Bundesliga 19/20

do.ob

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Bundesliga return infopost:

Schedule for the first match day [times in CET, UTC+2]:



English language coverage:
https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga

tl;dr overview for every club:
https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bunde...y-club-overview-bayern-dortmund-leipzig-11015

an introduction to a couple of Bundesliga topics and memes
https://11freunde.de/artikel/this-is-claudio-he-plays-in-bundesliga-since-1972/1941365


Twitter:
https://twitter.com/BundesPL [stats and tactics]
https://twitter.com/GERFootDaily [news aggregator]
https://twitter.com/GGFN_ [news aggregator]
https://twitter.com/cfbayern [Bild's head of football]
https://twitter.com/michael_karbach [physics professor who really likes charting Bundesliga stats]











old post:

Since German football kicks of its first tier season with the extremely prestigious DFL-Supercup next Saturday (20:30 CET) I think it's about time for a fresh thread.

Official homepage: https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga

Last year's final table:


[7th placed Frakfurt also qualifying for EL, because cup winners Bayern play CL]

Promoted sides [their last Bundesliga season in brackets]: 1. FC Köln [17/18], Union Berlin [debut season], SC Paderborn [14/15]

(some) noteworthy additions to the league:
Bayern:
L. Hernandez (23, Atl. Madrid)

Dortmund:
M. Morey (19, Barcelona)

Leipzig:
A. Lookman (21, Everton)
C. Nkunu (21, PSG)
H. Wolf (20, RB Salzburg)

Leverkusen:
M. Diaby (19, PSG)

Gladbach:
M. Thuram (21, Guingamp)

Wolfsburg:
X. Schlager (21, Salzburg)

Hoffenheim:
R. Skov (23, Kopenhagen)

Top 10 signings of the summer [28th of July] by fee:
  1. L. Hernandez - €80m, Bayern
  2. B. Pavard - €35m, Bayern
  3. K. Demirbay - €32m, Leverkusen
  4. M. Hummels - €30m, Dortmund
  5. T. Hazard - €25m, Dortmund
  6. N. Schulz - €25m, Dortmund
  7. J. Brandt - €25m, Dortmund
  8. A. Lookman - €18m, Leipzig
  9. O. Kabak - €15m, Schalke
  10. M. Diaby - €15m, Leverkusen
  11. X. Schlager - €15m, Wolfsburg



Title odds [28th July]:


Relegation odds [28th July]:




Coaching changes over the summer:
Leipzig: J. Nagelsman [Hoffenheim]
Gladbach: M. Rose [Salzburg]
Wolfsburg: O. Glasner [Linz]
Hoffenheim: A. Schreuder [Ajax]
Hertha: A. Covic [Hertha II]
Schalke: D. Wagner [Huddersfield]
Cologne: A. Beierlorzer [Regenburg]
 
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NYAS

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That’s a brilliant OP.

One thing that doesn’t really matter but is a pet peeve of mine about these threads though (not aimed at you @do.ob) is that inevitably throughout the season there will be discussion of the DFB Pokal in here, as there will probably be discussion of the Copa Del Rey in the La Liga thread, and so on.

Why not just call them “German Football 19/20” or “Spanish Football 19/20”?

It’s just me being pedantic but it does make sense. :D
 

Carolina Red

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It’ll be interesting to see how Dortmund comes together with the new talent coming in. Also cool to see a Buli Berlin derby with Union making their debut in the league.

I’m hoping that Gladbach can put a whole season together and get a champions league place this year, but that’ll take a lot of doing.
 

do.ob

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That’s a brilliant OP.

One thing that doesn’t really matter but is a pet peeve of mine about these threads though (not aimed at you @do.ob) is that inevitably throughout the season there will be discussion of the DFB Pokal in here, as there will probably be discussion of the Copa Del Rey in the La Liga thread, and so on.

Why not just call them “German Football 19/20” or “Spanish Football 19/20”?

It’s just me being pedantic but it does make sense. :D
I agree with you, but the caf consensus seems to be to name these threads according to the leagues, so I kept it in line with the savages.

It’ll be interesting to see how Dortmund comes together with the new talent coming in. Also cool to see a Buli Berlin derby with Union making their debut in the league.

I’m hoping that Gladbach can put a whole season together and get a champions league place this year, but that’ll take a lot of doing.

Last season was their year. No EL distractions, no pressure, Plea having a terrific start, Hazard peaking. They should've sacked Hecking before the season and in the end they paid for it.
Bayern and Dortmund should be locked in for top 2, Leipzig for 3rd and if Leverkusen don't implode I don't see Gladbach challenging them either.
 
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Acrobat7

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Since German football kicks of its first tier season with the extremely prestigious DFL-Supercup next Saturday...
:lol:

Thanks for starting this thread. Somebody get it pinned.
 

Zehner

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I agree with you, but the caf consensus seems to be to name these threads according to the leagues, so I kept it in line with the savages.




Last season was their year. No EL distractions, no pressure, Plea having a terrific start, Hazard peaking. They should've sacked Hecking before the season and in the end they paid for it.
Bayern and Dortmund should be locked in for top 2, Leipzig for 3rd and if Leverkusen don't implode I don't see Gladbach challenging them either.
I see us ahead of Leipzig. We completely dominated them in the game with Bosz and really should'e won. We dropped many points in the second half of the season due to implementing the new system and still managed to grab a CL spot. Brandt will be impossible to replace but with Demirbay, Amiri/Olmo and Diaby in we may have even improved overall in the end. I believe almost anything is possible this year.
 

unplayable

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Brave decision by Hoffenheim to start the new season without a manager. ;)
 

GhastlyHun

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Things I'm looking forward to or otherwise keeping an eye on:

- first Berlin derby in the Bundesliga in living memory at least, if not first ever (don't crucify me if I'm wrong, I didn't look it up)
- Leipzig under Nagelsmann
- Hoffenheim without Nagelsmann
- Frankfurt's ability to cope with loads of key players moving on
 

duffer

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Things I'm looking forward to or otherwise keeping an eye on:

- first Berlin derby in the Bundesliga in living memory at least, if not first ever (don't crucify me if I'm wrong, I didn't look it up)
- Leipzig under Nagelsmann
- Hoffenheim without Nagelsmann
- Frankfurt's ability to cope with loads of key players moving on
I'm intrigued to see how Ampadu does there. I really rate the kid.
 

Carolina Red

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Last season was their year. No EL distractions, no pressure, Plea having a terrific start, Hazard peaking. They should've sacked Hecking before the season and in the end they paid for it.
Bayern and Dortmund should be locked in for top 2, Leipzig for 3rd and if Leverkusen don't implode I don't see Gladbach challenging them either.
Agreed completely on Hecking, and you’re probably right about last season being their year. I think top 3 is seemingly locked between a combination of three of Munich, Dortmund, Leipzig, and Leverkusen making 4th the highest I could see Gladbach getting if one of those underperforms. I’m basically just going into the season being a little optimistic about just maybe one of those 4 will have one of those weird years that you see in the Buli where a normally higher performing team just has a crap year (looking at you Schalke) and that Gladbach has a good one.
 

do.ob

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That's a cynical way of saying that Bayern is one step below other (richer) clubs in Europe. Too each his own, but Bayern needs new stars if they even plan on getting to the UCL semis.
Bayern have always been below the top spenders, but it won't break the club if they go for players who are happy with "just" €15-20m.
 

do.ob

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Bayern are so stuck in 2010-13 it's hilarious.
They just signed a CB for €80m and are eyeing Sane, who will probably cost upwards of €100m. Your claim is hilarious.

Agreed completely on Hecking, and you’re probably right about last season being their year. I think top 3 is seemingly locked between a combination of three of Munich, Dortmund, Leipzig, and Leverkusen making 4th the highest I could see Gladbach getting if one of those underperforms. I’m basically just going into the season being a little optimistic about just maybe one of those 4 will have one of those weird years that you see in the Buli where a normally higher performing team just has a crap year (looking at you Schalke) and that Gladbach has a good one.
Thorgan was a huge part of their creativity and unpredictability (technique/dribbling) and in that regard I don't think they replaced him at all: Embolo is a great athlete, but a mediocre footballer, with a heavy touch and Thuram seems to rely a lot on space/his athleticism as well.
So I guess they want to rely on pressing/transitions/counter attacks, but since the Klopp days no one will be surprised by something like that and with EL football it will be hard to outrun/outfight opponents consistently. Rose seems to be a very talented coach, which might elevate them to a higher level still, but I think they'll be aiming for an EL spot in his first season.

