Hans-Joachim Watzke: Marco Rose an excellent fit for Borussia Dortmund

Hans-Joachim Watzke believes that Marco Rose has done a really good job so far at Borussia Dortmund, especially considering the injury situation they have had to deal with. 

It has been a very eventful start to life at Borussia Dortmund for Marco Rose. Since joining from Borussia Mönchengladbach in the summer, he has led the Black and Yellows to 10 wins in 13 Bundesliga matches. But the club’s deep injury crisis has prevented him from making as much progress as he would have liked. And the injury situation also played a big role as Dortmund were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League last month.

The Champions League exit led some to question Marco Rose and his tactics. But Hans-Joachim Watzke has given him his vote of confidence, saying that the 45 year old is an excellent fit for Borussia Dortmund. Despite the early exit from the UEFA Champions League, Watzke is very satisfied with the way Rose has led the team so far.

In an interview with Sky Sport, the Borussia Dortmund CEO said:

"“It hasn’t been that long yet, but you can already say that he’s an excellent fit for the club. You can just tell. And to be honest, we don’t have to let the stupid Champions League exit distort our overall view. We’ve picked up 30 points from 13 games in the Bundesliga. That’s something we haven’t achieved that often in the past.”“I’m very, very satisfied with him.”"

Borussia Dortmund’s group stage exit from the UEFA Champions League means that they will be playing in the UEFA Europa League after the turn of the year. And Watzke has said that while the Champions League exit hurts, Dortmund’s goal now must be to try and reach the final of the Europa League.

"“It hurts, no question about it. But we have to look on the bright side now. If we don’t have such massive bad luck with injuries, and I now have indications that this will no longer be the case, we must now try to reach the final of the Europa League. That’s the goal now.”"

There is still a long way to go before the Europa League final though, and Borussia Dortmund must first navigate their way through a two-legged knockout round play-off in order to qualify for the round of 16.