Opinion Borussia Dortmund
Even the choice of words is surprising when coach Terzic leaves
As of: 13.06.2024 | Reading time: 3 minutes
Edin Terzic leaves Borussia Dortmund
Coach Edin Terzic is leaving Borussia Dortmund unexpectedly. At BVB, the so-called “elephant round” of club bosses met with Hans-Joachim Watzke, Sebastian Kehl and Lars Ricken. The new coach is said to already be in the starting blocks.
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Edin Terzic has announced his resignation as BVB coach – apparently unexpectedly. The supposedly perfect world of Dortmund had been cracking for some time. Mats Hummels was not the only one to distance himself from Terzic.
Meetings at Borussia Dortmund can develop a dynamic of their own. Two years ago, Marco Rose appeared after the last Bundesliga matchday for a season analysis with the club’s officials. Rose, who had led Dortmund to runner-up status in his first and – as it turned out that day – only season, thought he should inform them about his plans for the coming season. But then he realized that his interlocutors had serious doubts about continuing to work together. A few hours later, he had certainty: he was being put on leave.
On Thursday at 1 p.m., BVB published a press release that was surprising: Edin Terzic has asked the club to immediately terminate his contract – and Dortmund have agreed to this “after a joint discussion”.
This was followed by a personal statement from Terzic, who won the DFB Cup with BVB in 2021 – then as interim coach – and led the club to the Champions League final at the end of the past season. It “hurts him terribly,” the 41-year-old is quoted as saying. After the final, which Dortmund lost 2-0 to Real Madrid on June 1, he asked those in charge for a conversation “because he had the feeling that the upcoming new start should be led by a new man on the sidelines.”
True love without a happy ending: Edin Terzic asked BVB to terminate his contract
Source: dpa/Bernd Thissen
A new start? A new man? The choice of words alone surprised the public. Until this Thursday, there had been no public talk of either in Dortmund. Terzic also explained that in the past few days he had been overcome by a “basic feeling” that had not changed “even after intensive discussions.”
If his “feeling” was based on increasing scepticism from within the team, he may have been right. Because the Dortmund world has not been as perfect as the club has long tried to make it appear. Things have been shaky for months.
Terzic’s exit could have happened earlier
There were already doubts during the winter break as to whether Terzic was still the right man. The team was languishing in fifth place in the Bundesliga table. Despite this, Dortmund stuck with Terzic. However, they appointed two new assistant coaches to assist him, Nuri Sahin and Sven Bender. They in turn had a massive influence on the direction of the team, with Sahin in particular playing a major role. The ambitious former BVB professional was already said to have ambitions to become head coach himself.
In the second half of the season, the team’s performance stabilized somewhat – although not to the extent that those in charge had hoped. BVB remained fifth in the league, but the successful games in the Champions League gave Terzic hope of another attempt.
Edin Terzic leaves Borussia Dortmund
Coach Edin Terzic is leaving Borussia Dortmund unexpectedly. At BVB, the so-called “elephant round” of club bosses met with Hans-Joachim Watzke, Sebastian Kehl and Lars Ricken. The new coach is said to already be in the starting blocks.
He must have realised that he was wrong in the week before the Champions League final. Defence chief Mats Hummels gave an interview that amounted to a general attack on the coach. Hummels openly criticised the overly defensive tactics at times (“Borussia Dortmund cannot play like that, against any opponent in the world”). At the same time, he explicitly praised the work of Sahin and Bender in an interview with “Sport Bild”. Under normal circumstances, the interview should have resulted in a suspension. However, this did not happen with the final in mind. Hummels will still have no future at BVB.
In the days that followed, the impression grew that Hummels was not the only one critical of the coach. Terzic felt that he had lost parts of the team and decided to resign. It was still unclear on Thursday who would be his successor – but it is clear that Sahin is the preferred candidate. His promotion would be a logical step – but it could have happened six months earlier.
