Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic He said on Thursday he was leaving the Bundesliga club less than two weeks after they lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League final.
“Dear Borussia fans, although it really saddens me, I want to tell you today that I have decided to leave,” Terzic said in a club statement.
Terzic said he asked club officials for a meeting after Dortmund’s defeat in the Champions League final at Wembley to present his resignation.
“After 10 years at BVB, including five years as coach and two and a half years as manager, I believe that the new beginning ahead should be accompanied by a new man on the sidelines.”
Dortmund accepted Terzic’s resignation and club officials met on Thursday to discuss future plans.
CEO Hans Joachim Watzke thanking the coach for his “excellent work,” saying “we all owe him a debt of gratitude.”
“Edin and I will always be friends.”
Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl He said that the club’s “successes of recent years will be linked to (Terzic),” and stated that the coach “will follow his own path.”
German media reported on Thursday that the former Dortmund player and current assistant coach Nuri Sahin He will take over as coach for next season.
Sahin, who arrived as one of Terzic’s two assistant coaches in January, having previously managed Antalyaspor in the Turkish Super League, came through Dortmund’s youth system and played 274 times for the club.
Sahin, 35, won a Bundesliga title and a German Cup at Dortmund, having also played for Real Madrid and Liverpool.
shock output
Terzic’s departure comes as a surprise as he was expected to return to manage the club next year after reaching the Champions League final.
He had previously worked as an assistant at West Ham and Beskites, but his next move is unclear.
Born on the outskirts of Dortmund, this childhood BVB fan joined the club as a youth coach and then as a scout after a playing career in the lower divisions.
As interim coach, Terzic led Dortmund to win the German Cup in 2021, just a few months after taking over.
In 2022-23, his first full season, he had Dortmund on course to win the Bundesliga title until a 2-2 draw on the final day with Mainz saw Bayern win for the 11th consecutive season.
At the end of his second campaign, Terzic had Dortmund in the Champions League final, something that only Jurgen Klopp and Ottmar Hitzfeld had done before.
Dortmund ultimately lost to Real Madrid 2-0 at Wembley despite outplaying the Spanish giants for much of the match.
Despite their excellent run in Europe, Terzic and Dortmund were criticized for a poor domestic season.
Dortmund’s success in the Champions League contrasted sharply with their performance in the Bundesliga, where they finished fifth, 27 points behind. Xabi AlonsoIt’s Bayer Leverkusen.
Dortmund was eliminated in the round of 16 by Stuttgart in the German Cup.
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© Agence France-Presse