I see us ahead of Leipzig. We completely dominated them in the game with Bosz and really should'e won. We dropped many points in the second half of the season due to implementing the new system and still managed to grab a CL spot. Brandt will be impossible to replace but with Demirbay, Amiri/Olmo and Diaby in we may have even improved overall in the end. I believe almost anything is possible this year.
I think even if they have a great season in general Leverkusen's lack of quality at the back and relative inexperience, coupled with Boszs ballsy tactics, will make them drop points here and there compared to Bayern and Dortmund who are more experienced, more used to pressure and have better squads. Leipzig is indeed more debatable, but I personally rate Nagelsmann extremely highly and I think you're underestimating the extra distraction that CL football will pose compared to the EL games last season. Football also doesn't stand still, 3-6-1 (?!) worked well for last season's finish, but that doesn't mean he has everything figured out already for next season, player transfers and opposition coaches finding plans can change a lot quickly.
 
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do.ob

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Schalke's pre season results aren't exactly inspiring:

RW Oberhausen (4th tier) 3:1
Stadauswahl Bottrop (city selecao) 20:1
SG Wattenscheid (4th tier) 2:2
Norwich 1:2
FC Twente 1:1
AC Bologna 2:3

I've watched a bit of the games here and there and what I saw from them reminded me a lot of last season. Some pressing ideas, but their execution has been hit and miss and they've been really painful watch on the ball.

Not according to the bookies. You can make a lot of money if you are sure about their position as favorites.
The odds are about 5.50:1
I think it's just too early for predictions, the potential signing of Sane alone would be a major swing. Even Dortmund might not be done either.
 

Atze-Peng

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Since German football kicks of its first tier season with the extremely prestigious DFL-Supercup next Saturday (20:30 CET) I think it's about time for a fresh thread.
Is the "extremely prestigious" part sarcasm? All football fans I know barely care about it outside of just wanting a good game.



So about a month ago I wrote my perspective of the state of Dortmunds summer-window and my personal predictions:
So the Hummels deal seems to be as good as through. It was announced on the official BVB-twitter and only the medical check is left. The pricing seems to be around 28-30 million + another 8-10 million in bonuses (all numbers in €). Unlike Kagawa or Sahin, he isn't a "failed" player as he performed quite well in those 3 years - bar the first half of the ended season.

The fee seems fair for a top defender at 30 and the current market.


That being said, with this transfer we have 5 CBs. Hummels, Akanji, Diallo, Zagadou, Balerdi. I don't count Toprak nor Weigl here. The first will definitely leave and the second isn't really a CB (and also is likely to leave). That means, we either plan to play with a 3-man defense line, Diallo/Akanji has a fairly big offer to them or there is the small chance that Balerdi gets loaned.


Either way, with this the expenses for Brandt, Schulz, medium Hazard, Hummels, Alcacer and Balerdi are about 142 million (-60 million for Pullisic) and we are clearly not done yet as there are still rumours for a striker/central midfielder/left-CB and/or right wing.

While that is in line with Watzke saying we are eventually starting to attack from now on, this is quite the sum and essentially leaves 4 option:

1. A player with a higher transfer-fee will leave. Sancho is unlikely I think. But Akanji / Diallo are definitely options.
2. We plan to take a medium-sized loan this season. About 30-40 million should be doable for us and remains a moderate risk with the player-material and revenue we have.
3. Since we are stock-listed, there will be an increase of capital stock.
4. We will have a fairly drastic increase in sponsorship. I think the jersey one wasn't improve just yet, but we are at only 10 million a year and estimations are that a new contract would mean 30 million. Also there are some other rumours for new sponsorships.



So to the 142 million of expenses, there are the following players who will go and many of them do have reasonable rumours (fee-estimations are by newspapers):

- Shinji Kagawa. No specific clubs named, but media talks about multiple ones being interested. Estimated Fee would be around 3-4 million.
- Maximilian Philipp. Rumours talk about Wolfsburg for 15-20 million.
- Sebastian Rode. Rumours are clear about Frankfurt. His knee-surgery went better than expected. Estimation is around 4-5 million.
- Raphael Guerreiro is rumoured to go to Barcelona for around 20-25 million.
- Ömer Toprak is apparently talking to one or two unnamed turkish clubs. Estimated fee is around 3-5 million.
- Schürrle apparently has some interests from Russia for around 8-12 million.
- Isak is already gone for 7 million.
- Pullisic is gone already for 60 million


Other candidates without or with old rumours are:

- Toljan -> 2-3 million
- Passlack -> 1 million
- Dahoud -> Anyhwere from 10-20 million depending on his performance at U21. If he leaves, we definitely will need another player for the 8. My wishful thinking still points towards Gündogan.
- Weigl -> The rumours about PSG are about 2 months old. He has stated he wants to go throughout the last season. 20-25 million are likely the fee, if PSG remains interested. Maybe a bit less for more sane clubs.


All in all:
- 67 million are already set for Isak and Pullisic
- 53-71 million for the recent rumours
- 33-49 million for the candidates that have no active rumours.

The whole sum would be: 153 - 187 million. That is of course, if we will be able to clear out our squad and not remain stuck on some players.


All in all it really depends on what our future system is supposed to be. And how players are planned. For example: Is Hazard meant to play a winger or similar to how he is sometimes playing for Belgium as a line-player who goes up and down the sideline of the pitch.


Depending on that we still need a proper central midfielder who can connect the defense to the offense (Gündogan would be the dream), a proper back-up for Sancho as Wolf seems to be planned as a more defensive option either becoming a WB or a line-player and a potential legit back-up for the 9. And if Hazard is supposed to be in a more offensive role, then a back-up for Schulz is also necessary.

Those are also the positions media has rumours about. Either way - these players will not be refinanced by fees of the known players being sold. That budget has been eaten up by the current purchases already.

Personally I think the right-wing back-up position for Sancho definitely is important. And I would like to see a player there who can definitely play instead of Sancho against some of the weaker Bundesliga sides with some potential to soften the blow, if (unfortunately likely) Sancho is going to leave after the EC 2020 (I like the Ferran Torres rumour here). Also a central midfielder seems quite important. I don't think Dahoud has a future anymore and I don't want to have Brandt/Götze wasted on the offensive part of the double-6. A Striker and Left-Wingback back-up are more nice-to-haves.


It's remaining interesting. After the ongoing cups and with the official opening of the transfer window, things most likely going take an increased pace.


Edit: Obviously that is all quite simplified, because there are other aspects to the cost of transfers such as fees for the agents, potential taxes, etc.

Time to take another look at the status quo of the squad. (I will count the winter-transfers into this transfer-window to simplify things)


Goal: (4)
Roman Bürki
Marvin Hitz
Luca Unbehaun
Eric Oelschlägel


Transfers:
Luca Unbehaun came from the youth team.


Comment:
Marvin is a top lad. Chill and friendly guy. Good keeper. Perfect back-up. Probably will leave after this season to get back into a starting position as Bürki has strongly improved last season after being questionable the season before. Most likely has to do with reaching the ideal goalkeeper-age when having enough experience to reduce the mistakes and play to their skills. He surely isn't world class, but good enough on an international level.


Defense: (10)
Manuel Akanji - CB
Mats Hummels - CB
Dan-Axel Zagadou - CB, (LB)
Leonardo Balerdi - CB
Ömer Toprak - CB
Nico Schulz - LB
Marcel Schmelzer - LB
Lukasz Piszczek - RB
Achraf Hakimi - RB, (LB)
Mateu Morey - RB
Marius Wolf - RW, (RB), (LW)


Transfers:

Abdou Diallo to PSG -> +32 mio €
Jeremy Toljan loaned to US Sassuolo -> +2,5 mio € (came back from a loan)
Felix Passlack loaned to Fortuna Sittard -> 0 € (came back from a loan)

Mats Hummels from Bayern -> -30,5 mio €
Nico Schulz from Hoffenheim -> -25,5 mio €
Leonardo Balerdi from Boca Junios -> -15,5 mio € (winter transfer)
Mateu Morey from Barcelonas Youth -> 0 €

Overall: -36,0 mio €


Comment:
We finally got ourself an improvement on the left back. Schmelzer was great during Klopps football as he was very athletic and played perfectly to Klopps strategical demands. But his offensive input has always been lackluster and his body seems to decay - leaving him with more and more injuries. So even if he somehow got a starting position, he simply doesn't have a whole season in him anymore. I assumed he was a candidate to leave, but it seems to be a mutual agreement that he wants to stay at Dortmund (and possibly end his career here - so kudos to him) and is fine with being the back-up. Let's see how it goes, but I am sure this is a spot next season we need to upgrade - especially if the Hakimi loan ends and he wants to go back to Madrid.

