Commentary on Borussia Dortmund’s lead: Only with Klopp’s mindset will the championship jump out

“The tension was great,” said Sebastian Kehl after Borussia Dortmund’s win over Eintracht Frankfurt, which lifted BVB to the top of the Bundesliga table. After the sobering experience in Stuttgart last week, it was not only unclear to the sports director of Westphalia whether Borussia would take advantage of FC Bayern Munich’s bankruptcy and, above all, what face the team would show this time.

But Dortmund got the big point in the fight for the championship. In the ultimately sovereign 4-0 win against SGE, BVB impressed with enormous efficiency, good will and the often missing attitude over the entire 90 minutes.

The success was a statement at the right time in two respects. On the one hand to the outside: The currently very unstable Bavarians, who are unlikely to be able to remedy their numerous problems on several levels in the near future, should have noticed exactly the killer instinct with which the competition from Dortmund grabbed the chance for first place. Losing the lead in the table has increased the scale of the crisis in Munich quite a bit.

But he was, and that should be much more important with a view to the remaining five games, also a signal internally – to Borussia itself. After the disappointment of Stuttgart and the goal of wanting to become champion, which was publicly announced shortly afterwards, a load came on great pressure on the black and yellow. On Saturday evening, BVB impressively demonstrated for the moment that such tense situations can be mastered.

BVB after league lead: Different starting position for Dortmund

And that’s because, unlike in the 3:3 against VfB, they acted together and acted together, constantly supporting each other and “pulling it through”, as both Kehl and coach Edin Terzic noted word for word after the game. This and only this will be the way for this team if they want to lift the championship trophy in five weeks.

Former BVB coach Jürgen Klopp, still larger than life in Dortmund and the last coach with whom Borussia became champions, once said: “I don’t believe that the fear of losing makes you a winner more than the desire to win.” In order to defend the lead, BVB have to show exactly the mentality that reflects Klopp’s statement.

After all, the lead in the table has changed the starting position and psychological component. Dortmund is now the hunted and has something to lose. The pressure situations are not getting any less. Also not because BVB has to catch up with FC Bayern in three of the four game days that started at different kick-off times, like this Saturday.

BVB win against Frankfurt must be the yardstick

In the end, the Westphalians had the necessary calmness, concentration and energy in their game against Frankfurt. This encounter must be the yardstick. Less in terms of play, there is still room for improvement in many phases. But rather in terms of will, attitude, greed and yes, also in what is commonly understood by the term “mentality”, which has long been worn out in Dortmund.

BVB has a feasible remaining program for this. Three of the five games will take place in front of a home crowd, where nine wins in a row were recently celebrated. The club now has a huge opportunity at its feet.

Since the Klopp era, however, similar opportunities have been missed more often than accessed. For the remainder of the season, the entire club must radiate the prospect and desire and anticipation of winning the title in order to nip possible thoughts of failure in the bud.

“We also want to be more positive than ever,” said Terzic, referring to his speech to the fans when he took office last year. Borussia Dortmund will only become German champions in 2023 if this is successful outside and on the pitch and everyone involved takes responsibility.

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