After BVB’s 0-1 loss to Bayer Leverkusen, players and staff are mostly concerned about the sporadic boos aimed at Nico Schlotterbeck. It’s commendable that they’re closing ranks to defend him, but they’re also papering over a worrying drop in team morale.
After BVB’s 0-1 loss to Bayer Leverkusen , players and staff are mostly concerned about the sporadic boos aimed at Nico Schlotterbeck. It’s commendable that they’re closing ranks to defend him, but they’re also papering over a worrying drop in team morale.
Borussia Dortmund’s players and officials quickly closed ranks after the 0–1 loss to Bayer Leverkusen, publicly backing Nico Schlotterbeck and condemning the isolated boos he received when the starting XI was read out and during the game. Any other response would have been surprising and, more importantly, counterproductive. Closing ranks, presenting a united front and shielding Schlotterbeck as a team—or, as coach Niko Kovac put it, “as Borussians”—is one thing.The backlash against the boos—isolated and, from the fans’ perspective, entirely understandable—was not only unduly harsh ; it also overshadowed far more significant issues that could have dominated the afternoon’s discussion.True, BVB remain a very strong second-placed side: they have lost only twice in the league—to the soon-to-be champions Bayern Munich and, most recently, to Bayer Leverkusen, whom they had already beaten in the cup. The football has rarely been a joy to watch, yet the results and, crucially, the much-vaunted mentality have delivered the goods. The loss to Bayer Leverkusen, who are chasing a Champions League berth, does nothing to change that. It is understandable, given the Bundesliga table has been set in stone for weeks—Bayern Munich are too far ahead, while RB Leipzig and VfB Stuttgart sit comfortably behind—that the side is no longer fighting with every ounce of energy to avoid defeat.Getty Images SportIn Stuttgart last week, BVB appeared content with a goalless draw until deep into stoppage time. The flattering 2–0 win was solely down to the impact of substitutes Karim Adeyemi, Julian Brandt and Fabio Silva, who delivered both goals and underlined their claims for more playing time. Their impact earned them starts against Leverkusen, and although Dortmund lost 1–0, Brandt was among their better performers. Even the 3-2 comeback win over Hamburger SV before the international break, after falling 0-2 behind, owed more to Niko Kovac’s substitutes Ramy Bensebaini and Fabio Silva than to a collective improvement. Against Leverkusen, Dortmund started brightly and enjoyed periods of control without carving out clear chances inside the box. After going behind to an unfortunate goal, however, there was no sign of a fightback in the second half—quite the opposite. The fact that both sets of fans fell silent because of a medical emergency in the stands seemed to affect the BVB players more than the earlier boos directed at Schlotterbeck, who, in fairness, had performed reasonably well. But that’s a side note.“The German champions haven’t been decided yet,” Niko Kovac stated as recently as Thursday. Mathematically, he noted, anything remains possible at both ends of the table. A born realist, Kovac was not implying that his side could suddenly overhaul Bayern. Nor was he suggesting that a top-four finish—still not mathematically certain after the loss to Leverkusen—was suddenly at risk. His real target was to guard against the kind of slump in intensity his side showed against Leverkusen, as well as in earlier matches against VfB Stuttgart and Hamburger SV. One of Kovac’s greatest achievements this season is that the much-feared debate about mentality—which in Dortmund can be paralysing and fruitless—never even started. Their possession play has sometimes lacked imagination, yet Kovac has instilled a refusal to surrender, a trait that papered over earlier slips against Stuttgart and Hamburg. That resilience now looks fragile, even if results remained solid until recently. Another stumble this Saturday at TSG Hoffenheim could gift Bayern the title earlier than expected. While Dortmund may not lose sleep over Bayern’s title party, if this BVB side truly wants to carry Kovac’s stamp, it should attack Saturday’s trip to Hoffenheim with the same fire it showed on the touchline, defending Nico Schlotterbeck against a few boos.
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