BVB hopes for a long season

The desire for a new, wonderful Champions League season at Borussia Dortmund is undiminished. For the completely revamped finalists of the previous season, the reformed premier class competition started at Belgian champions FC Bruges. “We are looking forward to this new competition.” “We are looking forward to many interesting games,” said sports director Sebastian Kehl before the start of the preliminary round on Wednesday (9 p.m./live on DAZN).

Not only is the unusual preliminary round format in table form with more games new, but also BVB itself. Two old figureheads, Marco Reus and Mats Hummels, who was particularly outstanding in Europe in the spring, are no longer on board, the attack has a different personnel structure, the coach and thus the approach are also new. The lost final of the previous season, where Real Madrid was simply too big for Dortmund, is no longer having an impact.

Under Sahin, BVB has become more aggressive

The 35-year-old Sahin dared to do something. Unlike under his predecessor Edin Terzic, who had led the Westphalians to the Champions League final with a more defensive approach, BVB football seems more stormy, wilder, more free-spirited. “I’m having a lot of fun working with this coach,” Kehl said on Sky about the first few weeks with Sahin as the new head coach and his approach.

In the 4:2 win against Heidenheim on Friday, Dortmund played like they were unleashed in the first half with extremely high-standing full-backs. Sahin also did not shy away from putting captain Emre Can and veteran Marcel Sabitzer on the bench. “That was definitely not a decision against Emre or Sabi.” “We have an extremely long season, hopefully,” said Sahin, explaining his workload management.

To ensure that the Champions League season is as long as the last one, Borussia Dortmund must gain points from the start in the modified preliminary round. The redesigned attack, in which the former Stuttgart player Serhou Guirassy is set to be the clear number one, should also contribute to this. The Guinean played against Heidenheim for the first time in his new kit after recovering from knee problems and impressed straight away, even without scoring a goal and after a previous injury-related break.

Guirassy is a tall, unknown type in the BVB attack. The 28-year-old was a fixed point in the build-up, dropped back when necessary and unselfishly left the ball to better positioned teammates. “He is a fantastic footballer who naturally gives our game a completely new component,” enthused Sahin.

The last defeat in Bruges was a long time ago

In addition, Niclas Füllkrug (31/West Ham) was swapped for his national team colleague Maximilian Beier (21/Hoffenheim). With 16 goals, Maximilian Beier was the surprise attacker of the last Bundesliga season. “We’ve become ten years younger and have signed a national player who still has potential,” Kehl praised himself for the transfers. In addition to Donyell Malen, Jamie Gittens and most recently Karim Adeyemi also showed signs of improvement in performance.

This season, BVB’s attack seems more powerful and less predictable after the squad modifications. “We have various options in attack, but Guirassy is number one,” said Kehl, predicting that his first goals will “not be long in coming.” Perhaps as early as Wednesday against the Belgian champions, against whom the Westphalians have already played eight times in the European Cup.

The last of only two Dortmund defeats in Bruges was 21 years ago. Back then, they lost 2-1 in Bruges in the Champions League qualifiers, and Dortmund lost the second leg 2-1 but then lost on penalties. Amoroso and Ewerthon scored the goals for BVB back then, but that was a long time ago. (dpa)