Hummels essentially got traded with Diallo. Diallo wasn't too impressive - albeit I still think he has a good chunk of talent. So experience was traded in for talent - which is fine, if Hummels performs like the second half of last season. The fine seems to be ok as well and we kept the more talented Zagadou over Diallo. I'm ok with that trade to give the other 3 younger centre-backs an experienced man to train with, learn from, etc. Especially Akanjis playertype I can see benefitting from that.

Toprak seems to want to stay. He says he wants to "attack" for a starting squad position, but I think he is 30 and this was his last big contract and he just wants to earn good enough before retirement. Him leaving would probably mean 2 million down from his current 5-5,5 mio. I still don't see it impossible for him to leave - but it certainly seems unlikely.

Due to Toprak staying many fans wanted Balerdi to be loaned. But so far he's really impressed me and many others in the test-games. I certainly see him ahead of Toprak and potentially even with Zagadou. Talented guy. I definitely underestimated his talent.

Hakimi and Piszczek - if fit - will probably trade depending on the games line-up. Piszczek doesn't have a full season in him anymore, but when he was fit last season he still was one of Bundesligas best Right-Backs. Have to admit it's kinda sad seeing him decline as I always enjoyed his playstyle. But age doesn't stop. Anyway, the position will be a struggle next summer if Hakimi leaves.

Morey had a really bad injury and thus wanted to leave Barcelona. Have to admit I don't know much about him. He is supposed to be really talented. So let's see how he does, but he most likely will be only the 2nd back-up this season.

Wolf we have to see, if he can do a similar development to Piszczek from an attacking wing to a more defensive one. He certainly is a physical player and always goes all out. I like that. He also improved on that position quite a bit last season. Give it one more and I can see him being a real alternative for the first squad.


Overall I am pretty happy with this. I would still like Toprak to leave. Nothing personal, but I think he is just too shaky for our status. And I think we are a bit thin on the LB. Probably depends on how stable Schulz his body is. But since Hakimi can also play LB, I am fine with the status quo.



Central Midfield: (7)
Axel Witsel - DM, CM
Julian Weigl - DM, (CB)
Thomas Delaney - DM, CM, (OM)
Mahmoud Dahoud - CM, OM
Sergio Gómez - CM, OM
Tobias Raschl DM, (CM), (RM)
Patrick Osterhage CM, DM, (CB)


Transfers:
Tobias Raschl & Patrick Osterhage from the youth team
Sebastian Rode to Frankfurt -> +4 mio €


Comment:
I assumed that either Weigl or Dahoud would leave with Weigl being the more likely. Potentially even both leaving and getting a transfer in. Turns out nothing of these happened. The PSG interest on Weigl has been frozen up for weeks and there was nothing about Dahoud. I am somewhat disappointed at Dahoud staying as I don't think he is gonna make the necessary step. He is reasonably talented, but he is at an age where he needs to mature and starts to deliver - and he simply doesn't.

Weigl on the other hand has suprised me in the first test games. It seems like his time as a centre-back in the second half of the last season really helped him see the game from a different perspective and mature as a player. So I'm perfectly good with him staying and getting another year to prove himself after having 2 not-so-great seasons.

Nothing else to say here. Witsel kinda suffered from having to play a ton and not being as fit in China as he has to be here. Could see it towards the end of last season. I'm sure he will perform better again. And Delaney is a good player as well. Someone like Gündogan instead of Dahoud would obviously be ideal to have 4 different kinds of players for those 2 positions, but players with these skillsets are outside of what we can afford as of now. Sergio Gómez might be that player one day, but as of now he seems to be too far away from the first squad. There are also some rumours about him leaving on a loan.

Rode left as expected to Frankfurt. 4 million is more than I expected. I like him as a person and player, but his injuries and his specific playertype gave him a hard time. I hope his current injury will heal well and wish him the best of luck at Frankfurt.


There have also been some strong rumours about Diadie Samassékou coming to us. If that's the case, I am sure Dahoud or Weigl is gonna leave. Else we are too packed. But maybe that's why there are these rumours and we are negotiating already in case either of those two will leave - without being sure that they will.



Attacking Midfield: (11)
Marco Reus - OM, (LW), ((ST))
Jadon Sancho - RW, (LW)
Julian Brandt - LW, OM, (LW)
Thorgan Hazard - LW, (OM), (RW), (ST)
Jacob Bruun Larsen - LW, (OM, (RW)
Marius Wolf - RW, (RB), (LW)
Mario Götze - OM, (ST), (LW)
Raphael Guerreiro LW, (LB), (CM)
André Schürrle - LW, (ST), (RW)
Maximilian Philipp - OM, (ST), (RW)
Shinji Kagawa - OM, (CM), (LW)


Transfers:

Christian Pullisic to Chelsea -> +60 mio € (winter transfer)
Thorgen Hazard from Mönchengladbach -> -25,5 mio €
Julian Brandt from Leverkusen -> -25 mio €

Overall: +9,5 mio €


Comment:
Obviously those are too much players. Shinji, André, Maximilian and Raphael are al candidates. Also Götze could potentially be one. So let's go player by player.

- Marco Reus. Voted as the player of the last season. And rightfully so. Favre really played him to his strength. He is obviously also class on the LW, but OM is HIS position. Also having him play there definitely is a means to get 1-2 more seasons out of him as it's not as physically demanding as playing on the wing. So I am sure he will continue playing there.

- Jadon Sancho. This forum drooled over him and rightfully so. Nothing much to add to it. Let's see how the opposing teams will adapt to him eventually and how the increase of quality on the left-side will potentially free up his play. Let's just hope he doesn't injure himself, because the back-ups for the RW are somewhat lackluster. We do have plenty of players who can play it, but usually it's not their favoured role. There are also rumours of getting another RW and I can see that happen in case we manage to sell all the players that are meant to leave.
Fun Fact: He still only earns 3 million. Let's see if he wants to extend the contract another year to get a higher salary or if he speculates on leaving after the summers EC.

- Julian Brandt. Nothing to say. Fantastic player and an absolute bargain. I definitely can see him taking a big leap when having better players around him. I am 100% sure he is gonna make us forget the loss of Pullisic.

- Thorgen Hazard. The middle Hazard. Quality player with quite a bit of experience under his belt already. Also played a false9 role in one of the testgames and said he actually enjoys that position as well. Definitely a good versatile player who can play essentially all offensive positions and even played the line-player on the left-side in the national-team a few times (which is a more defensive role). Definitely speaks for him being a teamplayer which I appreciate. He obviously doesn't have the raw talent of his older brother nor of Brandt, but I still can see him playing an important role due to his versatility and his team-player mindset.

- Jacob Bruun Larsen. The last seasons didn't go ideal for him. He obviously doesn't have the raw talent as the players above, but I still can see him playing an important role either as a more athletic LW or a false 9. His spacial play and athletism is fantastic, but he sometimes still chooses the wrong solutions. But he is only 20 and not everyone skyrockets like Snacho or Dembele. So I am still moderately optimistic about him being an important squad player and getting a few starters under his belt. But it's gonna be tough for him.
It also really depends on what tactical approach Fave takes and if we stay with a 4-2-3-1 or if we go more into a 4-1-4-1. He will surely stay as he came from our youth and in the Bundesliga you need a certain amount of local players.

- Marius Wolf. The definition of a squad player for us. Fantastic guy, rough around the edges in a good way, but somewhat limited in his play. Kinda like the new Großkeutz (a bit more talented than him, tho). Let's see if he will be planned more for the RW or RB. I definitely see him getting playtime, but how much depends on where he is seen and how he develops - if he is seen as an RB.

