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Borussia Dortmund II suffer fourth straight loss but contributing factors are beyond the control of Enrico Maaßen

By Benjamin McFadyean

Enrico Maassen. (Photo by Matthias Kern/Getty Images)
Enrico Maassen. (Photo by Matthias Kern/Getty Images) /
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Borussia Dortmund II have lost four straight games in the 3. Liga but the contributing factors to this recent slump appear to be beyond the control of head coach Enrico Maaßen.

At the start of the season I wrote about the potential of the newly promoted Borussia Dortmund U-23s side to do well in the third tier, but also emphasised the challenge of playing in a 3. Liga that is packed with ambitious historical clubs all with very substantial followings and budgets, the likes of which BVB’s second-string side can only dream of.

Four months into the 2021-22 season, Borussia Dortmund II sit in 10th place in the league with 20 points after 14 games, but are only four points over the drop zone. Is it time for BVB to be looking for reinforcements or are the team still equipped for the challenge of the league ahead, which is certainly not going to get any easier after the international break?

First of all, actually, tenth place reads pretty well for a team recently promoted from the Regionalliga, but not when you consider that ‘Die Amas’ (as BVB’s U-23 team are known as) had an outstanding campaign last season under head coach Enrico Maaßen.

Maaßen, who against the odds, won the title with an unfancied SV Rödinghausen side before making the switch to BVB, helped the U-23s finish their Regionalliga West campaign with an impressive 93 points, scoring 94 goals, conceding 31 and suffering just one defeat all season.

Last season’s tally is a remarkable achievement which the young Dortmund squad, at an average age of 22, can be proud of especially after overcoming the dual challenges of an enforced quarantine and a last-minute challenge from second-placed RW Essen who finished three points behind the young Schwarzgelben in the dying hours of the 20-21 season.

Things were looking so good for BVB II at the start of the 3. Liga season with the team taking a temporary lead in the league after seven games. In the last seven games, however, Dortmund’s second-tier side have only managed wins against Wehen Wiesbaden and second bottom Würzburger Kickers. All the other games were lost. The difficulties have set in, BVB II are in a bit of trouble but what has gone wrong?