I personally like the in depth updates, but what ever is easiest for you. I'm loving this story so far

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Dortmund Analysed; Tops or Flops?

The latest team in our 'Analysed' series are last season's Bundesliga Runners-Up, Borussia Dortmund. After the departure of Robert Lewandowski to Title Rivals FC Bayern Munchen BvB have spent a whopping £52,000,000 on players whilst making back £37,500,000 in player sales. We take a look at the players going in and out of the Signal Iduna Park.

Ashley Young

After being listed by new Man United boss Louis Van Gaal Ashley Young sought refuge at Borussia Dortmund in a Loan to Buy deal of £5,750,000. The 'Flying' Left Winger made his name with Watford in the English Second Division with Watford before sealing a £10,000,000 move to Aston Villa where he spent four and a half seasons at the Midlands club. Then he got his dream move to Man United for a fee of £16,000,000 where after three seasons he finds himself hoping to kick start his career in Westphalia after some unconvincing performances for the Red Devils.

He is a mazy dribbler who packs a good shot and can make many assists, he is sure to bolster the squad for the 2014/15 season.

Fee: Loan to £5,750,000

Value for money: 74%

Ivan Klasnic

Former Werder Bremen, St Pauli, Mainz and Bolton Striker (amongst others) has joined BvB on a Free Transfer to bolster their pool of Strikers, his goal record speaks for itself with 133 Goals in 389 Games. He will likely be a player to come in for the cup games and at the ripe old age of 34 it's unlikely he will be in the team to often but Klasnic should offer goals in the DFB Pokal.

He's a goal poacher who is always in the right place at the right time to score.

Fee: Unattached

Value for money: 96%

Max Kruse

After joining for a bargain £2,100,000 to Borussia MonchenGladbach Max Kruse hit 12 goals in 34 Bundesliga appearances Max Kruse got his big money move to Borussia Dortmund, joining for a fee of £16,000,000. He will carry the main burden of scoring the goals to fire BvB up the table. With Immobile, Ramos, Klasnic and now Kruse should mean that BvB won't miss Lewandowski after his move to Bayern.

Kruse is a hard working, quick striker with a good finish. With 6 Germany Caps (and 1 Goal) he will be hoping to add to that with Dortmund.

Fee: £16,000,000

Value for money: 74%

Bernd Leno

After making his way through the Stuttgart Youth Academy Bernd Leno got his chance to play first team football in 2011, following a serious knee injury to former Bayer04 Keeper Rene Adler. He quickly impressed at the BayArena and was signed for £6,000,000 the following summer and became their First Choice Stopper. He has arrived for a club record £30,000,000 fee and is viewed as the long term replacement to Roman Weidenfeller.

He is an fast agile Keeper, who can make some of the most difficult stops look routine. He is also a good handler, so don't expect many errors. If he does well in Westphalia then a Germany Call-Up may come soon.

Fee: £30,000,000

Value for money: 80%

Dede

Former Dortmund favourite Dede has rejoined the club on a Free Transfer upon the expiry of his contract with Turkish Super League side Eskiserhispor and was subsequently not offered a new one. He will be likely be used as a backup and mentor to Erik Durm as well as possibly becoming a coach.

His positional play is one of his biggest strengths. But his Free Kicks and crossing are also second to none.

Fee: Unattached

Value for money: 98%

Vasilis Torosidis

After Lukas Piszczech's move to PSG Dortmund opted for the experienced Greek Right Back Vasilis Torosidis, the £5,000,000 deal has seen many guess he will be rotated with Kevin Großkreutz and, when he turns 17, Felix Passlack.

A player with seemingly endless energy Torosidis can operate on either flank. He is fairly quick, has good strength and should be able to challenge any of the Bundesliga's Wingers.

Fee: £5,000,000

Value for money: 71%

Total Spend

£52,000,000

All Transfers

Marcel Schmelzer has also finally completed his move to Wolfsburg and although Iconic insists that there will be no more spending from Dortmund this summer, reports say that PSV's Wing Wizard Memphis Depay christened the 'New Ronaldo' and Velez Midfielder Lucas Romero.

