Edin Terzic announced this week that he would be leaving Borussia Dortmund. (Photo by Alex … (+)
Edin Terzic is no longer the coach of Borussia Dortmund. The announcement came Thursday, less than two weeks after the team’s Champions League final loss to Real Madrid.
“Dear Borussia, although it hurts me a lot right now, I want to inform you that starting today I will leave BVB,” Terzic said in an emotional video posted on Dortmund’s social networks. “It was a great honor to lead this great club to victory in the DFB Cup and recently to the Champions League final. After our final at Wembley I asked to talk to the management because, after ten years at BVB, including five years on the coaching staff and two and a half years as coach, I believe that the next restart should be led by a new person. .”
Several media outlets reported on Thursday that Terzic had submitted his resignation on Wednesday night. Terzic then met with sporting director Lars Ricken, general manager Hans-Joachim Watzke, sporting director Sebastian Kehl and consultant Matthias Sammer. After a 45-minute meeting, Terzic left and shortly after the club announced his resignation.
In addition, assistant coach Nuri Sahin was present as part of the meeting. The former Dortmund midfielder is now the favorite to replace Terzic.
How do we get here? In the end, the results have not been good enough for Dortmund this season. In fact, apart from the Champions League, the black and yellow were eliminated early from the German Cup and only finished fifth in the Bundesliga. In fact, if it hadn’t been for Bundesliga clubs doing well in Europe this season, Dortmund would have missed out on the Champions League entirely next season.
Mats Hummels, very critical of Edin Terzic, will also leave Borussia Dortmund this … (+)
This season has been a big step back from last season, when Dortmund failed to win the Bundesliga title. Several players have taken a step back and talents such as Youssoufa Moukoko and Karim Adeyemi are stagnating in their development.
Internally, Terzic has also been considered critical by several players. The most notable is Mats Hummels. The centre-back gave a controversial interview to Sport Bild in which he openly criticized Terzic’s tactics this season.
That interview generated some controversy just before the Champions League final. Terzic could have said before the final that he did not read the interview, but that is far from the truth. Terzic and Hummels had a controversial argument before the match, but they buried the hatchet for the sake of the final.
In retrospect, the Hummels interview could have been the straw that broke the camel’s back to end Terzic and Hummels’ stay in Dortmund. Shortly after Terzic announced his resignation, reports also suggested that Hummels would leave the club.
In short, it is what the Germans call a Zeitenwende (turning point) for Dortmund. The coach is gone and, with Hummels, one of the team’s leaders will also be leaving. Coupled with the fact that club legend Marco Reus will also be leaving this summer and that there will be a new boss in charge in Ricken, Dortmund are facing a major change.
In some ways, rotation might be necessary. Germany’s second largest club has not only stagnated in its development but has reached a point of significant recession. A new coach and new leadership will now be in charge of reforming the team and returning Dortmund to a level where the club can challenge for a Bundesliga title.
Manuel Veth is the presenter of Bundesliga Counterpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA in Transfer market. He has also published in The Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA and various other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth and in Threads: @manuveth