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Borussia Dortmund 19-20 Season Prediction - View From A Fan Club President

Borussia Dortmund 19-20 Season preview by Ben McFadyean, Borussia Dortmund Fan Club London

Stadium: Signal Iduna Park (Westfalenstadion)
Capacity: 81,359
2018/19 attendance: 1,351,439 average 79,496 per match

Last Season:
2nd in Bundesliga with 76 points:

Wins: 23. Draws: 7 Losses: 4

Top Scorers:
Paco Alcacer: 18 goals

Marco Reus: 17 goals
Jadon Sancho: 12 goals
Mario Götze: 7 goals

Summer Friendly results:

Wins: 7 Losses: 0 Goals Scored: 34 Goals Conceded: 5

FC Schweinberg-BVB 0-10
Seattle Sounders – BVB 1-3

Liverpool FC - BVB 2-3

Udinese- BVB 1-4
FC Zurich - BVB 0-6
FC St Gallen - BVB 1-4

Preussen Münster - BVB 0-4

DFL Supercup result:

Bayern Munich – BVB 0-2

DFB Pokal first round result:
KFC Uerdingen – BVB 0-2

Objectives in 2019-20

"They won the double last year, so we tried to make a point," said Sancho after Dortmund has done just that by taking the Supercup at Bayern's expense to kick off the 2019/20 campaign on a hugely positive note. "This might be our year!"

Players and fans always think that but there is justifiable cause for Sancho's optimism, and more than just the fact Dortmund pushed Bayern to the wire in the preceding season.

As ever, Dortmund's sporting director Michael Zorc has moved cleverly in the summer transfer market. Christian Pulisic and Abdou Diallo departed, but Mats Hummels returned while Julian Brandt, Nico Schulz and Thorgan Hazard also arrived to give Favre upgraded options and add serious strength in depth to his squad.


That will be required to allow Dortmund to pursue their three-pronged ambitions home and abroad. Bundesliga title and the DFB Cup are trophies that for a squad of their ability are very much in their sights while a hot pursuit of the Champions League glory will also be doing vehement rounds.


Player to watch: Jadon Sancho

"He's a fantastic player, but he's still learning," said Marco Reus to Sky Germany after Sancho's Supercup masterclass in which the England international terrorised the Bayern back four, teeing up the opening goal and scoring the second.


"Even the Bayern defenders were scared when he was on the ball, but there's nothing new there because he just has so much quality," added Axel Witsel having seen Niklas Süle, Jerome Boateng and the rest of the Bayern backline run ragged by his young teammate.

Sancho was already phenomenal last season. His total of 14 assists was a Bundesliga best, and if you add those to his 12 goals, he was involved in 26 of Dortmund's league strikes. That is one more than Reus had a hand in, and undoubtedly he earned himself Germany's Footballer of the Year that Reus was awarded in the summer break.


That honour is surely within Sancho's grasp if he continues to take the gargantuan strides he has made since joining Dortmund from Manchester City for €7.5m ($9m) as a raw but immensely talented 17-year-old in 2017.


As Sancho says ‘this could be Borussia Dortmund's year‘. It also could be his.

Summer transfers:


In: Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich), Mateu Morey (Barcelona), Nico Schulz (Hoffenheim)

Out: Dzenis Burnic (Dynamo Dresden on loan), Abdou Diallo (Paris Saint-Germain), Alexander Isak (Real Sociedad), Felix Passlack (Fortuna Sittard on loan) Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Sebastian Rode (Eintracht Frankfurt, loan deal made permanent), Andre Schürrle (Spartak Moscow on loan), Jeremy Toljan (Sassuolo on loan), Shinji Kagawa (Real Zaragoza), Maximilian Philip (Dynamo Moscow)

Transfer balance:-€56m ($65m)

Strengths:

Flexibility, speed, the yellow wall, depth of squad and talent. Borussia Dortmund has everything a real champion needs, Except a possible consistent out and out striker who can play throughout the 90 minutes.