LOVING this story I would prefer update at the end of each season but I will read this no matter what you decide. Great work keep it up!

Dortmund lift Super Cup in shock win

In a surprising turn of events Borussia Dortmund have lifted the German Super Cup for second time in two years after a goal from Adrian Ramos settled the tie in a 1-0 win for BvB.

The first real chance of the game went the way of the hosts, after Bayern failed to clear a Dortmund Free Kick and Henrik Mkhitaryan fed the ball to Ramos who cracked a sensational shot toward the Near Post of Manuel Neuer before Jerome Boateng nor Dante had realised the ball was even there to force a World Class from one of the best Keepers in the world.

Neuer made a terrific save to deny Ramos.

Despite this though Bayern were still playing poorly, having the majority of possession but failing to find that final pass. Robert Lewandowski was also being stuck to like a rash by Jon Gorenc Stankovic and it was the young Slovenian's tackle on the big Pole in the 37th minute that allowed Henrik Mkhitaryan to break away and feed the ball to Adrian Ramos who scooped the ball past Dante like he wasn't even there and lashed the ball beyond the unsighted Manuel Neuer to give us a precious 1-0 advantage.

But couldn't keep out a thunderous effort from Ramos to make it 1-0.

Just two minutes after the goal and Thomas Muller stung the palms of Bernd Leno with a brilliant drive from just inside the penalty area and from the rebound Phillip Lahm put in a superb cross for Robert Lewandowski to head, but he could only head the ball into Leno's open arms. Leno's final act of the opening 45 minutes of play was an incredible save from a Sebastain Rode header, Leno looked to have misjudged the flight of the ball but he incredibly managed to scramble back to tip the ball off the line and out for a corner.

Leno in action as he scrambled back to make a magnificent save from Sebastian Rode, in his first competitive game for Dortmund he was able to celebrate a trophy and a clean sheet.

The first act of the second half would have had Lionel Messi put to shame had Henrik Mkhitaryan not hit the upright. After an incredible run through almost the entire pitch Mkhitaryan cracked the right upright from close range after some great defensive communication from Manuel Neuer and Jerome Boateng.

Mkhitaryan should have put the game beyond doubt when he burst through only to hit the frame of the goal.

With just 14 minutes of play remaining Robert Lewandowski finally got a chance when he shoved Jon Gorenc Stankovic to the side but his shot went too high and wide of the goal to score.

This proved pivotal as the final chance of the game swung Dortmund's way, Pierre Emerick Aubamyeng hitting a Free Kick narrowly wide of the goal.

A solid defensive, counter attacking performance from Borussia Dortmund as they claim the first blow to Bayern this term in what is sure to be an entertaining duel.

Man of The Match

The MoTM award goes to BvB's Defensive Midfielder Sven Bender, his disciplined agression and tough tackling helped inspire the victory for his side and he could well prove to be a crucial figure for the Black and Yellows this season.

Match Stats

Bayern had many more shots on target but too many were from a long distance too trouble Bernd Leno all that much. They also had slightly more possession, as Dortmund opted for a more conservative approach keeping the ball to themselves.

This could well prove to be a big morale boost for Dortmund as they lay down the marker for what they hope will be a successful campaign. Will it be Yellow ribbons on them trophy? Perhaps blue for Schalke? Rev and Black for Bayer04? Or will Bayern retain their title for the third seasons on the trot? Whatever happens it's sure to be another magical season in the Bundesliga.

congratulation's on the win! lets hope the trophies keep on coming for you!

Addicted2FM- Thanks mateI I checked out your channel btw and I like your vids keep it up!

Jack- It was a great Pre Season and I like to put in a surprise star section so I thought Kefkir was the ideal player for the category.

MooSnuckle- Thank you for your thoughts I really appreciate your input!

