Loss to Glasgow Rangers
Moody team, desolate performance: Doubts about BVB coach Marco Rose are growing
“I think I can still reach the boys,” says BVB coach Marco Rose
© Bernd Thissen / AFP
The recent defeat against Glasgow Rangers and the impending end of the Europa League plunge Borussia Dortmund into a crisis. There were too many desolate performances, coach Marco Rose is under pressure.
It can no longer be denied: Borussia Dortmund is in a serious crisis after the desolate 4-2 defeat at home against Glasgow Rangers. “We play a lot of nonsensical football and make our opponents unnecessarily strong. That’s how you win and sometimes lose, but you’ll never be successful like that,” said Mats Hummels after the end of the game Streaming service RTL+.
It will now be very difficult for the ambitious Dortmund team to reach the round of 16 in the Europa League. Coach Marco Rose’s team would need to win by two goals in the second leg in Glasgow in a week’s time to even go into extra time.
Negative momentum in recent weeks
It’s not impossible with BVB’s playful potential, but the team isn’t able to access it at the moment. Victories like the 3-0 win at Union Berlin cover up the fact that the team always has the same problems throughout the season. In the cup it was the 1:2 defeat against FC St. Pauli, against Bayer Leverkusen they lost in the league as embarrassingly as against Glasgow (2:5) and BVB has long been out of the Champions League. Things are only going well in the league, but Dortmund are still not a serious competitor to FC Bayern.
The game against the Rangers exposed the weaknesses like on a dissection table. The biggest: the blatant defensive behavior. In 33 competitive games this season, the team has swallowed 56 goals, that’s 1.7 goals conceded per game. The back four against Glasgow (Akanji, Hummels, Zagadou, Guerreiro) was full of holes and unable to iron out mistakes made by those in front. Players like Marco Reus or Julian Brandt often play amateurishly and listlessly defensively.
The Glasgow Rangers’ third goal gave a striking demonstration of the blatant weakness of the defense. Ryan Kent danced out the dispassionate Hummels and Akanji, and passed to John Lundstram, who ran along and netted with a precise shot. And where was opponent Reus? Although he had trotted backwards, he had let Lundstram go. No sign of action. When alleged leaders show such an attitude, it is not good for a team. And the boys are often overwhelmed. The loss of the ball by the eager but hapless 17-year-old Youssoufa Moukouko before the 1: 4 is an example of this.
Marco Rose seems at a loss
Much can be speculated about the reasons. Nevertheless, coach Rose is gradually coming into focus. He repeatedly asserts that the team has to “implement” the guidelines, to the coach’s chagrin that doesn’t happen in the decisive games. Rose seemed at a loss after the Glasgow bankruptcy: “I think I can still reach the boys. I see nodding heads in training and in conversations,” he commented: “Our topic is always implementation. I’m also responsible for that. ” So far, Rose has tried in vain to convey consistency and a winning mentality to the moody squad.
It sometimes gives the impression that there is no plan B. If the team is in good form on the day, SC Freiburg will be overrun 5-1. Then there is a combative and combination-safe team on the pitch, only that happens too rarely in the current season. However, if BVB meets stubborn and uncomfortable opponents, the team gets into trouble. In the cup game against FC St. Pauli, the connecting goal was scored to make it 2-1, but nothing happened after that. Hamburg defended cleverly and with a lot of effort, Dortmund found no means. The much-vaunted dependency on top scorer Erling Haaland is not a sufficient excuse. The Norwegian was on the pitch against St. Pauli, but was completely signed off and was left alone by the team-mates in the center of the attack.
The season is not over yet and the end of the Europa League, in which Dortmund started as a co-favourite, is not sealed. The minimum goal, qualifying for the Champions League, is currently not in jeopardy. That keeps Rose in office. There will be a major upheaval in the summer, Rose will be able to change the squad according to his ideas. The question remains how many setbacks BVB can afford with Rose.
Sources: DPA, “sports picture”, “foosball”