Borussia Dortmund suffered the devastation of missing out on the Bundesliga title on the final day of last season. Without Jude Bellingham, will they be able to take that last step? With insight from former goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller, we take a look...
Thursday 17 August 2023 14:04, UK
The scenes that greeted Borussia Dortmund's failure to capture the Bundesliga title on the final day of last season will linger long in the memory. Needing only victory at home to Mainz to become champions for the first time in 11 years, it all went horribly wrong.
An early goal conceded and a penalty wasted. Two down before half-time, there was even the false hope of Bayern being pegged back in Cologne. They won. Dortmund did not. Just one goal in either game would have been enough. A perfect storm of agony.
As players and staff lined up in supplication to the famed Yellow Wall of supporters, head coach Edin Terzic appeared distraught. His team, he pointed out, had been 90 minutes away from their dream. Now, they find themselves 34 matches away from glory once more.
After Bayern Munich's decade of dominance in the Bundesliga, a sense of inevitability that something could go wrong might have been understandable. Instead, there was optimism unbridled. Flags, scarves and shirts celebrating the title win were on sale outside.
Ten consecutive home wins in the competition, a sequence in which Dortmund had averaged over four goals per game, had earned that belief. Even so, looking back, it is surprising how loose sporting director Sebastian Kehl had been with his words.
In a media briefing in the week before that fateful day against Mainz, this reporter had been on the call as Kehl discussed at length the arrangements for the parade on Sunday, the logistics involved in ensuring that the players' families had ticket arrangements in hand. "There is no better place to celebrate than Dortmund," he said.
Kehl beamed at the notion that the club could have sold out their stadium six times over. "We as a club, of course, need to organise stuff for Sunday because we know what will happen afterwards," he explained. "This is a massive [job] at the moment."
He even noted how a title win would transform their recruitment possibilities. "To show that we have the environment, the power, the capacity to win titles is massively important for me to bring players to Dortmund, to convince them and their families and their agents."
How do you come back from that? It is a question that Dortmund must answer this season. Firstly, they must come to terms with the events of that afternoon. Former goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller, who won two titles with the club, was watching on, helpless.
"It was horrible to see. The team did not have the right mindset in this moment. They were very nervous. They went on the pitch and nobody performed on the day. When you have the opportunity to win the title in the last home game, you have to win."
Reflecting on how he would cope with defeat, Weidenfeller reveals that his strategy was to take his mind off it. "You go home, you have to move on. Be a normal person, go in the garden, cut the grass. Normal life." But that plan comes with a sizeable caveat.
"It is always a question of how big the disaster."
Weidenfeller does not want to fall into the trap of arguing that things were better in his day. He is prepared to acknowledge that, in some ways, last season's crop were superior to the Dortmund side that twice beat Bayern to the title under Jurgen Klopp.
"We did not have the quality like this team had last season. But we had one big thing. We could focus on the moment. We were completely concentrated and went on the pitch like a team, each one pushing the other guy. And we had always a great performance."
He thinks of the leaders in that group.
"Sebastian Kehl. Mats Hummels. Neven Subotic. Sven Bender. Robert Lewandowski. Myself. Always direct, face-to-face language. It was very important for us. We always pushed each other." Maybe that was lacking when the moment came against Mainz?
"They need a bit more mentality, a bit of a stronger character."
It feels harsh. Hummels was there. Jude Bellingham, a natural leader, was not fully fit. Sebastien Haller took responsibility, grabbing the ball for the penalty. The Dortmund crowd is supportive but knowing how much it meant to them was perhaps an added pressure.
"Sometimes, the young players want to be crazy when the fans are pushing the team," says Weidenfeller. The challenge is to put it to one side. "Not listen to the noise always. Be a little bit cleverer to learn to work with the fans, with this noise, not going crazy."
What is certain is that the pressure is not going away.
"It is the contract that you sign when you play for a big club," he adds. "It is not like playing for Hoffenheim."
The early signs are that Dortmund have regrouped. Felix Nmecha has come in from Wolfsburg, Marcel Sabitzer has arrived from Bayern Munich via his loan spell at Manchester United. The pair will hope to cover the loss of the team's star man Bellingham.
There have been pre-season victories over United and Ajax, Nmecha scoring twice in the win over the Dutch champions. If he settles quickly that will help. "The preparation has been good," says Weidenfeller. "Borussia Dortmund are ready for the season now."
Their new Bundesliga campaign kicks off at home to FC Koln back in front of the Dortmund fans at Signal Iduna Park. Psychologically, that will be a test. But the bigger questions will be asked later in the season if Terzic can steer this team towards another title race.
The challenge is to flip the script. Because while the temptation is to argue that they will never again find themselves with such a good chance to claim the crown, the reality is that Bayern did not beat them, Dortmund beat themselves. In a strange way, it is comforting.
This can be done if they get it right next time. It is about embracing that. "You have to say it. Always you have to say what you want to get," concludes Weidenfeller of Dortmund's title ambitions.
"Now you need to take the next step."
Watch Dortmund vs Koln live on Sky Sports Football this Saturday; kick-off 5.30pm
