The rise and fall of Borussia Dortmund

Dortmund announced themselves properly on the European stage in the 2012-13 season ,as they topped a group also containing Real Madrid and Manchester City. With a work ethic and determination to get people behind the ball while defending and countering with lightning speed while on the attack, Dortmund were too hot to handle for their opponents. They faced familiar foes Real Madrid in the semifinals.

The result made the world sit up and take notice as Dortmund thrashed Los Blancos 4-1 at the Signal Iduna Park with Robert Lewandowski registering four times on the score sheet. They managed to hold on to their lead in the 2nd leg and qualified for the finals on aggregate. The same night however, Dortmund were dealt a major blow which would go on to impact their performances in both the Champions league finals and the future seasons.

The duo that wasn’t meant to be. Mario Gotze and Marco Reus.

Mario Gotze was central to Dortmund’s style of play after the departure of Shinji Kagawa. Although not being his direct replacement, the club did adapt according to the young and promising starlet’s talents. He formed a formidable partnership with Marco Reus who was bought back from Monchengladbach (he was sold to them after coming up through the ranks of the Dortmund academy). The duo led the way for a successful season in Europe. Just after they sealed their final spot for the grandest night of European football, Bayern Munich announced his signing officially.

The record transfer fee was disclosed and the news broke the hearts of the Dortmund fans along with a lot of neutrals around the globe. This caused the players a lot of discomfort, and Bayern went on to win the closely contested final to lift the Champions league (Gotze did not play as he was injured)

As a replacement, Klopp brought in Armenian superstar Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Shakhtar . He immediately adapted to Klopp’s style of play and lived up to the expectations supporting their star striker Lewandowski ably. However, just like in Gotze’s case, Lewandowski was at the centre of a huge free-for-all among many big clubs across Europe, and he himself declared his interest in playing for Bayern. All the speculation was put to bed earlier this year, as it was announced that he would join Bayern in the summer.

The lack of depth in the squad has been exposed following a spate of injuries this season. They lost their first choice defence of Nevan Subotic and Matt Hummels with the former sidelined for the rest of the season following a ligament tear. Lucas Piszczek returned from a long hiatus only to see his right flank partner Jakub Blaszczykowski ruled out for the rest of the season with a cruciate ligament tear. Ilkay Gundogan’s back problems still continue and concerns whether he would have to retire early have arisen. Marcel Schmelzer is the recent addition to the treatment table with the left back facing a four week lay off.

Neven Subotic out with a season ending injury

So with players departing and injury problems increasing, the future of Borussia Dortmund’s consistency is in question. The once promising super power are now merely a shadow of their previous dominating selves. As things stand, being third in the league and a position in the Champions league quarters is pretty good but the instability of their recent performances, especially after setting high standards in Europe, have raised a lot of questions.

While Ancelotti’s Madrid awaits them at the Bernabeu on the 2nd of April , will Klopp’s boys crash out with their half strength squad? Or will they indeed deliver a performance to stun Real Madrid once again and take something away to their home ground to capitalize on?