DarylG- Love that you gave your thoughts, and thanks for the praise!

DarlyG- Thank you! I hope so too.

Thanks everyone who comments as it always makes me happy too see that peoples enjoy my story enough to comment!

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Depay agrees deal to Dortmund on deadline day as 'Kuba' exits

Memphis Depay has agreed a deal to join Borussia Dortmund at the end of this season in a supposedly £39,000,000 to be paid in installments throughout the next 48 months.


BvB have done extremely well to secure Depay's signature, with the Dutch World Cup star making it clear he wanted a move away and with interest from both Liverpool and Manchester United, managed by his former Holland manager Louis Van Gaal, (pictured) this transfer is seen as a major coup for the club.


'We are extremely happy to have secured the signature of Memphis, we believe he is the future of Dutch football and ours.'

The PSV Eindhoven fans will hardly take to the way Depay is leaving the club well and he may find friends hard to come by and the Philips Stadion, but he is still a hugely important part of the Eindhoven team and has attempted to reassure fans of his commitment to PSV.

'I'm joining Dortmund next season but I want to reassure the Eindhoven fans that I am still going to give everything to win trophies this season, I still want to win the Eredivisie with this club and I am determined to do that this season.'

With Marco Reus, Tammo Harder, Pierre Emerick Aubamyeng and potentially Ashley Young on the wings when he joins Depay will face stiff competition at the Signal Iduna Park next season.

Also exiting was Jakub Blaszczykowski who decided to it was time for a change of scenery after eight years in Dortmund. He left for UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Holders Real Madrid for £14,000,000. Meaning he is the second BvB star to move from the Signal Iduna Park to the Santiago Bernabeu this summer.


'I believe I have achieved everything I can here and I wanted a change, Madrid provides a new challenge, city, culture, people. A whole new way of living for me but I wish all at Dortmund well in the future.'

(Blaszczykowski's thoughts on the move)

'I did want to keep Jakub but he made it clear he wanted to move after Real started to sniff around, I wasn't going to offer him some £200,000 a week contract to make him stay, I didn't want that and neither did he but he was professional in the way he left and we all hope he achieves great things in Madrid.'

(Mats Iconic's thoughts)

2014/15 Borussia Dortmund First Team Squad

Goalkeepers

Roman Weidenfeller- Experienced and reliable Stopper now in his 12th season with the club, Vice Captain.

Bernd Leno- Club record buy at £30,000,000 is viewed at the successor to both Roman Weidenfeller and Manuel Neuer.

Hendrik Bonmann- Promising young Keeper who will likely be a Backup through most of his time here.

Defenders

Mats Hummels- Star Defender and a rock at the heart of the BvB backline since his move from Bayern in 2009, Captain.

Sokratis- Greek centre Back signed from Werder Bremen last summer for £8,800,000 will likely be first choice Centre Back partner to Hummels this season.

Matthias Ginter- 20 year old German Centre Back signed from Freiburg this summer for £10,560,000 he adds to the already plentiful pool of Dortmund Centre Back's.

Marian Sarr- Signed from Bayer04 in 2013, one of the hottest prospects for BvB he may well get his chance this season.

Jon Gorenc Stankovic- One of Slovenia's best young players, Stankovic has been billed as the future partner for Ginter in the Dortmund First Team.

Kevin Großkreutz- Hometown hero, Großreutz has now got the chance to be the first choice Right Back following Lukas Piszczek's departure to PSG

Vasilis Torosidis- Experienced Greek Full Back who was added this summer for squad depth.

Erik Durm- Since his move from Mainz05 in 2013 Durm has gone from strength to strength and is now one of the most consistent performers for his team.

Dede- Dortmund legend in his second spell after a 13 year stay formerly.

Midfielders

Sven Bender- Twin brother of Bayer04 Captain Lars, has developed hugely since his arrival from 1860 Munchen in 2009.

Sebastian Kehl- Modern day Dortmund legend who has become the symbol of Borussia Dortmund since his move from Freiburg in 2002, this may well be his final season.

