Borussia Dortmund begin their preparations for next season against FC St. Pauli from Bundesliga 2 on 14 July at the start of a short training camp in Kitzbüheler Alps from 14-16 July. The eight-time German champions will look to give a stiff competition to Bayern Munich next season after being completely dominated by them for the llast four seasons.
Thomas Tuchel took over as the manager of the German outfit last year after the departure of Jurgen Klopp. He guided them to a second-place finish in the Bundesliga and also finished runners-up in the German Cup, narrowly losing 4-3 on penalties to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in the final.
Pierre-Emerick Aubemeyang was the standout performer, scoring 39 times in all competitions and was skillfully supported by Marco Reus and Henrikh Mkhitaryan from both the wings. It will be a depleted Dortmund next season after losing Ilkay Gundogan, Mats Hummels and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Manchester United respectively. Thomas Tuchel will have to play with what he has and hope that the BVB can put out an upset in the Bundesliga and come out on top of Bayern Munich whose incoming coach, Carlo Ancelotti, doesn’t have the best of league records.
On 16 July, Dortmund play 1860 Munich before leaving for China to participate in the International Champions Cup. There they meet both Manchester clubs back to back , facing Manchester United on 22 July in Shanghai and Manchester City on 28 July in Shenzen. Both Manchester City and Manchester Untied have new high profile managers in their roster this time around, which will give Thomas Tuchel’s men a perfect platform to prepare for the long season ahead in the Bundesliga.
A match against English side Sunderland is scheduled next in their calendar which will take place in Austria on 5 August. Sam Allardyce’s side survived relegation from the Premier League with one game to spare and will see this match as the big match before the showdown against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City a week later.
Dortmund’s travels do not end here as they fly to Switzerland next to play in another friendly against Spanish side Atletic Bilbao on 9 August.
Their first competitive match will be in the German Cup as they go up against Bayern Munich on 14 August at Signal Iduna Park.
The BVB are used to playing with depleted squad year after year, with their best players often leaving for more lucrative offers. However, they have always adapted and done well despite these circumstances by bringing in lesser known players and developing them into world-class talents. Thomas Tuchel is the right man to take the team forward and he’ll hope to find replacements for Hummels, Gundogan and Mkhitaryan’s during the pre-season.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Kick-Off (IST) |
| 14 July | FC St. Puli | Brixen im Thale, Austria | 11:30 pm |
| 16 July | 1860 Munich | Stadion Grünwalder Strade, Germany | 09:30 pm |
| 22 July | Manchester United | Shanghai, China | 05:30 pm |
| 28 July | Manchester City | Shenzen, China | 05:30 pm |
| 5 August | Sunderland | Cashpoint Arena, Altach, Austria | 11:30 pm |
| 9 August | Atletic Bilbao | AFG Arena St. Gallen, Switzerland | 11:15 pm |
