Dortmund fans hope for a turnaround in Bundesliga

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Berlin, Jan 9 (IANS) There is a reason Dortmund coach Marco Rose has refused to talk about his side's chances of winning the 2021-22 Bundesliga.

"[The gap to leaders Bayern Munich] might be only six points now, but we are well-advised to talk about ourselves and work on our issues. And that's a mentality," Rose said after his team turned a 2-0 defeat against Frankfurt into a 3-2 victory.

His team showed the best possible reaction in the second half, he added. "We have been talking about mentality the entire week. The team saw it's worthwhile. It's on them to continue," Rose stated.

Dortmund fans have developed new enthusiasm as Bayern's defeat against Borussia Monchengladbach offers the chance to break the monotony in the Bundesliga, with the Bavarians taking the last nine titles, reports Xinhua.

Other than most supporters, Rose remains realistic. "We don't talk about attacking Bayern. We'd better do our homework," the coach said.

While Dortmund can count on one of the best-attacking lines in Europe, the team continuously suffers from inconsistency in defense and its entire game structure.

Currently second in the league with 44 goals scored, Dortmund rank only 10th in terms of goals conceded, with 28. League newcomers Bochum (26) and fellow underdogs Arminia Bielefeld (24) are better off.

The 11 goals conceded after individual mistakes might tell Dortmund's story.

While the victory over Frankfurt might have been a turning point, German international Mats Hummels demanded to end the team's "wild-west football."

The 33-year-old said it makes sense to work on stability rather than talking about titles.

"If we want to win anything, that's our most pressing issue," he added. Hummels spoke about Dortmund's great potential. "But you don't always win games narrowly as we did against Frankfurt."

Hummels demanded that Dortmund play a dominant and stable game over 90 minutes.

An early exit from the Champions League might be a good example of the team's weakness in securing a lead, proving a lack of resilience.

While Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has set new season goals in the Europa League and the German Cup, tactical debates remain for the club.

So far, Dortmund can't achieve stability between their attacking efforts and defensive issues. Rose's desire to present enchanting attacking football doesn't fit with the team's quality.

With players of the highest quality such as striker Erling Haaland and midfielder Jude Bellingham, the Dortmund squad nevertheless suffers from a quality drop in many other positions.

"All these ups and downs are extremely energy-sapping," Hummels said.

Coach Rose talked about a comfortable situation. "We know about our issues. We know what we need to improve. And we know about our quality," he said.

--IANS

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