Ilkay Gundogan- Injury prone German midfield man who made just one appearance last season due to recurring back and knee injuries.

Nuri Sahin- Former Dortmund favourite Sahin returned last season for a bargain £6,000,000 after struggling at Real Madrid and a poor loan spell at Liverpool.

Milos Jojic- Serbian with huge potential, has arrived from Partizan Belgrade, the former club of Matija Nastasic and Stevan Jovetic.

Henrik Mkhitaryan- Armenian who struggled in his debut season after a big money move from Shaktar Donetsk, a make or break season for him.

Shinji Kagawa- Another former favourite who struggled elsewhere, he has returned for £13,200,000 after a move to Manchester United didn't quite go to plan.

Forwards

Tammo Harder- Former Schalke04 youngster who impressed in the Pre Season games, will he get his chance?

Ashley Young- Loanee from Manchester United, he will be hoping to get his career back on track after 3 hit and miss years at Old Trafford.

Marco Reus- Last man standing, he'll be hoping to put his torn ankle ligaments and missed world cup behind him and improve on the 16 goals and 14 assists from last season.

Pierre Emerick Aubamyeng- Gabonese hitman whose deadly pace and eye for goal saw him notch a more than respectable 13 Bundesliga goals last season.

Adrian Ramos- Colombian striker who after scoring 16 Bundesliga goals last season got his big money move to Dortmund.

Ciro Immobile- Capocannonieri winner last season after a sensational 22 Serie A goals saw him burst onto the scene and seal a bank busting £15,840,000 move to the Signal Iduna Park.

Star Player

Without a doubt the key player for Borussia Dortmund this season is Marco Reus, his pace trickery and eye for goal will be crucial to BvB's success, as will his ability to stay fit, also Ciro Immobile has a big task on his hands in the attempt to replace Robert Lewandowski.

One to Watch

This is a make or break year for the Armenian as he aims to become the creative force for Dortmund this season, if he doesn't improve on last season then he could find himself out the door.

Top Prospect

The Dortmund academy has produced several high potential players but Tammo Harder may well be the best of the bunch, his dribbling, composure and eye for goal make a deadly concoction that makes him a handful for any defence, he impressed in the Pre Season games but will Iconic trust him first team?

Do all your goalkeepers play in Leverkusen shirts? On another note, good story, good read. Keep it up!

August; Great Start

The start of this season couldn't have gone much better as we scored 4 without reply in the league but we were also very lucky to go through into the 2nd Round of the DFB Cup, having been drawn against Bundesliga 2. outfit VFL Bochum.

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DFB Pokal 1st Round

DFB Pokal 1st Round: VFL Bochum 2-3 Borussia Dortmund

All looked fine when Ivan Klasnic nodded home from point blank range after 28 minutes and we went into half time with a controlled 1-0 lead. But just 32 seconds into the Second Half and we were blown out of the water by a Simon Terrode header that beat Roman Weidenfeller at his near post. And we soon fell behind after another goal from Terodde, this time a volley into the bottom right corner to make it 2-1 to the hosts. I wasn't at all happy and I made that clear to the team as we poured forward in search of the 2 goals we needed, clearly that stung us awake as a simply stunning cross from Ivan Klasnic was met by the head of Aubamyeng who crashed the ball home with half an hour left on the clock. And with just 14 minutes of play remaining youngster Tammo Harder poked the ball through the legs of Bochum Captain Andreas Luthe to complete the scoring on a pulsating evening rewirpowerStadion.

Bundesliga Matchdays 1 & 2

Bundesliga Matchday 1: 1899 Hoffenheim 0-1 Borussia Dortmund

The first Matchday of the Bundesliga season was quite astonishingly different to the match against Bochum. With barely any action to speak of in the First Half. In the second 45 though things certainly livened up, Kevin Volland with a shot blocked by Mats Hummels after 48 minutes. And after 60 minutes of play it was us who took the lead after Ciro Immobile diverted in a low cross from Mkhitaryan with a fierce drive to score his first competitive goal for us. Just two minutes later though we were very nearly caught napping after Adam Szalai had a well struck effort superbly saved by Roman Weidenfeller. That save proved crucial as we managed to hang for all three points.

