Everyone has long been certain: Sven Mislintat is returning to Borussia Dortmund. The comeback of the “Diamond Eye” is causing a lot of anticipation at BVB. And everyone at his last club is also watching closely.
In Amsterdam, Sven Mislintat has become a red rag to many after a short, botched term in office. Ajax is experiencing its worst crisis in a long time, and many have chosen Mislintat as a scapegoat. Others (also) see the blame somewhere else. Shortly before the move to Borussia Dortmund, the trouble continues to simmer in the Netherlands.
Borussia Dortmund: Mislintat Zoff continues to simmer
Ajax Amsterdam, the proud giant from the Eredivisie, is in a deep hole. They have never been worse than second place in 15 years. Now there is a risk of falling from the Champions into the Conference League. Very quickly it went very steeply downhill. The most discussed personality: Sven Mislintat.
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He made a name for himself at Borussia Dortmund as a truffle pig. He also did successful work at Arsenal and VfB Stuttgart. Then came the engagement in Amsterdam. In a difficult phase, Mislintat took over as sports director. In the summer he brought in twelve players for a total of over 100 million euros and gave them long-term contracts. And he was instrumental in the coaching search, which ultimately produced Maurice Steijn as the new man.
Bogeyman or pawn victim?
None of this was successful at the start of the season. And for the most part it still isn’t today. Unrest quickly spread at Ajax. When researching the causes of the botched start to the season, the name Sven Mislintat quickly came up. The anger over his flop transfers and the choice of coach grew ever greater. In no time at all he was the bogeyman for many.
The unpleasant separation followed just four months after taking office. At this point, the heated discussion among fans had long been underway. Is Mislintat to blame for all this misery? Many defended him, were embarrassed by the way he treated the ex-BVB scout, and accused Ajax of turning into a chaos club. For others there was no question at all: Sven Mislintat plunged the club into disaster.
Trouble continues to simmer
This dispute is still simmering to this day. The latest developments have really heated him up again. First the termination of the contract became public in Amsterdam, then the return to Borussia Dortmund became more and more concrete. Finally, an external financial auditor has now cleared Sven Mislintat of allegations of a conflict of interest in the transfer of Borna Sosa from Stuttgart to Ajax (here are the details).
Also exciting:
All of this put Mislintat back in the spotlight in Amsterdam – and the discussion about him simply cannot be silenced. The expected announcement of his signature at Borussia Dortmund in the near future is unlikely to contribute to this either.