Everything goes as planned in the new year. BVB have come out flying this second half of the season: 2 games, 6 points, 8 goals scored, 0 conceded. Still, we hear players and Klopp alike insisting that there is more room for improvement. This is the mentality of champions. Leverkusen stuttered in the Black Forest, managing only a draw against Freiburg, only to face the mighty BVB next week. When Sven triumphs over Lars, Dortmund will then sit second once again. Bayern beware...in the words of the Method Man: "It ain't ova 'til da fat bitch sing..."
A perfect start to 2013: 5-0 at the Weserstadion and 3-0 im Tempel. What is behind the success at Borussia Dortmund thus far in 2013? While there are surely many reasons for it, there are a few things that need to be mentioned in the writer's humble opinion:
1) Ilkay Gundogan
2) The Polish Connection
3) The Klopp Factor and
4) The Return of Nuri Sahin.
What a goal...
First, let us discuss Ilkay Gundogan. Anyone who knows the writer as a Dortmund fan will tell you that he was a harsh critic of this player early on. "I don't care what he did in Nurnberg...what can he do at Dortmund? So far, I am not convinced." Or perhaps, "He gives the ball away too much. Looks scared." These are some of the things you might have heard. These opinions slowly began to change as Gundogan's performances improved. These opinions were no longer valid in 2012 when he became a BVB legend one night in Bavaria--a Pokal match in Furth that will never be forgotten. Dortmund would go on to win the Pokal...and Gundogan's stellar performances for BVB didn't go unnoticed, paving the way for his inclusion in the Mannschaft for EURO 2012. And in 2013? In the game against Bremen, Gundogan was involved in nearly every Dortmund attack and most of the goals. His left-footed pass to Grosskreutz that led to Shitze's goal--der Beste Beispiel. Against his former club, Der Club, he was out of control again, a menace to the opposition, uncontainable, Schaltzentrale...the praise goes on but the statistics tell the real story: 147 touches on the ball, 8 short of a Bundesliga record. And with a certain BVB legend returning, we may begin to see an even better Ilkay as he gets more opportunities to play in advanced positions as opposed to more of a holding role. Expect more world class performances from this very good midfielder.
The Polish Connection
Next, the impact the Polish Connection has had so far must be mentioned. Lewandowski's 12 goals put him second in the scorer's charts, but after Dortmund beats Leverkusen next weekend, holding Kiessling to a quiet evening, he should be at least joint top-scorer. Kuba's 2 goals set the tone for the day, putting the game out of Der Club's reach early on, Pizczek winning the penalty. Pizczek had two assists against Bremen as well--one of them a perfectly weighted ball to Kuba at full sprint. The other, Lewandowski's tap-in, the culimantion of a triangle of Poles in the area, Kuba to Lukas to Robert (for some reason this goal isn't all over highlights, an amazing team goal...quick passing and an easy finish). With Juve and United signing Llorente and Zaha respectively, it doesn't appear they will be buying a striker anytime soon. Liverpool recently bought Sturridge and they aren't a step up from Dortmund anyway. Chelsea just bought Demba Ba and while their pockets are seemingly bottomless, it doesn't appear they will be moving for Lewandowski either. With City already having the likes of Aguero, Tevez, Dzeko (how well has he really fared after leaving the Bundesliga for City?), and Balotelli, Manchester continues to appear an unlikely destination. With his countrymen set to stay in Dortmund long-term, it seems more and more likely that LewanGOLski will extend his contract...Nuri didn't fit in at Real or Liverpool, Kagawa just admitted to being unhappy, nobody has heard anything about Barrios but apparently he lives in China...why leave?
Intensity...part of The Klopp Factor.
