Five years ago
Bus assassination attempt on BVB: The unprecedented act had a long-lasting effect on the professionals
“I was scared to death”: Dortmund pros Sven Bender (back left) and Nuri Sahin (front left) are standing in front of the team hotel with police officers
© Ina Fassbender / DPA
Five years ago, the football world held its breath: It was only with a lot of luck that the bomb attack on the Borussia Dortmund team bus did not cause any deaths or serious injuries. But the club and professionals had to struggle with the consequences for a long time.
Traumatic memories of the perfidious attack have become rare. When the Dortmund soccer pros set off from the L’Árrivée Hotel in the team bus to their home stadium – as they did back then – the hedge at the exit of the sophisticated hostel hardly attracts any attention. According to club boss Hans-Joachim Watzke, the fact that three explosive devices detonated five years ago when they left for the quarter-finals in the Champions League against Monaco no longer caused those who suffered sleepless nights: “The players who were affected have processed it. “
Shaking off the tormenting thoughts of April 11, 2017 was not easy for most professionals. Months after the assassination, many players at the trial against the assassin spoke openly of anxiety and insomnia. Above all, Marc Bartra, who injured his arm in the attack and has since moved to Spain, gave a deep look into his inner life: “I was scared to death. I feared I would never see my family again.” Goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller was similarly shocked: “The incident changed my life.”
Finger-length metal bolts sunk into seats
It was only with a lot of luck that most of the bus occupants, such as German internationals Matthias Ginter and Julian Weigl, escaped serious injuries when finger-length metal bolts shattered some windows after three bombs detonated and some of them drilled into the headrests of the seats.
Evidence such as a letter of confession found at the crime scene initially pointed to an attack by Islamists. Right-wing or militant football fans were also the focus of the investigators a little later. But the actual motive of the perpetrator still stuns Watzke today. “This attack had no political motive. It was just someone who did something so incredible out of personal greed,” said the BVB managing director of the German press agency DPA.
The fact that the assassin had bet a lot of money on the BVB share price drop caused by the attack makes the act an unprecedented crime in German criminal history. On November 27, 2018, the then 29-year-old assassin was found guilty of 28 attempted murders and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Tuchel and BVB board argue publicly
The events also had a long-lasting effect within the club. The relationship between the coach and the board was irreparably damaged. The question of whether the game against Monaco should have been made up for the next day led to a public dispute between Watzke and Thomas Tuchel. Even the cup victory on May 27, 2017 in Berlin against Frankfurt could not smooth the waves. Just three days later, both sides announced their separation. “There was a big disagreement between me and Aki Watzke,” the football teacher admitted a little later, “the biggest disagreement was probably that I was on the bus and he wasn’t.”
The fact that the team lost the hurriedly made-up quarter-final game against Monaco 2-3 and were eliminated from the competition a week later after the 1-3 loss in the Principality came as no surprise given the exceptional emotional situation.
Watzke stands by the decision
Many months later, Watzke described the decision, which was forced by Uefa and supported by large parts of the team, as logical: “That evening and the day after, we all had the feeling that it was a terrorist attack. It then just happened the question, do you want to set an example as a society, considering that you demand almost inhuman things from the players or not. That was the real message.”
For the club boss, the attack is probably the most bitter and emotional experience in his term of office, which has lasted since February 2005. Looking back still makes him uneasy: “Of course we have great hope that something like this will never happen again.”