Jürgen Klopp was about as beloved as any soccer manager could possibly be. It’s safe to say he had near cult-like status amongst the Borussia Dortmund faithful. However, his final season was less than stellar and many wondered if not only Klopp’s best days, but Dortmund’s were behind them.
Die Schwarzgelben didn’t take long to answer that last question, opening up 2015-16 Bundesliga play with an emphatic 4-0 thrashing of Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday. While reigning champions Bayern Munich put up a 5-0 scoreline in its opener over Hamburg, no team looked more prime for a title run in round 1 than Dortmund did.
Just how big of a deal was this victory? Not only did Dortmund get a win in round 1, something it didn’t do last season, it did it against one of the best back lines in all of the Bundesliga. Mönchengladbach finished last season with the fewest goals allowed by a team not named Bayern Munich. It also never gave up more than two goals to an opponent in a game all season long.
Let’s also remember that Munich’s 5-0 scoreline came against a Hamburg team that survived a relegation playoff to keep its place in the 1. Bundesliga. Whereas today’s 4-0 scoreline for Dortmund comes against a team qualified for the Champions League.
All of the trepidation over what will happen without Klopp at the helm of this club is gone after just one week, something few saw coming in the battle of the Borussia’s.
New manager, Thomas Tuchel, started life at the helm of Germany’s most passionate club in a memorable way. However, he may need to hope and pray a little in the coming weeks as his club’s performance may only up the interest in its star players.
Speaking of which, the ultimate star on this side, Marco Reus, proved he was worthy of all the praise early on in this matchup. He opened Dortmund’s 2015-16 account with a 15th minute strike and BVB never looked back.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang doubled Dortmun’ds lead just six minutes later (21′) and by the time Mönchengladbach figured out what happened it was already 3-0 thanks to the first of a brace from midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan (33′). He would finish off the scoring with a 50th minute strike and shut the door on any hope of a Mönchengladbach comeback.
It wasn’t just the goal scorers that made the difference either, as veteran Mats Hummels and the rejuvenated Shinji Kagawa were vital on most of the attacking Dortmund did on the day. Kagawa, a transfer back to Dortmund after a two-year stint at Manchester United, appeared ready to live up to his previous stint in the black and yellow.
With Reus a large target for the upcoming close of the international transfer window, seeing players like Hummels and Kagawa picking up the attacking options is hugely important. Having those extra options only makes the rest of the squad’s jobs easier too.
The question is, can Dortmund not suffer a slip and the extended troubles it did last season.
While one week doesn’t a season make, there is little doubt that following last seasons flat performance, Dortmund put the rest of the league on notice — it’s back and ready to fight for a title.
