BVB in crisis: Nuri Şahin becomes an on-call coach

Nuri Şahin is officially a member of Borussia Dortmund. When the long-time club hero left the arena in Frankfurt shortly before midnight, Şahin seemed very unsettled and deeply disappointed. After the 2-0 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt and a completely messed up Bundesliga start to 2025, BVB is not only threatened with missing out on the premier class, but Şahin is also threatened with a quick exit as head coach of his heart club.

Managing director Lars Ricken once again gave the football coach a job guarantee – but explicitly only until Tuesday, when the reeling Borussia competes in the Champions League at FC Bologna. “It is his and our responsibility that we have to get the best out of Borussia. Nuri will sit on the bench in Bologna with the clear expectation that we now need victories and a sense of achievement,” said the BVB boss, who looked serious and sounded demanding.

Bologna should now be Şahin’s first final. The 36-year-old is aware of his situation – even though Ricken and sports director Sebastian Kehl made another commitment. “The arguments are performance and results. I don’t need confirmation every three days that I’m in office. We all know about the situation,” said the coach, who kept his statement in the packed press room as short as possible and after less than a minute came to the end.

He brushed off questions about his personal well-being in the complicated situation. This is “secondary”. Because there is alarm at BVB, the situation is becoming more and more serious. The team around national players Julian Brandt and Nico Schlotterbeck fell into the second half of the table and was also eliminated from the cup. A week of truth awaits Dortmund.

“It’s another low blow. We lost three games in a row. It’s frustrating. The table situation is disastrous, no question about it,” said Ricken. The 2:3 against champions Bayer Leverkusen and the embarrassing 2:4 at newly promoted Holstein Kiel were followed by a defeat at Eintracht, who played without top striker Omar Marmoush, who was willing to change. Dortmund lost six of nine games away from home. A devastating result.

In the era after cult coach Jürgen Klopp, coaches like Peter Bosz, Lucien Favre, Marco Rose and Edin Terzic had to vacate their positions with significantly better records. Şahin’s big loan seems to have already been used up after a weak six months.

Emre Can’s conclusion was brief. “Not good enough. That has to change as quickly as possible,” said the captain at Dazn. In front of the whistling fans, the professionals around Can and Schlotterbeck had a lively discussion. It was obviously about a visit to the curve. Can rounded up his professionals and moved them into the dressing room. Şahin disappeared there as quickly as possible after the final whistle.

While Frankfurt has 36 points and is in third place, Dortmund has slipped into mediocrity after zero points from three games in the new year. Clubs like Mainz and Wolfsburg are currently ahead of Borussia as a matter of course. “Until the last day that I am coach of Borussia Dortmund, I will try to move forward and turn things around,” said Şahin.

His biggest advantage is probably the currently very tight schedule. Bremen waits four days after Bologna, after which there is another English week with games against Donetsk and in Heidenheim. If Şahin were fired, a successor wouldn’t have much time to get the seriously ailing BVB star ensemble back into shape.

The fact that Dortmund were denied two possible penalties in a 2-0 defeat thanks to goals from Hugo Ekitiké and Rasmus Hojlund on Friday evening was subsequently an issue for Şahin and Ricken. However, the BVB management didn’t really want to complain given their next mixed performance.

“We are of the opinion that at least a penalty could be given. The problem is: taking a shot at it in our situation is not very confident,” said Ricken, who brutally dealt with it in his first season as a strong man in Dortmund pressure and high demands.

Around eight months after losing the Champions League final against Real Madrid, the motto these days is to limit the damage and somehow stay in the European ranks. It seems more than questionable that short-term winter transfers will help. Because Dortmund doesn’t actually seem to be lacking in quality.

BVB is still doing worse in the table than it has in ten years. The listed club’s shares also fell to a ten-year low after the embarrassment in Kiel. At that time, Klopp left the traditional club at the end of the season. Şahin only has that much time if he delivers results quickly.