting XI are fixed with substitutions. This is great for a coach to realize, but it also puts players on high alert to earn their spot on the team.

Marius Wolf is under performing when he is in the starting XI, it’s interesting to see his name on the team sheet so often. One reason could be Christian Pulisic has struggled with injuries and Wolf is thrown in for the sake of having a right-winger. Maximilian Philipp is just as out of form and I personally had a lot of faith in the striker. Regardless, any player currently going through a rough time will want to return to top form soon.

The Borussia Dortmund managers that are the most successful always find a way to get the best out of their players. The method to their strategies always includes using the best talent available, and usually means a youth player call up. While that sounds standard for any team, BVB are consistent in the growth of their youth system.

Here is looking at you kids

Favre’s use of the youth players has won many plaudits already. While his tactics have profound rough edges to smooth out, Sancho and Hakimi are making names for themselves with first team chances. This is easily one of the younger overall teams in the Bundesliga.

Weigl and Pulisic were prolific under Tüchel, but see a considerably different path than other new teammates. Weigl’s dip in form and being left out of selection for a few games is worrying. Pulisic on the other hand, he seems to of caught the injury bug at the moment.

Borussia Dortmund will always attempt to have the best youth academy. It’s just a matter of how long those players will last. As it has been stated before, Favre has no issue cutting players he doesn’t need.

Closing thought

I love seeing the support and high expectations everyone has for Borussia Dortmund. While Lucien Favre’s side have made a remarkable start, the season has a long away to go. Borussia Dortmund may well win the title this season, but at this stage its important not to get too far ahead of ourselves.