- Mario Götze. Kind of problematic. There isn't really a position for him in this squad. Neither of these positions are his ideal positions - except for the OM which will be occupied by Reus and Brandt. Reus is the better player and Brandt suits Favres system for that position more. He also has only 1 year left on his contract while being a top-earner. Rumours say he wants to remain his salary while obviously anyone looking at it from the outside knows he isn't worth the top-earning anymore. If that is really the case, I would be gladly getting rid of someone that is this ungrateful considering how much the club did for him when his illness came up. That being said - it's only rumours. So taking it with a grain of salt.
He also got competition for the 9 position not only through Paco who is definitely going to be more fit this season as he finally got through the entire pre-season without issues - but also because of Thorgen doing a pretty decent job on the false 9 as well.
Either way, while there are no rumours of him leaving, I don't see it as impossible. Would probably give it a 5-10% chance. I am somewhat indifferent to him. He can stay or leave. But if he stays, I definitely expect him to show his gratefulness and realise he isn't a top-earner anymore.

- Raphael Guerreiro. Another one with only a year left in his contract. There seems to be no interest of prolonging this contract from both sides. Guerreiro is kind of the jack of all trades and we as a team aren't dominant enough to play him as such an offensive LB like Madrid or Barca plays their Wingbacks. Talented guy, but there is no actual role for him in our team that is playing to his strengths. And it seems both sides agree with that and want to part ways.
Rumours so far were from PSG, ManCity and Barcelona. But so far nothing tangible happened and the last news about it is 10 days ago. I still see him go and the rumoured transfer-fee was around 20 mio.

- André Schürrle. With this transfer pretty much everything went wrong that could go wrong. Probably the biggest transfer failure since Amoroso. He was already too expensive to begin with, but Tuchel demanded a player like him. Then the fallout with Tuchel happened and a lot of injuries. Things just didn't work out. Now he is a high-earner who doesn't play. He apparently did decent at Fulham, but since they got relegated his loan ended a year early.
Rumours talk about a loan to Spartak Moscow with a buying clause of 7 million. It would make sense as his wife is russian so there surely is also some private reasons to decide for Russia.

- Maximilian Philipp. I honestly just want him to leave. Probably the biggest disappointing of a player I've seen in years. It's not that he isn't skilled enough or anything, but the moment things didn't go smooth he just played without any motivation. I remember that one game where we lost and he and Guerreiro were walking off the field laughing. Doesn't have the mindset nor the drive to perform as good as he can even if things don't go smooth.
Original rumours were him going to Wolfsburg for around 18 million under the condition that Josip Brekalo is going to leave. But it seems now that Brekalo will stay and new rumours talk about Dynamo Moscow being interested in Philipp (no, he doesn't have a russian wife) for again 18 million

- Shinji Kagawa. His loan with Besiktas Istanbul ended. From what I've heard he did pretty well and they are/were interested in buying him, but Shinji wants to go to Spain. Celta Vigo apparently is interested. Let's hope it works out fine.



Overall I think if we really manage to sell the players that are supposed to leave for sure (Schürrle, Philipp, Guerreiro & Kagawa as they together eat up 25+ mio wages), I definitely see us getting an addition on the RW. There have been plenty of rumours (Harry Wilson, Malcom, Ismaila Sarr and some others) for that position and the drop in quality from Sancho is just too high currently. If we slimmen the squad here, get another RW and extend the Götze contract under adjusted conditions I am a really happy fan. Selling our players here would bring in a bit above 40 million which certainly leaves some room to get a decent RW.



Striker: (1)
Paco Alcacer - ST
Mario Götze - OM, (ST), (LW)
Thorgan Hazard - LW, (OM), (RW), (ST)


Transfers:

Paco Alcacer from Barcelona for -21 mio € (winter transfer)
Alexander Isak to Real Sociedad for +6,5 mio €

Overall: - 14,5 mio €


Comment:
Paco wasn't perfectly fit last season. It was clear that his stamina wasn't up to the job due to prior injuries. It seems to have been improved in the first testgames and he can now go the full 90 minutes. If that's the case, it definitely is a plus for our play.
Isak left. I think he is a talented guy and is now playing together with another former Dortmund-player (Mikel Merino). But his playstyle simply doesn't fit into Favres system and he wants to play and not be a backup. So I wish him the best of luck at Real Sociedad.

Thorgan and Götze are the back-ups here. Both aren't at their ideal position, but Götze did a decent job last season. But decent might not be good enough and it seems like our staff thinks the same as there are a shit ton of rumours (Mandzukic, Jose Macias, Patrik Schick, Moise Kean, Fedor Chalov, Alfredo Morelos, Thuram beforehe went to Gladbach). It possibly also depends on what Götze will decide to do - but if he doesn't extent his contract and wants to remain a top-earner, I am fairly confident another striker will join us. And it probably is necessary as we are a bit thin here with only one legit striker and two players who are just somewhat decent, but not natural 9s.



Overall Transfer-Balance (with the departing candidates):

Departure:
Christian Pullisic to Chelsea -> +60 mio €
Abdou Diallo to PSG -> +32 mio €
Alexander Isak to Real Sociedad for +6,5 mio €
Sebastian Rode to Frankfurt -> +4 mio €
Jeremy Toljan loaned to US Sassuolo -> +2,5 mio €
Raphael Guerreiro to ? -> +20 mio €
Maximilian Philipp to Dynamo Moscow -> 18 mio €
Shinji Kagawa to Celta Vigo -> 4 mio €

Join:
Mats Hummels from Bayern -> -30,5 mio €
Nico Schulz from Hoffenheim -> -25,5 mio €
Thorgen Hazard from Mönchengladbach -> -25,5 mio €
Julian Brandt from Leverkusen -> -25 mio €
Paco Alcacer from Barcelona for -21 mio €
Leonardo Balerdi from Boca Junios -> -15,5 mio €


Overall: +4 mio €

Together with the new Puma contract that gives us about 20 more per year and other small increases in sponsorship I think we have about 20-40 million room for transfers left which could be invested in a higher quality right-wing and/or striker back-up.



Final thoughts:
After the initial big bang with us going in for Schulz, Hazard, Brandt, Isak even before the transfer-window officially opened things slowed down a lot. Especially on the departing side. The other big bang was the quick transfer of Hummels and Diallo. Especially Hummels only was rumoured a few days prior and then it was suddenly a done deal. But the squad slowly gets thinned down with Toljan, Passlack and Rode leaving.

If we get rid of all the players we want to get rid to, get a RW and/or ST back-up and get clarity about Götze, then I would give this window a 2+ (grading from 1-6). It only could get better with Toprak and Dahoud leaving while getting a replacement for Dahoud. Still I like our new squad for the next season with about 29-30 players of which 3 players are most of the time still playing at the amateurs after being promoted from the youth team, 1 is the third goalie and two other ones are young talents with potential. So essentially it is a 23-24 player-squad. The first and second team then would look the following:


---------------------- Bürki (Hitz) ----------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
--------- Hummels (Balerdi) -- Akanji (Zagadou) ----------
--------------------------------------------------------
-- Hakimi/Piszczek (Wolf/Morey) --- Schulz (Schmelzer) --
--------------------------------------------------------
----------- Witsel (Weigl) -- Delaney (Dahoud) -----------
--------------------------------------------------------
-- Sancho (Wolf) --- Reus (Brandt) --- Brandt (Hazard/Larsen)
--------------------------------------------------------
------------------ Paco (Götze/Hazard) ------------------


As you can see - the first squad looks fantastic. The second has 1-2 positions that aren't ideal.
 
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Zehner

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That's what I feared. You won't get the best out of Brandt playing him as a LW. He exploded in CM last season under Bosz and has a fair shout at having been the best Bundesliga player in 2019. That was the best half of a season I've ever seen from a Leverkusen player. He doesn't need to improve, if you get what he's shown umder Bosz you can be very happy since that's another player on the same level as Reus and Sancho. But you need to play him centrally.

Brandt has a habit of being too okay with playing out of position. He's okay when Herrlich and Löw played him as a right winger or even right back but he was at least two levels below his best there. I can very well imagine that he's okay with going back to LW again for Dortmund now but that way you won't get the best out of him that way. He doesn't participate enough there and is far too limited in his options.

If I were you, I'd play something like:


Götze/Paco
Hazard Brandt Reus Sancho
Witsel
Schulz Hummels Akanji Hakimi
Bürki

The double 8/10 would also be Götze's ideal position.
 

hasanejaz88

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That's what I feared. You won't get the best out of Brandt playing him as a LW. He exploded in CM last season under Bosz and has a fair shout at having been the best Bundesliga player in 2019. That was the best half of a season I've ever seen from a Leverkusen player. He doesn't need to improve, if you get what he's shown umder Bosz you can be very happy since that's another player on the same level as Reus and Sancho. But you need to play him centrally.

