Borussia Dortmund wanted to do everything better in Stuttgart than in the previous season, but on Sunday a class difference became apparent – to the detriment of BVB. Sports director Sebastian Kehl was frustrated.
Borussia Dortmund traveled to Stuttgart on Saturday with big goals. The BVB wanted to do everything better in the Sunday game than in the previous season, when Dortmund lost to VfB three times in a row across all competitions. The 5-1 defeat that the team of new coach Nuri Sahin conceded was all the more sobering, revealing a class difference between the two teams.
Sahin speaks of “non-performance”
While Sahin attested to his team’s “non-performance” and former Stuttgart and current Dortmund central defender Waldemar Anton concluded that a game like this should “never happen again”, the frustration was also evident in the words of sporting director Sebastian Kehl before the late trip home. “What happened on the pitch today cannot be explained. This must not happen to us,” said the former professional, giving an insight into his state of mind: ”We are, of course, very disappointed and also really annoyed. Every one of our players should be annoyed and look at themselves to see how this performance came about. We must not present ourselves like this. That is not our standard and not our level.”
Kehl’s annoyance was understandable and comprehensible in view of a shockingly weak performance by Dortmund, who suffered their first defeat in the sixth competitive game of the season – and fully deserved in terms of the margin. BVB didn’t get the basics right, nor did Sahin’s ideas regarding the formation and personnel work – although his professionals certainly had a fair share of the blame for that. “With the exception of a small number of players, I didn’t see anyone who was even close to being in shape and felt like they wanted to win the game,” Kehl was clearly critical of the Dortmund professionals. ‘The team has to accept this reproach.’
Sahin and his team have only four days until their next game against Bochum to work through the grievances from Stuttgart and draw the right conclusions. There was no doubt on Sunday evening that there was a need for discussion. “We have to be honest and address things. And we have to work hard on things,” said Kehl, speaking plainly: “We’re not going to talk everything to ruins on match day four. It was also clear that we need time in the process. But if we perform like this more often, we will have nothing to do with our goals.”
Much will therefore be put to the test in the coming days: the individual attitude of the players as well as the previous measures of Sahin, who is still looking for the right way to bring his ideas onto the pitch. A fixed formation has not yet emerged, and a number of players – such as Nico Schlotterbeck, who played at left-back for Stuttgart, or Marcel Sabitzer – are still struggling with unfamiliar positions and the required profiles. Only one thing is certain: “We have to learn,” Kehl concluded. “Very, very quickly.”