The BVB Chronicles

Schmelzer and Gotze out... I don't think Nagelsmann is endearing himself to the fans by shipping out two fans-favourites!

Shipping Götze out is a very ballsy move, but it could be a way of for Nagelsmann to stamp his mark on the squad. Nobody dare threaten his authority now. Santos Borré is a very out of the blue signing, though I do think you'll be forced to replace him in the next transfer window! I did a save in Argentina as Boca on FM19 [I think], and he didn't do much damage against me in all honesty.

THE PRE-SEASON FIXTURES AND RESULTS

Burgenland, Austria



Julian Nagelsmann`s Borussia Dortmund travelled to Burgenland, Austria for a training camp that was set up by the board to aid in the players match fitness and sharpness, while also getting a nice little vacation out of it. The training camp lasted two weeks and there were two friendlies scheduled, against SK Vorwärts Steyr and ASK Ebreichsdorf, which Dortmund won 0-4 and 0-5 respectively. The BVB then travelled back to Germany to face German Regionalliga Südwest side Saarbrücken away from home and came away with a 0-1 win, and also semi-pro side VFL Rhede away from home and were victorious 0-4. The last friendly scheduled was away against Lotte of the Regionalliga West and Nagelsmann`s men triumphed 1-2. It was a spot on pre-season in terms of friendlies for Dortmund, with Nagelsmann having them play some very exciting heavy-metal football. It is encouraging that the BVB players turned up in every game despite not being fully match sharp, even though the lack of quality from the opposition was fairly apparent.




The winners of the Bundesliga Bayern Munich and the runners-up Borussia Dortmund matched up in this intriguing affair. The match was held at the Westfalenstadion (Signal Iduna Park), so Dortmund had the home advantage and slight edge over Bayern according to the bookies. The game was a huge early tester for Nagelsmann, as an embarrassing defeat in this game would not be a good look in his first competitive game as manager of the BVB. Here is the game analysis:


The game started explosively, with Bayern soaring out of the blocks, dominating early on and bagging an early goal in the 10th minute through a Serge Gnabry curler into the top-right corner after a nod on via French midfielder Corentin Tolisso from a throw in that ended up at the left side of the penalty area. Dortmund were left a bit shellshocked by Bayern`s dominant start, and Nagelsmann had to pull something special out of the hat now to overturn the deficit. The game continued in the same vein for another 10 minutes or so until Dortmund started to come alive and eventually equalized in the 26th minute through a close-range one-on-one finish into the top left-hand corner from magician Jadon Sancho. The Dortmund`s players heads now started to rise as the army of yellow fans started to get behind their side even more, with deafening chanting being heard all over the Westfalenstadion. Nagelsmann`s men now had a stranglehold on proceedings and when the half-time whistle blew, they were on top.

The second half was a pure tactical masterclass from Nagelsmann. His side started the half with no fear, and were instructed to press the Bayern players like their lives depended on it, while also making sure to keep an eye and go in hard on the world-class Pole Robert Lewandowski and rapid wide man Serge Gnabry, who had already bagged a goal. This worked to incredible effect, as it kept them quite, allowing Dortmund to take complete control of the game, and in the 63rd minute technical winger Julian Brandt gave Nagelsmann`s side the lead, firing an insane first-time volley via a right-hand side cross from pacey Swiss man Manuel Akanji into the top left-hand corner from the left side of the penalty area. The Dortmund fans went into absolute raptures and the noise level grew once more. With the lead now in Nagelsmann`s favour, he decided to see out the game playing a back 5 and lowering the tempo, to make sure his side kept the ball for as long as possible, and retreating the defensive line closer to their own box as to not get caught out. It paid off to full effect and Dortmund picked up their first DFL-Supercup win since the 2014/15 season, bringing an end to Bayern`s three years of dominance. With the first silverware won by Dortmund in the Nagelsmann era in their first competitive game under him, it was some introduction to say the least.




An away fixture hosted by 2.Bundesliga side Karlsruher SC at the Wildparkstadion was drawn for the BVB in their first-round encounter. Here is the game analysis:


It was nothing like the previous game, as Dortmund reigned superior in all areas, scoring very early on from an embarrassing own goal from defender Marius Gersbeck in the 5th minute, and then scoring again in the 39th minute through an absolute screamer from explosive full-back Nico Schulz, with him booting it from the left-hand side of the pitch into the top left-hand corner from just outside the penalty area.

In the second half, Karlsruher were a bit more competitive and gave Dortmund a lot more of a game, but it was to no avail as they failed to find the net as Nagelsmann`s outfit ran away comfortable 0-2 winners.

A fixture away to fellow Bundesliga side 1. FSV Mainz 05 was pulled out of the hat for the second-round, which will be held at the OPEL Arena in late October.


Comments

Jack: I hope it pays off too!

Justice: Its a sign of the times aye

TheLFCFan: Hopefully he can be a massive boost as a back-up.

ScottT: Its a brave move, but one that Naglesmann had to make for the betterment of the future.

James: I see Borre having a possible huge impact if we play to his strengths.



#10

Good to see you’ve started to inflict your own Brandt of football on Germany. A trophy in the bag and bragging rights over Bayern is something positive to start the season.

What kind of role do you envisage Reus having at the club this season and beyond?

A fairly straightforward preseason campaign but it seems to have set you on the right path in the season with those two wins!

A nice preseason which set you up nicely for getting your first win over Bayern. It sets the standard for the rest of the season now

Encouraging signs to have beaten Bayern to a piece of silverware. A tidy victory against Karlsruhe too.

HAHAHAHHAHHA N'DICKA PICS!!

Two great early results with bragging rights over Munich early on in this new era at Dortmund. Looking forward to the start of the league campaign.

Date Published: Saturday 17th August 2019 9:00

Elseid Hysaj


Julian Nagelsmann has a great coup of a deal here, with wing-back Elseid Hysaj signing from Serie A big timers Napoli on a loan deal until the end of the 2019/20 season, with a future mandatory fee of €12 million on a wage of €57k p/w. The 25-year-old Albanian national team star was unwanted at Napoli by outgoing boss Maurizio Sarri, and to everyone`s surprise at the Stadio San Paolo, Hysaj was transfer listed for only €12 million, which is a number even lower than his €13 million value.

The full-back/wing-back positions were weak areas overall in Nagelsmann`s Dortmund side when he first took charge as there wasn’t much quality depth on either side, but with the signing of Hysaj who can play naturally on the right and quite competently on the left, he doesn’t have to worry about that too much anymore.
Hysaj should be an important rotational option at the very least for Nagelsmann, and with his electric pace and gritty mentals, he should bode very well as a starter or as an impact sub late on in games if needed.


Comments

Justice: Reus will have a huge role to play if he can stay injury free. He is one of the attacking elite.

tedbro20: Indeed bro, some very strong building blocks have been laid.

ScottT: Very encouraging, absolutely. That win over Bayern gives the whole club confidence ahead of the Bundesliga proper.

Griffo: YOU WANT AN N`DICKA PIC?

TheLFCFan: I am looking forward to it aswell. Big Nagy will have his side up for it!



#11

A signing of real pedigree. Hysaj is a very talented option to bring in and for a reasonable sum of money too.

Bargain. Absolute bargain.

Fantastic signing, his physical attributes are exactly what you need from a fullback/wingback

Well those pics are not nearly as much fun...

Great move that really strengthens you in the long run.