Borussia Dortmund began 2025 in a manner nobody could have predicted: two losses in two games and just one win in their last five matches. The recent 4-2 defeat to Holstein Kiel, the second-to-last team in the Bundesliga, set off maximum alarms at Signal Iduna Park. For a team used to competing at the top, their current ninth position in the table reflects a crisis that mixes on-field errors and off-field doubts.
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The burden of being the reference
At 36 years old, the greatest challenge of his brief managerial career so far beckons for Nuri Sahin. The immediate reaction to defeat at Kiel was to shoulder the blame.
"I can't dodge the criticism. It's not about me, it's about Borussia Dortmund. I haven't managed to make the team play the way I want yet."
The words of Sahin demonstrate awareness, but expose one great dilemma: this young coach, to consolidate leadership, needs victories. Ideas which hitherto have raised him as the promising bet did not seem up until now to have been assimilated into the squad.
The defeat against Kiel exposed tactical and emotional weaknesses. This is well-demonstrated on the final play when keeper Gregor Kobel ventured to the opponent's area to attempt the equalizing, and there falls a counter-attack resulting in the fourth goal-a perfect description of team rudderless.
Squad and collective responsibility
While Sahin has taken his share of the blame, the same cannot be said for a squad that seems far from its best form. The club’s CEO, Lars Ricken, was blunt in his criticism after the disaster against Kiel:
“Games like this are simply embarrassing and shameful. The way we’re representing the black and yellow colors is unworthy.”
Ricken's statement points directly at the problem. This is a team full of talent, with players who have already proven their potential in top-level competitions.
Table and the harsh reality
This fact best describes the situation of Dortmund, as their current position of ninth place in the Bundesliga says much about their state. The team is five points behind the top four with 25 points, a place once believed to mean a safe Champions League spot, but now the goal seems to move further away. As Sahin himself pointed out: "We can't talk about the Champions League. Our reality is different."
Important this recognition may be, it also serves to underscore the scale of the task ahead. Dortmund slips further behind in a league predicated on sustained consistency and results on the road.