FOOTBALL. Is Dortmund set for resurgence?

Mats Hummels. Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Ilkay Gundogan. When these names left Borussia Dortmund for greener pastures at the end of the last season, it only strengthened the notion that BVB’s brief spell as giant killer was over, and the Bundesliga was resigned to be a one-horse race for good.

The Black-and-Yellow from North Rhine-Westphalia has seen star players leave one after the other in recent years – along with manager Jurgen Klopp, who has been credited for building the team that gave Bayern Munich a run for its money, winning back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2010-2011 and 2011-12, and reaching the Champions League final in 2013.

When Thomas Tuchel took over in the summer of 2015, he had a huge task ahead. With Dortmund having battled relegation for most of the 2014-2015 season, and having finished seventh in Klopp’s final campaign, Tuchel had major rebuilding to do. However, defying the odds, he took the club back to where it was used to finishing – second.

Although Bayern’s dominance is expected to continue, with Carlo Ancelotti now at the helm of affairs, this could be the season of BVB’s resurgence.

The talking point at the Signal Iduna Park has largely been about the return of the prodigal son – Mario Gotze – who had crossed over to Munich after guiding Dortmund to the two title wins. His decision to switch allegiance has still not been forgiven by many fans, who have made it clear that he will never be welcomed back.

But the anger notwithstanding, the signing is a coup for Dortmund, who actively moved to capitalise on the player’s failure to settle at the Allianz Arena after getting limited opportunities.

The re-signing of Gotze is a statement of intent. The midfielder, who scored the winning goal for Germany in the 2014 World Cup, is just 24. Returning home could just be the turning point in his career. Gotze will be joined by another big name – Andre Schurrle.

During his 18 months at Wolfsburg, Schurrle scored 13 goals and set up a further 10, which justifies Dortmund’s faith in the player.

Despite these two signings having made news, Dortmund have been silently active in the transfer market in other departments too. The club have captured midfielder Sebastian Rode (25) from Bayern Munich, as well as defender Marc Bartra (25) from Barcelona, who found opportunities hard to come by with Gerard Pique ahead of him in the Catalan line-up.

Other significant captures were those of Portuguese defender Raphael Guerreiro (22), who made a mark in International colours during Euro 2016, as well as Ousmane Dembele (19), from French club Stade Rennes, and Turkish international Emre Mor (19), from FC Nordsjælland.

Tuchel’s decision to go for youngsters – all signings are of players below 25 – hints at plans for long-term building rather than instant silverware. The 4-1 rout in China of a Manchester United team that included outgoing player Mkhitaryan was a sign of a determined Dortmund, though any talk of the team being now ‘complete’ is premature. Defence still remains a shaky area for Dortmund, with Hummels having left and Subotic no more being the force once reckoned. With Roman Weidenfeller ageing, the club need a quality keeper as a back-up to current first choice keeper Roman Burki.

The Westphalians face rivals Bayern in the DFL-Supercup, the new season’s curtain raiser, and neutrals as well as pundits are excited to see the Aubameyang-Reus-Gotze-Schurrle front line in action. Although lack of experience in a major league for few of the signings may prove critical, this team could well re-ignite the ‘Der Klassiker’, which has remained largely one-sided for quite some time now, and give fans the hope of seeing glory days again.

After four straight years of disappointment, the black-and-yellow of Dortmund could just be set for the resurgence they need.