Brandt has a habit of being too okay with playing out of position. He's okay when Herrlich and Löw played him as a right winger or even right back but he was at least two levels below his best there. I can very well imagine that he's okay with going back to LW again for Dortmund now but that way you won't get the best out of him that way. He doesn't participate enough there and is far too limited in his options.

If I were you, I'd play something like:


Götze/Paco
Hazard Brandt Reus Sancho
Witsel
Schulz Hummels Akanji Hakimi
Bürki

The double 8/10 would also be Götze's ideal position.
Would be difficult to play both Brandt and Reus in the AM position since it would compromise Dortmund defensively, though I agree 100% that Brandt should be playing as a CAM and not on the left wing.

Maybe play Reus as a false 9 with Brandt-Witsel-Delaeny in the center of midfield. Reus can play the same role Volland, whose contribution last season has gone a bit underrated with all the hype about Brandt and Havertz, played as a floating CF rotating to the wings or deeper. It would be a very fluid system with all four front players (Reus, Brandt, Hazard, Sancho) comfortable in each others position, backed by two strong defensive midfielders.
 

do.ob

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I'm fairly certain Brandt played at least the last two pre season friendlies against Liverpool and Udinese at CM, so it's definitely something Favre has on his mind, I could see him play both Reus and Brandt centrally against lesser sides, but it would surprise me if Delaney didn't play against opponents who don't just submit to be dominated. Which would probably only leave the left wing for Brandt, though with Schulz basically being a wing back he'd have plenty of opportunity to drift towards the center, Guerreiro interpreted that role in a similar fashion last season, even when it was Diallo defending behind him, which meant he basically killed his team's left wing.



I think a couple of youngsters have used the pre season to position themselves close to the first team squad:

Morey has really impressed me, it didn't seem like his previous injuries affected him much and he's always full of ideas on the ball. If he can also deliver on the defensive side he might get a lot of minutes next season already.

Raschl made a similar impression, though with Weigl still present as Witsel's backup it'll be hard for him to get minutes.

Gio Reyna didn't stand out much one way or another, which at age 16 speaks for a lot of maturity. I wouldn't bet on him playing more than cameos next season, but I think it's only a matter of time, before he will receive a lot of attention/hype from the Americans.
 
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sun_tzu

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Have I missed some signings or as it stands do Bayern really only have about 17 outfield players (including Coeman who has a terrible injury record,)

Do they have any money left to spend - do they have some amazing kids coming through because to me it looks like one or two injuries and they have a very thin squad - might put a bet on dortmund...

Have I missed some signings - do they have some wonderkidz - or is kovac brave / stupid
 

2ndTouch

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Have I missed some signings or as it stands do Bayern really only have about 17 outfield players (including Coeman who has a terrible injury record,)

Do they have any money left to spend - do they have some amazing kids coming through because to me it looks like one or two injuries and they have a very thin squad - might put a bet on dortmund...

Have I missed some signings - do they have some wonderkidz - or is kovac brave / stupid
Nah, you aren't missing anything. If City plays along, we're going to spend 90-100m on Sane next week.
Other than that the Werner rumors refuse to die, and supposedly we're contemplating to activate the RC of Roca (around 40m, same ballpark as Werner) iirc.
But filling up the spots 17-20 with promising youngsters has just been declared as club policy by Kalle this week. So I wouldn't be surprised if Sane were indeed to be the last (non-youth, non-squad player)signing for the season.
Tbf, that'd put us on a net spending figure of close to 200m.
 

sun_tzu

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Nah, you aren't missing anything. If City plays along, we're going to spend 90-100m on Sane next week.
Other than that the Werner rumors refuse to die, and supposedly we're contemplating to activate the RC of Roca (around 40m, same ballpark as Werner) iirc.
But filling up the spots 17-20 with promising youngsters has just been declared as club policy by Kalle this week. So I wouldn't be surprised if Sane were indeed to be the last (non-youth, non-squad player)signing for the season.
Tbf, that'd put us on a net spending figure of close to 200m.
yes I was thinking that there couldnt be a huge amount of cash left for extra signings
Out of interest what formation do you think they will go for?
I cant help but wonder if kimmich might not go into midfield with pavard at right back
or possibly even a back three with sule hernandez and either pavard or boatang then have kimmich and alaba as wing backs?
Bayern have some great players but as of now im wondering if they will fit well into a team.
 

2ndTouch

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yes I was thinking that there couldnt be a huge amount of cash left for extra signings
Out of interest what formation do you think they will go for?
I cant help but wonder if kimmich might not go into midfield with pavard at right back
or possibly even a back three with sule hernandez and either pavard or boatang then have kimmich and alaba as wing backs?
Bayern have some great players but as of now im wondering if they will fit well into a team.
We've played a 433 with Thiago as pivot and two B2Bs in front of him most of the time during pre-season. So I expect this to be our main approach.
As for the back 4, Alaba&Kimmich will be hard to displace, Boateng(who's actually looking sharp again) and Süle are definitely ahead of Pavard, Lucas is still on recovery.
 

do.ob

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As if having to rebound from their years of mismanagement and the disastrous last season wasn't a big enough task Clemens Tönnies - Schalke's chairman of their supervisory board and in public perception pretty much the club's boss - used a speech at a craftsmen association meeting to make above statement, which - even leaving aside the incredible hypocrisy of the owner of (one of) Germany's biggest meat processing/packer corporations blaming Africa for climate change - betrays an (in my opinion) racist world view.

The apology he quickly issued on the club's homepage didn't do him many favours either, since it said he wants to apologize "explicitly to fans, members and friends of FC Schalke 04" for violating the club's code of conduct and it didn't take long for people to point out that he forgot to actually address the people he insulted.
Schalke's rather newly appointed sporting director Jochen Schneider commented that he's known Tönnies for for 10 years and that "our society works in a way that let's people apologize and move on", other officials apparently kept quiet, indicating that the leadership is trying to get through this without consequences.

Schalke's "honour council" - the disciplinary body of the club - which has the power to sanction Tönnies up to the point of relieving him of his post will of course be discussing the matter, but what they will decide is of course anybody's guess.

I think unless Tönnies steps down (which a fair amount of journalists are calling for) this will greatly damage Schalke. Not just via the obvious loss of reputation and credibility, but also because I think there is a good chance it will create a rift with the fans. Since (afaik) Schalke's Ultras are left leaning and weren't too fond of Tönnies to begin with I would be surprised if they just move on from this with him in charge.
 
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Acrobat7

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Out of interest what formation do you think they will go for?
If they go for a 433:

Neuer
Kimmich - Süle - Hernandez - Alaba
Goretzka - Thiago - Tolisso
Gnabry - Lewy - Coman

4141:
Neuer
Kimmich - Süle - Hernandez - Alaba
Thiago
Gnabry - Goretzka - Tolisso/Müller - Coman
Lewy
 

sun_tzu

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If they go for a 433:

Neuer
Kimmich - Süle - Hernandez - Alaba
Goretzka - Thiago - Tolisso
Gnabry - Lewy - Coman

4141:
Neuer
Kimmich - Süle - Hernandez - Alaba
Thiago
Gnabry - Goretzka - Tolisso/Müller - Coman
Lewy
I can see Why they want sane... He would add A lot to those line ups (Especially given comans injury record)
 

Acrobat7

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I can see Why they want sane... He would add A lot to those line ups (Especially given comans injury record)
I agree, Sané is a no-brainer for Bayern.
Coman, Gnabry, Sané as three starters for the wings and Gnabry can also play as a second striker, aka „the Müller role“.
 

GhastlyHun

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Gnabry is out for tonight. We really need that extra winger, regardless of Sane or somebody else.
 

do.ob

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I think Brandt, Hazard and Bürki are missing as well for Dortmund, Morey being out for certain, with a multiple week long shoulder injury. Such a pity to have so many players missing such an important final.
 

Acrobat7

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I think Brandt, Hazard and Bürki are missing as well for Dortmund, Morey being out for certain, with a multiple week long shoulder injury. Such a pity to have so many players missing such an important final.
:lol::lol::lol:
 

Atze-Peng

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So Sane is in the starting XI today. Doesn't seem like the transfer to Bayern is as good as true as several "insiders" have said.