Bundesliga Matchday 2: Borussia Dortmund 3-0 FC Koln

The final match of the month was a routine 3-0 home victory over Koln, truth be told the visitors din't start out that bad, but after Kevin Wimmer conceded a penalty for hacking down Henrik Mkhitaryan (receiving a booking) and Milos Jojic slotted in the spot kick the visitors fell apart and only several superb saves from Timo Horn kept the scores level, most notably a 38th minute stop from Henrik Mkhitaryan showing superb reflexes to fist the ball away. But Horn was at fault for the 2nd goal, scored by Italian Ciro Immobile, the ricocheted off several Koln defenders and Mkhitaryan then played a sensational pass to Immobile who dinked the ball over the onrushing Keeper to make it 2-0. It took some time but Horn was eventually beaten again, this time though
he could do nothing. A missile Free Kick by Ashley Young was to hot for him to handle and earned Young his first BvB goal.

Player of The Month

After a stellar performance this month Ciro Immobile takes home the first 'Player of The Month' award this season, having scored 2 in 2 games and has surprised me as he was not so hot in the original version of this story, but his two goals were excellent finishes and even more is expected of the Italian as the season progresses, this will not come as good news to Max Kruse or Adrian Ramos. With neither looking likely to start regularly over Immobile in the near future.

The month and season started with a tough match at Bochum...

And also showed us what Immobile can do...

August finished with us in 3rd level on points with Borussia MonchenGladbach and FC Bayern Munchen, with 7 points will we deliver the title for the first time in 3 years?

brilliantly laid out update here, easy to read and very interesting

awesome lay out and as usual amazing update

Dortmund handed tough draw with Special One Vs Iconic One battle and Donbass return for Mkhitaryan

For the fourth year in succession Borussia Dortmund have been drawn against an English side in the UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE after Mats Iconic and co were given a tough draw in the Group Stage. BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE favourites Chelsea, Ukrainian League champions and former club of Henrik Mkhitaryan Shakhtar Donetsk and Slaven Bilic's Besiktas who finished 3rd in the Turkish Super League last season.

Borussia Dortmund

1997 Winners aiming for first title in 18 years

Since they finished rock bottom of their Group in 2011/12 BvB's progress in Europe has been incredible, Finalists the following year they came so close to winning it (losing 2-1 in the final to deadly rivals FC Bayern Munchen) but gained worldwide acclaim for their counter attacking football, with 3 wins out of 4 against Real Madrid of course the now famous night in Dortmund when Robert Lewandowski smashed 4 past 'Los Galacticos' in the 4-1 Semi Final rout.

Robert Lewandowski celebrates his 4th goal in the now infamous night in Dortmund.

Last season they were extremely unfortunate to go out in the Quarter Finals to Real (who of course went on to win the competition) after a sensational 2nd Leg performance (which the won 2-0 courtesy of a Marco Reus brace) they went out 3-2.

Despite a superb brace Marco Reus cannot prevent Real exacting their revenge as they progress 3-2 on aggregate.

Key Player

Whilst Mats Hummels is a rock at the back, Mkhitaryan creates the chances and Immobile is scoring plenty of goals. Marco Reus has to be considered Dortmund's most valuable player. He brings everything to their attack, his pace, agility and ability to score almost any type of shot means he is the Key Player. After his long injury lay off though does he still have his ability to change matches.

One to Watch

After his £23,000,000 move from Shaktar Donetsk Henrikh Mkhitaryan hasn't quite been able to live up to the hype. Despite 9 Bundesliga goals he didn't have the effect on games that his predecessor Mario Gotze did. It is really a make or break season for him and his link up play with Ciro Immobile and Marco Reus will be vital.

