Borussia Dortmund and Sven Mislintat reunited: A cause for joy or concern?

A new beginning: The future beckons for Dortmund and Mislintat

As we can now say that we’ve painted a general picture of how Mislintat has operated both when at Dortmund and throughout his journey since leaving the club, the question then remains, are we to be nervous or excited for his return to the club? The answer, as we’ve seen, is quite nuanced. 

While he has clearly been able to identify some of the best talents football has to offer, there are questions regarding his judgment of character, his own character and ability to work with others in a collective setting, and perhaps whether he can keep his personal financial concerns out of the sphere of his work in football. 

What we also do know from this assessment is that he isn’t afraid to take a risk and be creative on the market. If done within reason, it’s a great way to supplement a squad with youthful, vibrant talent and potentially uncover generational talents and future world-beaters, something that the club has been missing since the sale of Jude Bellingham to Real Madrid, and something that the club would like to focus on returning to, if reports are to be believed. 

Mislintat’s success at Dortmund will then perhaps hinge on his own ability to assess himself and look at his own work through the lens he uses when scouting players. Dortmund, in appointing him, have taken a punt on him in the hopes that he can once again help facilitate a creative rebuild of this generally struggling side. Inevitably, it will be up to Mislintat to then take the opportunity and work towards leaving his demons behind him; to accurately judge his own character and nullify the “bad habits” that have held him back in the positions where he didn’t succeed in. 

In returning to the “club of his heart”, the expectation would be that he would give his full efforts to ensuring the club rebound from the underperformance of this season with fresh ideas on the personal front, without the underlying drama that has previously come hand in hand with his insights. The position Dortmund have given Mislintat, namely Squad Planner, will help him channel his strengths towards bettering the squad and perhaps mitigate any of the negatives we’ve seen surface in his previous appointments, leading to a brighter future for Dortmund as this internal restructuring continues to take shape.