Not gonna lie. It would be hilarious if this transfer is failing after all the big-mouthing Bayern did this transferwindow.
 

ctp

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Bayern's wingers are so cursed, they get injured before they even join the club. First Hudson-Odoi, now Sane :lol: (hopefully it's nothing bad, we need him for the national team)
 

Atze-Peng

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Time to take another look at the status quo of the squad. (I will count the winter-transfers into this transfer-window to simplify things)


Goal: (4)
Roman Bürki
Marvin Hitz
Luca Unbehaun
Eric Oelschlägel


Transfers:
Luca Unbehaun came from the youth team.


Comment:
Marvin is a top lad. Chill and friendly guy. Good keeper. Perfect back-up. Probably will leave after this season to get back into a starting position as Bürki has strongly improved last season after being questionable the season before. Most likely has to do with reaching the ideal goalkeeper-age when having enough experience to reduce the mistakes and play to their skills. He surely isn't world class, but good enough on an international level.


Defense: (10)
Manuel Akanji - CB
Mats Hummels - CB
Dan-Axel Zagadou - CB, (LB)
Leonardo Balerdi - CB
Ömer Toprak - CB
Nico Schulz - LB
Marcel Schmelzer - LB
Lukasz Piszczek - RB
Achraf Hakimi - RB, (LB)
Mateu Morey - RB
Marius Wolf - RW, (RB), (LW)


Transfers:

Abdou Diallo to PSG -> +32 mio €
Jeremy Toljan loaned to US Sassuolo -> +2,5 mio € (came back from a loan)
Felix Passlack loaned to Fortuna Sittard -> 0 € (came back from a loan)

Mats Hummels from Bayern -> -30,5 mio €
Nico Schulz from Hoffenheim -> -25,5 mio €
Leonardo Balerdi from Boca Junios -> -15,5 mio € (winter transfer)
Mateu Morey from Barcelonas Youth -> 0 €

Overall: -36,0 mio €


Comment:
We finally got ourself an improvement on the left back. Schmelzer was great during Klopps football as he was very athletic and played perfectly to Klopps strategical demands. But his offensive input has always been lackluster and his body seems to decay - leaving him with more and more injuries. So even if he somehow got a starting position, he simply doesn't have a whole season in him anymore. I assumed he was a candidate to leave, but it seems to be a mutual agreement that he wants to stay at Dortmund (and possibly end his career here - so kudos to him) and is fine with being the back-up. Let's see how it goes, but I am sure this is a spot next season we need to upgrade - especially if the Hakimi loan ends and he wants to go back to Madrid.

Hummels essentially got traded with Diallo. Diallo wasn't too impressive - albeit I still think he has a good chunk of talent. So experience was traded in for talent - which is fine, if Hummels performs like the second half of last season. The fine seems to be ok as well and we kept the more talented Zagadou over Diallo. I'm ok with that trade to give the other 3 younger centre-backs an experienced man to train with, learn from, etc. Especially Akanjis playertype I can see benefitting from that.

Toprak seems to want to stay. He says he wants to "attack" for a starting squad position, but I think he is 30 and this was his last big contract and he just wants to earn good enough before retirement. Him leaving would probably mean 2 million down from his current 5-5,5 mio. I still don't see it impossible for him to leave - but it certainly seems unlikely.

Due to Toprak staying many fans wanted Balerdi to be loaned. But so far he's really impressed me and many others in the test-games. I certainly see him ahead of Toprak and potentially even with Zagadou. Talented guy. I definitely underestimated his talent.

Hakimi and Piszczek - if fit - will probably trade depending on the games line-up. Piszczek doesn't have a full season in him anymore, but when he was fit last season he still was one of Bundesligas best Right-Backs. Have to admit it's kinda sad seeing him decline as I always enjoyed his playstyle. But age doesn't stop. Anyway, the position will be a struggle next summer if Hakimi leaves.

Morey had a really bad injury and thus wanted to leave Barcelona. Have to admit I don't know much about him. He is supposed to be really talented. So let's see how he does, but he most likely will be only the 2nd back-up this season.

Wolf we have to see, if he can do a similar development to Piszczek from an attacking wing to a more defensive one. He certainly is a physical player and always goes all out. I like that. He also improved on that position quite a bit last season. Give it one more and I can see him being a real alternative for the first squad.


Overall I am pretty happy with this. I would still like Toprak to leave. Nothing personal, but I think he is just too shaky for our status. And I think we are a bit thin on the LB. Probably depends on how stable Schulz his body is. But since Hakimi can also play LB, I am fine with the status quo.



Central Midfield: (7)
Axel Witsel - DM, CM
Julian Weigl - DM, (CB)
Thomas Delaney - DM, CM, (OM)
Mahmoud Dahoud - CM, OM
Sergio Gómez - CM, OM
Tobias Raschl DM, (CM), (RM)
Patrick Osterhage CM, DM, (CB)


Transfers:
Tobias Raschl & Patrick Osterhage from the youth team
Sebastian Rode to Frankfurt -> +4 mio €


Comment:
I assumed that either Weigl or Dahoud would leave with Weigl being the more likely. Potentially even both leaving and getting a transfer in. Turns out nothing of these happened. The PSG interest on Weigl has been frozen up for weeks and there was nothing about Dahoud. I am somewhat disappointed at Dahoud staying as I don't think he is gonna make the necessary step. He is reasonably talented, but he is at an age where he needs to mature and starts to deliver - and he simply doesn't.

Weigl on the other hand has suprised me in the first test games. It seems like his time as a centre-back in the second half of the last season really helped him see the game from a different perspective and mature as a player. So I'm perfectly good with him staying and getting another year to prove himself after having 2 not-so-great seasons.

Nothing else to say here. Witsel kinda suffered from having to play a ton and not being as fit in China as he has to be here. Could see it towards the end of last season. I'm sure he will perform better again. And Delaney is a good player as well. Someone like Gündogan instead of Dahoud would obviously be ideal to have 4 different kinds of players for those 2 positions, but players with these skillsets are outside of what we can afford as of now. Sergio Gómez might be that player one day, but as of now he seems to be too far away from the first squad. There are also some rumours about him leaving on a loan.

Rode left as expected to Frankfurt. 4 million is more than I expected. I like him as a person and player, but his injuries and his specific playertype gave him a hard time. I hope his current injury will heal well and wish him the best of luck at Frankfurt.


There have also been some strong rumours about Diadie Samassékou coming to us. If that's the case, I am sure Dahoud or Weigl is gonna leave. Else we are too packed. But maybe that's why there are these rumours and we are negotiating already in case either of those two will leave - without being sure that they will.



Attacking Midfield: (11)
Marco Reus - OM, (LW), ((ST))
Jadon Sancho - RW, (LW)
Julian Brandt - LW, OM, (LW)
Thorgan Hazard - LW, (OM), (RW), (ST)
Jacob Bruun Larsen - LW, (OM, (RW)
Marius Wolf - RW, (RB), (LW)
Mario Götze - OM, (ST), (LW)
Raphael Guerreiro LW, (LB), (CM)
André Schürrle - LW, (ST), (RW)
Maximilian Philipp - OM, (ST), (RW)
Shinji Kagawa - OM, (CM), (LW)


Transfers:

Christian Pullisic to Chelsea -> +60 mio € (winter transfer)
Thorgen Hazard from Mönchengladbach -> -25,5 mio €
Julian Brandt from Leverkusen -> -25 mio €

Overall: +9,5 mio €


Comment:
Obviously those are too much players. Shinji, André, Maximilian and Raphael are al candidates. Also Götze could potentially be one. So let's go player by player.

- Marco Reus. Voted as the player of the last season. And rightfully so. Favre really played him to his strength. He is obviously also class on the LW, but OM is HIS position. Also having him play there definitely is a means to get 1-2 more seasons out of him as it's not as physically demanding as playing on the wing. So I am sure he will continue playing there.

- Jadon Sancho. This forum drooled over him and rightfully so. Nothing much to add to it. Let's see how the opposing teams will adapt to him eventually and how the increase of quality on the left-side will potentially free up his play. Let's just hope he doesn't injure himself, because the back-ups for the RW are somewhat lackluster. We do have plenty of players who can play it, but usually it's not their favoured role. There are also rumours of getting another RW and I can see that happen in case we manage to sell all the players that are meant to leave.
Fun Fact: He still only earns 3 million. Let's see if he wants to extend the contract another year to get a higher salary or if he speculates on leaving after the summers EC.