Chelsea

Mourinho aiming for 3rd Champions League gong

After John Terry's slip in the Moscow rain in 2008, Roman Abramovich became obsessed with winning the UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE. Spending hundreds of millions of pounds on players as well as going through 4 different managers (Philipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink, Carlo Ancelotti and Andre Villas Boas) before it looked like he finally got his man in Roberto Di Matteo as the Pensioners beat Bayern Munchen on penalties.

Roberto Di Matteo savours the success after the greatest night in Chelsea's history.

But alas he was sacked just four months later and Rafa Benitez became Interim First Team manager before their prodigal son Jose Mourinho returned for a second spell at the club and managed yet another Semi Final with Chelsea, bowing out to Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid.

Diego Costa helped down his new club in the Semis last season, now he'll attempt to do the same with the Blues.

Key Player

With such an incredible team you really can't single out one Chelsea player as being the best, so instead the Key 'Player' to Chelsea is the Manager Jose Mourinho. Arguably the world's greatest Coach he keeps his players in check, has their respect, and masterminds so many victories, it will be extremely interesting to see how Mats Iconic fairs against him.

One to Watch

After 13 goals in 20 Serie A matches last season Jose Mourinho ensured the Chelsea board moved quickly to sign Mattia Destro for a reported £12,800,000 and it should be money well spent. He's good in the air, has a great finish, is relatively quick and strong and should provide quality cover for Diego Costa should Chelsea need it.

Shakhtar Donetsk

Like Dortmund Shakhtar finished rock bottom of their Group in 2011/12 but the season after they managed to knockout the then holders Chelsea after a superior head to head record but were the dumped out of the competition by the 2012/13 Runners Up Borussia Dortmund.

Alex Texeira basks in his glory after scoring the winner to dump out Chelsea in 2012.

Last season was not great as they finished a full 6 points behind Group A winners Manchester United and 2 behind 2nd placed Bayer Leverkusen04.

But they couldn't overcome Borussia Dortmund as they were knocked out 5-2 (aggregate scoring).

Key Player

There is little contest for the Key Player of Shakhtar, Luiz Adriano is really head and shoulders above the rest, his eye for goal, pace and trickery are pivotal to his side's success and Shakhtar will need him on form to fire them through to the Last 16.

One to Watch

Another Brazilian, pint sized Bernard has all the attributes to be a a world class Playmaker, but since his move from Atletico Mineiro he's failed to captivate consistently. Like Henrik Mkhitaryan this will be a make or break season for him.

Besiktas

They're the whipping boys of this Group, that tells you difficulty

Don't underestimate the Turkish Super League side, Slaven Bilic's side have a scary resemblance to Diego Simeone's Atletico and will push the other teams all the way. They qualified through Play Off victories against Greek ginats Panathinaikos and Russian Billionares Zenit St Petersburg. Although there last inception into this competition was in 2009/10 when they went out in the Group Stage finishing bottom behind VFL Wolfsburg (3rd), CSKA Moscow (2nd) and Manchester United (1st).

Last Time: A 1-0 at Old Trafford was the only real highlight in their previous Champions League campaign.

Key Player

Former Chelsea and 1899 Hoffenheim Striker Demba Ba will know all about two of his Group A opponents going into the competition. Signed for a bargain £5,000,000 he'll look to prove Mourinho wrong for selling him and spearhead the attack, scoring in all different ways.

One to Watch

Turkey's answer to Ilkay Gundogan. It's easy to see the comparisons between Veli Kavlak and his Dortmund counterpart. His all action style strikes the perfect balance in the Besiktas midfield, tackle, pass, shoot pretty much anything he can do. If he impresses enough a move to on of Europe's bigger clubs may be in his reach.

Brilliant updates here will be following

ImDonkey- Only for the one game

Jack- Thank you for another awesome comment!

No1VillaFan- Thanks! The layout of my updates will hopefully be progressing now.

Cappy13- Great! I'm so happy peoples are enjoying this story!