Third, let it here be stated that Jurgen Klopp is the best manager in Germany now, and he will continue to be the best manager in Germany when Pep comes next season, and having beat Mourinho head-to-head over two legs this year, he is currently the best manager in the world. All through the winter break, he stressed improvement. Too many points were dropped in the Bundesliga, especially at home, our usual fortress. Six draws leaves us off the pace of Bayern, who were almost flawless this fall season, but Klopp also claims Bayern's form is a reaction to BVB's unbelievable form over the last two years. Klopp has demanded more from all of his players this half of the season and it appears he is getting more. Given the Klopp factor, I don't think Bayern should be so confident that Die Schale is theirs quite yet. They still have to play BVB...something they should know by now is not an easy task for them (see 12.05.2012 :)).
Finally, the return of Nuri Sahin. What can be said about this amazing story? Only if you are Borussia could you ever understand everything that it means...this is also probably the reason for a lack of updates from 1. BVB MKE...as celebrations continue in Milwaukee. While he has yet to score and has only featured slightly, expect more from Nuri as he settles back home again. If nothing else, it has served as a huge morale boost and team chemistry appears to be at an all-time high. Santana fills in, two clean sheets. Nuri steps in...goosebumps.
Captain Sahin sinks Bayern's shit-ship...
Anything can happen this season. Bayern are shaking in their boots...Nuri has masterminded their destruction more than once. And they should just hope they don't concede any free kicks within 30 yards: Reus and Sahin are deadly, any side you like. A tough test for them in Schwabia tomorrow...let the trend of point-dropping in 2013 start for them tomorrow:
On Tuesday, January 8th, BVB will play its first match of the season--a pre-season friendly against Spanish opposition Albacete. Even though it is just a pre-season game, it is always great to watch BVB and it appears the match will be available to watch for fans. The address seems to only paste where it wants to, which is right above, so you will have to click there. It is also on Borussia Dortmund's page on Facebook under the photos. The match kicks off at 16:55 it says, which I imagine is German time, making it at 9:55 a.m. our time. Might want to double check that, but if you have free time, might be worth following. https://www.facebook.com/BVBorussiaDortmund09/photos_stream#!/photo.php?fbid=589639567714694&set=pb.134904013188254.-2207520000.1357583276&type=3&theater
It was an eventful day for BVB, despite still being the early stages of pre-season training in Spain. Two key players signed important contract extensions while another moved on, albeit after Dortmund turned about a 2 million Euro profit on him (Perisic was originally signed for 5.5 mil but rumors seem to say that Wolfsburg bought him for around 7.5--a savvy deal for an unhappy player indeed).
Never really got it or understood what it meant to play for BVB...Ivan, kann you smell vat die Klopp is kooking? Also, do notice an attentive Moritz Leitner :)
Dortmund's biggest criticism in their recent successes has been that they are not a "big" club that can offer big players much to stay on and will lose all of their players to "bigger" clubs (when BVB regularly has the highest average attendance in all of Europe, these discussions of so-called "bigger" clubs come into serious doubt). In much of the discussion surrounding BVB this year, reporters and the media are often ill-informed so let's take a quick look at the numbers: Hummels, Kuba, Schmelzer, Pizczek, Bender and now Subotic have all signed extensions. That is over half of the starting eleven (7). As Grosskreutz and Reus are clearly dedicated to the Dortmund cause, with no need to mention where Roman Weidenfeller's heart lies, there is really only uncertainty surrounding one player: Lewandowski. Dortmund have successfully managed to not only secure the signatures of their best players, but also their most important business assets. With clubs like Man U, Chelsea, Juventus, and Liverpool already adding to their ranks of strikers, it seems unlikely that LewanGOALski would give up a guaranteed starting position and hero status for the bench by moving to a "big" club (i.e. Torres at Chelsea, Berbatov at Man U, etc.). The media frenzy surrounding Dortmund players has been annoying, and at times, ridiculous. In the words of Watzke, "Which player who has left us is happier now? Shinji, Barrios, Sahin? No one."
These two guys could kick your ass for sure.
And then chuckle about it....