- Julian Brandt. Nothing to say. Fantastic player and an absolute bargain. I definitely can see him taking a big leap when having better players around him. I am 100% sure he is gonna make us forget the loss of Pullisic.

- Thorgen Hazard. The middle Hazard. Quality player with quite a bit of experience under his belt already. Also played a false9 role in one of the testgames and said he actually enjoys that position as well. Definitely a good versatile player who can play essentially all offensive positions and even played the line-player on the left-side in the national-team a few times (which is a more defensive role). Definitely speaks for him being a teamplayer which I appreciate. He obviously doesn't have the raw talent of his older brother nor of Brandt, but I still can see him playing an important role due to his versatility and his team-player mindset.

- Jacob Bruun Larsen. The last seasons didn't go ideal for him. He obviously doesn't have the raw talent as the players above, but I still can see him playing an important role either as a more athletic LW or a false 9. His spacial play and athletism is fantastic, but he sometimes still chooses the wrong solutions. But he is only 20 and not everyone skyrockets like Snacho or Dembele. So I am still moderately optimistic about him being an important squad player and getting a few starters under his belt. But it's gonna be tough for him.
It also really depends on what tactical approach Fave takes and if we stay with a 4-2-3-1 or if we go more into a 4-1-4-1. He will surely stay as he came from our youth and in the Bundesliga you need a certain amount of local players.

- Marius Wolf. The definition of a squad player for us. Fantastic guy, rough around the edges in a good way, but somewhat limited in his play. Kinda like the new Großkeutz (a bit more talented than him, tho). Let's see if he will be planned more for the RW or RB. I definitely see him getting playtime, but how much depends on where he is seen and how he develops - if he is seen as an RB.

- Mario Götze. Kind of problematic. There isn't really a position for him in this squad. Neither of these positions are his ideal positions - except for the OM which will be occupied by Reus and Brandt. Reus is the better player and Brandt suits Favres system for that position more. He also has only 1 year left on his contract while being a top-earner. Rumours say he wants to remain his salary while obviously anyone looking at it from the outside knows he isn't worth the top-earning anymore. If that is really the case, I would be gladly getting rid of someone that is this ungrateful considering how much the club did for him when his illness came up. That being said - it's only rumours. So taking it with a grain of salt.
He also got competition for the 9 position not only through Paco who is definitely going to be more fit this season as he finally got through the entire pre-season without issues - but also because of Thorgen doing a pretty decent job on the false 9 as well.
Either way, while there are no rumours of him leaving, I don't see it as impossible. Would probably give it a 5-10% chance. I am somewhat indifferent to him. He can stay or leave. But if he stays, I definitely expect him to show his gratefulness and realise he isn't a top-earner anymore.

- Raphael Guerreiro. Another one with only a year left in his contract. There seems to be no interest of prolonging this contract from both sides. Guerreiro is kind of the jack of all trades and we as a team aren't dominant enough to play him as such an offensive LB like Madrid or Barca plays their Wingbacks. Talented guy, but there is no actual role for him in our team that is playing to his strengths. And it seems both sides agree with that and want to part ways.
Rumours so far were from PSG, ManCity and Barcelona. But so far nothing tangible happened and the last news about it is 10 days ago. I still see him go and the rumoured transfer-fee was around 20 mio.

- André Schürrle. With this transfer pretty much everything went wrong that could go wrong. Probably the biggest transfer failure since Amoroso. He was already too expensive to begin with, but Tuchel demanded a player like him. Then the fallout with Tuchel happened and a lot of injuries. Things just didn't work out. Now he is a high-earner who doesn't play. He apparently did decent at Fulham, but since they got relegated his loan ended a year early.
Rumours talk about a loan to Spartak Moscow with a buying clause of 7 million. It would make sense as his wife is russian so there surely is also some private reasons to decide for Russia.

- Maximilian Philipp. I honestly just want him to leave. Probably the biggest disappointing of a player I've seen in years. It's not that he isn't skilled enough or anything, but the moment things didn't go smooth he just played without any motivation. I remember that one game where we lost and he and Guerreiro were walking off the field laughing. Doesn't have the mindset nor the drive to perform as good as he can even if things don't go smooth.
Original rumours were him going to Wolfsburg for around 18 million under the condition that Josip Brekalo is going to leave. But it seems now that Brekalo will stay and new rumours talk about Dynamo Moscow being interested in Philipp (no, he doesn't have a russian wife) for again 18 million

- Shinji Kagawa. His loan with Besiktas Istanbul ended. From what I've heard he did pretty well and they are/were interested in buying him, but Shinji wants to go to Spain. Celta Vigo apparently is interested. Let's hope it works out fine.



Overall I think if we really manage to sell the players that are supposed to leave for sure (Schürrle, Philipp, Guerreiro & Kagawa as they together eat up 25+ mio wages), I definitely see us getting an addition on the RW. There have been plenty of rumours (Harry Wilson, Malcom, Ismaila Sarr and some others) for that position and the drop in quality from Sancho is just too high currently. If we slimmen the squad here, get another RW and extend the Götze contract under adjusted conditions I am a really happy fan. Selling our players here would bring in a bit above 40 million which certainly leaves some room to get a decent RW.



Striker: (1)
Paco Alcacer - ST
Mario Götze - OM, (ST), (LW)
Thorgan Hazard - LW, (OM), (RW), (ST)


Transfers:

Paco Alcacer from Barcelona for -21 mio € (winter transfer)
Alexander Isak to Real Sociedad for +6,5 mio €

Overall: - 14,5 mio €


Comment:
Paco wasn't perfectly fit last season. It was clear that his stamina wasn't up to the job due to prior injuries. It seems to have been improved in the first testgames and he can now go the full 90 minutes. If that's the case, it definitely is a plus for our play.
Isak left. I think he is a talented guy and is now playing together with another former Dortmund-player (Mikel Merino). But his playstyle simply doesn't fit into Favres system and he wants to play and not be a backup. So I wish him the best of luck at Real Sociedad.

Thorgan and Götze are the back-ups here. Both aren't at their ideal position, but Götze did a decent job last season. But decent might not be good enough and it seems like our staff thinks the same as there are a shit ton of rumours (Mandzukic, Jose Macias, Patrik Schick, Moise Kean, Fedor Chalov, Alfredo Morelos, Thuram beforehe went to Gladbach). It possibly also depends on what Götze will decide to do - but if he doesn't extent his contract and wants to remain a top-earner, I am fairly confident another striker will join us. And it probably is necessary as we are a bit thin here with only one legit striker and two players who are just somewhat decent, but not natural 9s.



Overall Transfer-Balance (with the departing candidates):

Departure:
Christian Pullisic to Chelsea -> +60 mio €
Abdou Diallo to PSG -> +32 mio €
Alexander Isak to Real Sociedad for +6,5 mio €
Sebastian Rode to Frankfurt -> +4 mio €
Jeremy Toljan loaned to US Sassuolo -> +2,5 mio €
Raphael Guerreiro to ? -> +20 mio €
Maximilian Philipp to Dynamo Moscow -> 18 mio €
Shinji Kagawa to Celta Vigo -> 4 mio €

Join:
Mats Hummels from Bayern -> -30,5 mio €
Nico Schulz from Hoffenheim -> -25,5 mio €
Thorgen Hazard from Mönchengladbach -> -25,5 mio €
Julian Brandt from Leverkusen -> -25 mio €
Paco Alcacer from Barcelona for -21 mio €
Leonardo Balerdi from Boca Junios -> -15,5 mio €


Overall: +4 mio €

Together with the new Puma contract that gives us about 20 more per year and other small increases in sponsorship I think we have about 20-40 million room for transfers left which could be invested in a higher quality right-wing and/or striker back-up.



Final thoughts:
After the initial big bang with us going in for Schulz, Hazard, Brandt, Isak even before the transfer-window officially opened things slowed down a lot. Especially on the departing side. The other big bang was the quick transfer of Hummels and Diallo. Especially Hummels only was rumoured a few days prior and then it was suddenly a done deal. But the squad slowly gets thinned down with Toljan, Passlack and Rode leaving.

