After Borussia Dortmund’s meager 3-0 victory over Greuther Fürth and the subsequent word duel between Marco Rose and TV expert Dietmar Hamann, the question arises: Are BVB’s performances under the new coach good or not? The attempt to classify.
Basically, the discussion has simmered the entire season so far, sometimes a little more, sometimes less. Now it has come to the surface through the biting exchange between Marco Rose and Dietmar Hamann and will probably stay there for the time being. In essence, it revolves around the question: Are the performances that Borussia Dortmund shows under the new coach good or are they not?
Sky-Expert Hamann did not appear as a critic of Borussia for the first time after BVB’s poor performance against Greuther Fürth. Heavy fare that had nothing to do with football was Dortmund’s appearance against the bottom of the table. The Westphalia would not “play football”, but “work football”.
These allegations by the former international are undoubtedly true. Dortmund was weak against the Franks and this season came more often to arduous work victories, with which little shine was sprayed. Generally speaking, in the spirit of Hamann, this cannot be the state in which BVB is allowed to present itself.
The demands on the second best club with the second best squad in the league and the second highest financial resources in Germany are of course high. Not just outside, but also inside the club. Nobody denies that there, just as nobody glossed over the enormously disappointing end in the Champions League group phase. In the past few months there has not been a person in charge in Dortmund who wanted to believe that BVB was footballing as if from a single source.
BVB trainer Marco Rose and the continuous improvisation
There are reasons that it really doesn’t do that and that Borussia can of course be criticized for it. Rose gave parts of these reasons in his defense speech on Sky-Microphone mentioned. Ever since he took over BVB, Rose has been forced to improvise in view of ongoing personnel problems. He constantly has to fill construction sites and as soon as he supposedly closes them, a new one opens up again.
There is no Dortmund player who does not either start the season with an injury or who has been injured in the further course. Some got it multiple times. Injuries have been a constant companion at BVB for a long time, but the breathless sequence during the season so far is almost unique.
Under these circumstances, it is simply difficult for a coach, especially in a new location, regardless of the quality of the player who is available to him. Rose is a long way from developing something like a regular eleven or moderating healthy competition. Instead, he has to throw numerous players into the games without rhythm, without complete fitness and thus without any real tough competition. And this almost every week.
Does BVB have to shine under these conditions?
Rose has often talked about these adversities, and he basically does it at every press conference before the games. Regardless of the trigger, it was almost foreseeable that he would eventually burst in public. Because Rose has never had these problems or looked for excuses since he took office, although he could of course have done that because it would be human.
So it comes down to the crux of the matter: Do you have to be able to expect this individually strong BVB squad to shine in football even under these conditions? Or, despite the high quality of the individual players, is that not even possible to the extent to be expected if the majority of the squad cannot be properly introduced to the ongoing game after injuries?
It is also worth taking a critical look at the roster. The persistent lack of personnel finally made it clear that many players from the second row do not have the necessary level and consistency to be able to maintain Dortmund’s desired level even in such a tense situation.
Rose and BVB have an obligation to deliver
There is probably no one truth, rather it is on both sides of the coin. Rose and Hamann are each right, it is actually easy to warm up to both perspectives. Hamann calculated seven defeats in 22 competitive games, in reality there are eight bankruptcies in 25 games and 16 wins. So Dortmund lost around a third of the games under Rose. Together with the CL-Aus – which outweighs the fact that FC Bayern has probably hurried back in the league – this is really not an interim result that meets the demands of the club.
In the Bundesliga, BVB won eleven of their 16 games and have 34 points. In the past five seasons it was only once more at this point in time. With six points ahead of third place and the move into the round of 16 of the DFB Cup, you are fully on track with two goals of the season.
Certainly, there has been a lot of meager food in play so far. The debate on this is therefore perfectly appropriate and it does not go back solely to Hamann. Regardless of the results achieved so far, it is clear and the people in charge from Dortmund will also go along with it: In terms of football, Rose and his team have a debt in the new year and will have to stretch significantly if they want to take the wind out of the sails of the discussion sooner or later . It just must not be too one-sided or even polemical.