The team has added depth in midfield with Christian Brandt. The 23-year-old has already gained 25 caps and is arguably one of the most talented midfielders in the German national team right now. He will be joining forces with Thorgan Hazard, the youngster who struck fear in the hearts of Belgium's opponents in the previously concluded World Cup and Nico Schulz, a lightning-fast defender, and probably one of Dortmund's best buys this season. Matts Hummels returning from Bayern will play a highly instrumental role in the defensive ranks of Dortmund, injecting his repertoire of expertise, leadership and stability to the squad. BVB’s defensive holes seems to be ‘plugged’ for success and with the introduction of raw talent and firepower to the squad, the 'Black and Yellow brigade' are all set to mount a challenge for the prestigious crown of champions of Germany. In addition to that, a further asset is that all key positions are covered at least twice with two good options which means higher quality across the team and the ability for squad rotation which is essential for an improved Champions League campaign.

With the famed yellow wall behind them, BVB always has a strong home advantage losing only one home match in 18-19, in 17/18 that total commitment due to the differences of opinion and unrest amongst fans couldn’t always be counted on but now the SüdTribüne, the famed BvB supporters stand is back and more committed than ever. BVB look a much sharper and bolder squad and look like having struck the perfect balance of talent and experience across key positions. Achieving equilibrium is key but based on the talent in the squad alone this team has what it takes to go all the way this season.

Weaknesses:

There is a wide range of talented players at Lucien Favre's disposal, but due to the doubling up of similar players in key positions such as Thomas Delaney and Julian Weigl in defensive midfield, and Nico Schulz and Dan-Axel Zagadou in defence, the competition for the first team is likely to be tough.

On the one hand, it should mean that there is excellent potential for squad rotation. A 32 man squad, which is one of the biggest in the Bundesliga, could also result in clashes of ego and it will be down to the gaffer, Favre, who is famed for his ability in man-management to build a good working unit. BVB’s second-place finish in the Bundesliga last season arguably exceeded most observers' expectations and was a great achievement in the coach’s first season. Although BVB has spent over €120m ($140m) and Favre has been given the signings he wanted, his potential may still be questioned as his last major trophy was twelve years back with FC Zurich in the relatively less competitive Swiss League. Favre despite having coached both Hertha Berlin and Borussia Mönchengladbach has never won a title of any kind in Germany.


Another major question that will do the rounds is Roman Bürki, the keeper went from strength to strength last season and proved to be the stabilising factor in what otherwise was BVB’s weakest element in the entire set-up, an inconsistent defence that conceded 44 goals last season. But with Bürki currently out to injury for the start of the season and his replacement Marwin Hitz having put on some outstanding displays in the friendlies and the Super cup win over Bayern and the talented Germany U19 goalkeeper Luca Unbehaun joining, there could be fierce competition for the number 1 spot. Bürki enjoys the backing of fellow Swiss Lucien Favre and based on last season’s performances the position is his for the taking, but Favre will not hesitate to reach out to Hitz or even Unbehaun if Bürki returns to the unreliable form of the 17-18 season which could cause unrest in the vital defence.

On paper, the Dortmund squad looks broad and packed with talent but as every year the BVB management will have to manage the fans' massive expectations which have only got bigger after last season’s narrow miss in the title race.

The coach will have to continue to balance the gruelling schedule of playing midweek matches as every season.

Preparations and prediction:


Whilst Friday night’s DFB Pokal first round away match at 3 Liga KFC Uerdingen which was won by 2 goals to nil was a comparative cakewalk for Dortmund. The Bundesliga starting schedule is fairly fierce to be getting on with - the unpredictable Augsburg (Editor’s note: the match was won 5-1) followed by a visit to the Rhein-Energie Stadion to play 1 FC Köln (Editor’s note: BVB won 3-1) followed by a second away match at Union Berlin both of which teams are newly promoted from the second tier 2 Liga and will want to put on a strong display. Followed by the home match against Bayer Leverkusen who finished 3rd last season - the Champions League draw will take place on 30 August but by early September, the team will know its hindrances in its European voyage.

My Prediction by May 16 the Bundesliga will after seven years of Bayern München domination have a new Champion Borussia Dortmund.