Borussia Dortmund to make decision on Michael Zorc’s successor in the first half of 2021

Hans Joachim Watzke has said that Borussia Dortmund will make a decision on who will succeed Michael Zorc in the first half of this year.

Michael Zorc was due to retire as Borussia Dortmund sporting director at the end of the current season. But he decided to extend his contract by another year at the request of CEO Hans Joachim Watzke. Now the 58 year old will retire at the end of the 2021/22 season. And Watzke has confirmed that a decision on who will replace Zorc as sporting director will be made in the coming months.

"In an interview with Kicker, Watzke said: “We will make a decision in the first half of 2021 as to who will be Michael Zorc’s successor.”"

Sebastian Kehl is currently the favourite to take over once Zorc steps down. The former Borussia Dortmund captain returned to the club in 2018 as the head of the licensed players department and signed a contract extension until 2022 in October. Watzke said that he wants to get a clear idea on whether the former midfielder will be able to handle all the responsibilities when Zorc steps down.

"“You need experience, you need a network. The process around the team, Sebastian has it all. He was our captain for a long time, learned an incredible amount under Jürgen Klopp when he was still a player. He also learned a lot from Michael Zorc.“But at the end of the day, I need a clear view of whether Sebastian can handle the entire operation from 2022. Handling transfers, for example, is an enormous and important field. But he’s up for it, he’s also extremely ambitious. I think he’s going to dig in very hard, anything else would surprise me.”"

Michael Zorc is widely considered to be one of the best sporting directors in Europe, and his shoes certainly won’t be easy to fill. But Watzke is confident that Kehl has what it takes to take over from 2022.

Watzke also warned that failure to qualify for the UEFA Champions League could force Borussia Dortmund to take a few steps back in their development.

"“It forces you to take a step back, maybe two. Because if the income from the Champions League is no longer there, you can’t afford a squad of the size and quality we have. Then you have to use the red pencil and make cuts.”"

The Black and Yellows were fifth in the Bundesliga standings heading into the winter break, but climbed back to fourth place with a win over Wolfsburg on Sunday.