If we get rid of all the players we want to get rid to, get a RW and/or ST back-up and get clarity about Götze, then I would give this window a 2+ (grading from 1-6). It only could get better with Toprak and Dahoud leaving while getting a replacement for Dahoud. Still I like our new squad for the next season with about 29-30 players of which 3 players are most of the time still playing at the amateurs after being promoted from the youth team, 1 is the third goalie and two other ones are young talents with potential. So essentially it is a 23-24 player-squad. The first and second team then would look the following:


---------------------- Bürki (Hitz) ----------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
--------- Hummels (Balerdi) -- Akanji (Zagadou) ----------
--------------------------------------------------------
-- Hakimi/Piszczek (Wolf/Morey) --- Schulz (Schmelzer) --
--------------------------------------------------------
----------- Witsel (Weigl) -- Delaney (Dahoud) -----------
--------------------------------------------------------
-- Sancho (Wolf) --- Reus (Brandt) --- Brandt (Hazard/Larsen)
--------------------------------------------------------
------------------ Paco (Götze/Hazard) ------------------


As you can see - the first squad looks fantastic. The second has 1-2 positions that aren't ideal.

Probably the last post about the development of the Dortmund Squad. It seems like it was mostly slimmed down now to a decent size after Schürrles, Phillipps, Kagawas and Topraks departure.


To make it short. The current Squad looks the following:

Goal: (4)
Roman Bürki
Marvin Hitz
Luca Unbehaun (Promoted Youth Player)
Eric Oelschlägel

Defense: (9)
Manuel Akanji - CB
Mats Hummels - CB
Dan-Axel Zagadou - CB, (LB)
Leonardo Balerdi - CB
Nico Schulz - LB
Marcel Schmelzer - LB
Lukasz Piszczek - RB
Achraf Hakimi - RB, (LB)
Mateu Morey - RB
(Marius Wolf - RW, (RB), (LW) )

Central Midfield: (7)
Axel Witsel - DM, CM
Julian Weigl - DM, (CB)
Thomas Delaney - DM, CM, (OM)
Mahmoud Dahoud - CM, OM
Sergio Gómez - CM, OM
Tobias Raschl DM, (CM), (RM) (Promoted Youth Player)
Patrick Osterhage CM, DM, (CB) (Promoted Youth Player)

Attacking Midfield: (8)
Marco Reus - OM, (LW), ((ST))
Jadon Sancho - RW, (LW)
Julian Brandt - LW, OM, (LW)
Thorgan Hazard - LW, (OM), (RW), (ST)
Jacob Bruun Larsen - LW, (OM, (RW)
Marius Wolf - RW, (RB), (LW)
Mario Götze - OM, (ST), (LW)
Raphael Guerreiro LW, (LB), (CM)

Striker: (1)
Paco Alcacer - ST
(Mario Götze - OM, (ST), (LW), (CM) )
(Thorgan Hazard - LW, (OM), (RW), (ST) )


- Full Squad Size is 25 players + 4 youth players who are just getting slowly integrated with the pros. Based on estimations we are at around 115 million € salary costs. Plus probably around 30-50% for bonuses depending on this years success.

- For the quality of this squad this is a fantastic sum. Especially considering that Götze still earns too much in relation to his current worth and it will probably be reduced by a million or two when his contract gets extended.

- Personally I am still not too convinced about Dahoud, but I assume we will keep him as Gomez doesn't seem to have matured enough just yet. Albeit I hope the increase in bench-players will help Gomez getting some playtime as he is oozing with talent.

- There are also ongoing rumuors about Patrik Schick who already wanted to go to us a few years ago, but we simply didn't have enough cash for it. I would like having a second full-blooded striker, but the price-tag on him for a potential benchplayer might be too high. Also it might bloat the attacking-squad a little too much except, if we plan to occasionally play 4-1-4-1 over 4-2-3-1. It's an interesting personal for sure and it should be financially doable - albeit with a bit of a stretch.
 

Swarm

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Just a few thoughts about the stuff you are writing about here.

To make it short. The current Squad looks the following:
[...]
- I am a but surprised you mention Wolf for the RB position without mentioning Guerreiro as a LB. It makes sense of course to position the latter as an attacking option but unlike Wolf he was actually used in defense in this preseason by Favre.
- I am fairly sure Osterhage is not part of the first team squad, he is neither in the team picture nor listed as part of the squad on the website. He will be a member of the U23 team.
- Jacob Bruun-Larsen can play as a striker too and was mentioned as a possible back-up for Alcacer.

- Full Squad Size is 25 players + 4 youth players who are just getting slowly integrated with the pros. Based on estimations we are at around 115 million € salary costs. Plus probably around 30-50% for bonuses depending on this years success.

- For the quality of this squad this is a fantastic sum. Especially considering that Götze still earns too much in relation to his current worth and it will probably be reduced by a million or two when his contract gets extended.
I am not so sure Götze's contract will actually be extended. I don't think it is too unlikely for him to be leaving the club yet. I am a bit torn about him. On the one hand I like him as a player and secretely still wish he was the player he was in his youth again. But on the other hand I know that is not going to happen and see him for the player he is: a good offensive player that earns way too much money for his role in the squad. Let's see what happens but I see it far from certain that he will extend his contract, especially for less money.



- Personally I am still not too convinced about Dahoud, but I assume we will keep him as Gomez doesn't seem to have matured enough just yet. Albeit I hope the increase in bench-players will help Gomez getting some playtime as he is oozing with talent.
I am not convinced by Dahoud either and even worse, I don't see Gomez as a suitable replacement either. Favre seems to agree with me, Gomez was not used as a CM at all if I recall correctly, he is more of an OM. He certainly has the capabilites to play as a CM as well but I think he is too offensive/not defensively sound enough for Favre's liking. That's why I see very slim chances for Gomez to get playing time this season (OM being the most crowded position with Reus, Brandt, Götze and several others that can play there) and would like to see him loaned out in the Bundesliga.
That leaves the CM position as arguably our weakest at the peak (depthwise it would be RW with basically only Wolf as a backup for Sancho, Favre seems to be considering Hakimi there now as well). We either have Dahoud who is inconsistent at best or Witsel/Delaney, neither of whom are very dynamic. A Gündogan type player is very much needed but I don't expect anyone coming in here, at least not this summer.


- There are also ongoing rumuors about Patrik Schick who already wanted to go to us a few years ago, but we simply didn't have enough cash for it. I would like having a second full-blooded striker, but the price-tag on him for a potential benchplayer might be too high. Also it might bloat the attacking-squad a little too much except, if we plan to occasionally play 4-1-4-1 over 4-2-3-1. It's an interesting personal for sure and it should be financially doable - albeit with a bit of a stretch.
I hope that doesn't happen. Really not sure how the asking price for Schick can beas high as it is and I am personally quite happy with our attacking options. If Götze leaves we might yet buy one more player though.
 

.mica

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Best BVB squad since years! We did our homework very well. On the other side there is the worst Bayern squad ever, they are such a joke these times. Loudmouthing Hoeness who spoke about massive transfer activities, in the end there is nothing but questionmarks and a look at Brazzos clueless face.
At the moment its possible that its more likely that there will be a title race between BVB and this football playing advertisment called RB than a race between BVB and Bayern.
 

schwalbe

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Best BVB squad since years! We did our homework very well. On the other side there is the worst Bayern squad ever, they are such a joke these times. Loudmouthing Hoeness who spoke about massive transfer activities, in the end there is nothing but questionmarks and a look at Brazzos clueless face.
At the moment its possible that its more likely that there will be a title race between BVB and this football playing advertisment called RB than a race between BVB and Bayern.
I'm calling it now, this post will not age very well.
 

do.ob

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Best BVB squad since years! We did our homework very well. On the other side there is the worst Bayern squad ever, they are such a joke these times. Loudmouthing Hoeness who spoke about massive transfer activities, in the end there is nothing but questionmarks and a look at Brazzos clueless face.
At the moment its possible that its more likely that there will be a title race between BVB and this football playing advertisment called RB than a race between BVB and Bayern.
Oh come on.. Bayern basically still have the same team that got 42 points and beat Dortmund 5:0 in the "Rückrunde". Perisic is hardly going to be a downgrade over a 35 year old Ribery. When looking at their CL ambitions, their public comments about Sane and the famous "if you only knew who we already got lined up" comment from Hoeneß, then it has probably been a humbling summer indeed, but aside from concerns about depth it's knee-jerk to the extreme to write them off for the BuLi. Even in the Supercup, despite losing in the end, between two teams who want to dominate their opposition they were actually the ones who got to enforce their match plan, Kovac can take away from the match that he has to adjust details, e.g. fine tune their build up and signing someone like Roca may do just that for him..
I like Dortmund's transfers a lot, but I think at best it's even between who is the actual favourite.