That said, Dortmund have now lost another player--Ivan Perisic, a player with a lot of potential in attack, wonderful technique, and good pace--who it must be said never really fit in at BVB. It is bittersweet. Admittedly, he is a good player who despite not playing all that much, managed to score a good number of goals (9 goals in 42 matches for BVB, only about a dozen starts). Personally, I will admit to liking the way he plays, and his Arsenal goal will forever be in my memory, but I didn't like the way he complained about playing for the best team in the world--especially when it was better for THE TEAM that he did not play because of his inability to defend with the same tenacity as a Grosskreutz or a Kuba. Klopp cited this as a main reason for his lack of playing time in previous months, as he still needed to develop his defensive positioning. But it was only when he criticized the genius Jurgen Klopp's coaching style that I lost respect for him. How can you question his methods when you look at the turnaround he made? And anyway, thanks to him, you went from playing in Belgium to scoring goals against English champions on the European stage and becoming a Bundesliga Champion--as opposed to playing in Jupiter (or the Jupiler Pro League or whatever it's called). This was just another example of the modern trend of players not being loyal to clubs but instead looking only at their individual and personal successes, using clubs as stepping stones. If you learned anything from your time at Dortmund, it should be that YOU NEVER WALK ALONE...and while this can be interpreted as a message of support for players from the fans, it should also serve as a reminder of players' commitment to Borussia Dortmund and its unique supporters. While I am sure that Perisic can be successful elsewhere in the Bundesliga and Europe, the way he publicly criticized Dortmund has left a sour taste in my mouth.
Frustrating. It's all downhill from here...ask Mladen Petric.
It is reminiscent of a former attacking player from Croatia who also foolishly left Dortmund. After leaving BVB in 2008, Mladen Petric stated he wanted the chance to play in Europe--so for some reason this meant moving to Hamburg. In a hilarious turn of events, I remember Dortmund pummeling Hamburg a few seasons later and watching a frustrated and ineffective Petric laboring around the pitch (I am pretty sure former BVB Deutschermeister Guy Demel was somewhere around that day too). Dortmund then went on to lift 3 trophies shortly after his departure, also playing consecutive seasons in Europe, while Hamburg continued to play like Hamburg and not play in Europe. Funny enough, Petric has since moved to a cottage known as Craven somewhere in London, and is playing for the prestigious club Fulham, whose best ever finish was 7th place and they have only ever competed on a European stage 3 times, one of them being in the Intertoto Cup and another only because they qualified for this year's Europa League through "fair play". Let's hope that the departure of another Croatian will also mark an upturn in the fortunes of BVB. Cao Ivane, moving down in the world. Have fun at Wolfsburg, a mediocre club. Don't ever talk shit about BVB or Jurgen Klopp--you'll end up playing Landesliga Fussball soon...
Real professionals keep comments to themselves and win trophies. Bender looks high. Neven, what did you give him, you rockstar? We all saw how wild you get when you were dancing on your car... :p
A MASSIVE THANK YOU TO NEVEN SUBOTIC, ONE OF THE FIRST PLAYERS BROUGHT BY JURGEN KLOPP IN 2008, AND TO SVEN "MANNI" BENDER, AN UNSTOPPABLE MACHINE IN MIDFIELD FOR BORUSSIA, FOR YOUR CONTINUED DEDICATION TO AND SUPPORT OF THE BVB CAUSE. TRUE BORUSSEN--we love you guys. Echte liebe. Prava ljubav. Real love. Права љубав Fur Immer BVB P.S. The void left by Perisic on the sub bench could be filled by youngsters such as Leitner, Bittencourt, or Amini or it could pave the way for a Sahin return. Comments? Thoughts? The transfer saga continues...
And so here is the first post on our newly developed website. This page is a product of a night of boredom and drinking and was inspired by the prospect of Nuri Sahin returning to Dortmund. Also, Der Gottvater's posts on the facebook site got us into spending hours watching BVB videos.
A big thank you to all members of 1. BVB MKE for their loyalty and support. 2012 was a hell of a year to be a fan, the most successful in over 100 years, and in 2013 we have much more to prove. Let's hope that we are moving into a golden age of BVB...
