Would You Rather: The BVB Edition pt. 2

Well — the season of club football has officially ended, and congratulations to Manchester City for completing 100% of the main storyline in the sport. Now all that’s left for them is to complete the smaller side quests like “A Frank Fairytale: Completing the treble with Lampard” or “Spurring Them On: Win a game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium”, but that can wait for another day! Now that you’re forced to watch international football week after week for the next couple of months or so, I have taken it upon myself to grace you with some fun and thought provoking off-season content, namely the Would You Rather challenge, part 2.

The first edition had some upsets and some very close calls, and this time on, the mission has been to make it even harder than the first time! Let’s get straight into it!

Keep Adeyemi for the rest of his career or keep Moukoko for the rest of his career?

Currently, this might seem like an easy choice. Adeyemi has been lighting up the Bundesliga last year, and he even managed to claim the Bundesliga Rookie Trophy over Matthijs de Ligt earlier this year. Adeyemi’s trademark is obviously his speed, but he has shown that he can act as both a goalscorer and a creative provider throughout last season. On the other hand, we have the one of the brightest young talents in the world in Youssoufa Moukoko. The 18-year old is the youngest ever Bundesliga player and the youngest ever debutant for Die Mannschaft as well. Mouki hasn’t yet broken through just as convincingly as Adeyemi, but he has showcased his immense goalscoring ability on numerous occasions already — how about this absolute cracker against Bochum.

So — are you picking the 21-year old speedster on an upward trajectory or gambling on the 18-year old wonder kid who even Erling Haaland admitted was better than himself at 15-years old?

Time Travel: Champions League Final or Classic Klassiker?

You wake up in a rush, your heart racing, in a dark and empty room that you don’t remember entering. Before you can even attempt to investigate your surroundings, the room’s single door opens and in steps a featureless man in a pure black suit. He slowly explains to you that you have been selected for a top-secret government experiment. A secret department you’ve never heard of has invented a time machine, and for some reason that the man refuses to provide any justification, you have been offered the chance to travel back in time to witness, in person, one of two great matches in the recent history of Borussia Dortmund... but you can only choose one:

1. The 1997 Champions League Final

There was indeed once a moment in time when Borussia Dortmund achieved the pinnacle of European football by winning the Champions League. On May 28, 1997, Dortmund faced Juventus at the Sandor Puhl Stadium in Budapest, Hungary, and prevailed 3-1.

Highlights: Here, because UEFA doesn’t allow imbeds.

In this match, you’d get to witness BVB take the early lead via a quick brace from BVB legend and FTW interviewee Karl-Heinz Riedle. Although Juve would get back in the game, Lars Ricken would provide some insurance with a brilliant 71st minute chip that, until 2020, was the fastest goal ever scored by a substitute in the Champions League

2. 2012 - Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Bayern Munich - the ‘Subotic-Robben-Face Game’

Although winning the Champions League is arguably the greatest achievement a club can have, this one might take the cake in terms of pure entertainment, and at the Westfalenstadion too. On April 11, Borussia Dortmund were three points up on Bayern Munich with five games remaining, and would take part in a Klassiker that, at the time, looked like it would decide the Bundesliga.

One of the most famous Bundesliga matches of the last ten years, this one had it all. It featured Robert Lewandowski scoring the only goal, but it was not any ordinary boring 1-0 game. It featured all the drama of what was a fiercely competitive rivalry between BVB and Bayern, capped off by one of the most iconic moments in the rivalry’s history: Arjen Robben flopping over Roman Weidenfeller, the Dortmund goalkeeper stoning him on the ensuing penalty, and Neven Subotic rubbing the shit out of it right in Robben’s face.

Although BVB ended up winning the league by 8 points, this match was arguably the one that put it out of reach for Bayern.

Letting Kobel and Malen leave this transfer window for free in order the claim the Bundesliga title next season

How much would you actually sacrifice for a Bundesliga title? That is the question. This actually relatively simple. Lose two very good players for nothing or win a Bundesliga title? One would argue that saying yes to this is the stupid option, as Dortmund would have a hard time replacing the players and they gain no profit from them, and it would kinda sorta be a big blow for the club financially. On the other hand — if you could ensure a Bundesliga title next season, that would be pretty sweet, right? And they’re only two players — surely they are replaceable, right?

Support Manchester City or support RB Leipzig?

Now this is not exactly BVB-related, but I’m still very curious about what the outcome is gonna be. So what will it be, ladies and gentlemen. Support the Saudi Arabian overlords or support The Cans? With Manchester City, you would get to follow players like Haaland, Foden and Grealish, and you would get to win a large majority of matches and challenge for every possible trophy out there. On the other hand, you can choose to support RB Leipzig — the perfect Bundesliga underdog, who always exceeds their expectations (unlike the team we support). You get still support a Bundesliga team, and you get reunited with Marco Rose! What’s not to like?

Sign 20-year old Lewandowski, Gündogan and Lukasz or sign 20-year old Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland (for five years).

This is probably the most hypothetic scenario so far, but that doesn’t make it any less fun! Now, let’s imagine that Dortmund could sign one or two of these player packages for the same fee. One includes 20-year old Lewandowski, Gündogan and Piszczek, and the other one contains a 20-year old Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland. You have to imagine yourself as Sebastian Kehl in the current transfer window — what would you do? One package obviously contains three players, but the other one includes two generational talents. Take your pick!

Your Thoughts?

What was the hardest decision for you? And do you have any hard, made-up scenarios you wanna share with us? Let us know in the comments below!