Jurgen Klopp’s men have been through a lot in recent years, taking a roller coaster journey of ups and downs. Their success began shortly after Klopp’s appointment to head manager in 2008, when he took the club to win two Bundesliga titles, one DFB Pokal cup, and two UEFA Supercups over the course of six seasons. He has brought many German national stars through his ranks including the likes of Marco Reus, Mario Gotze, and Polish international Robert Lewandoski. During their 2012/13 run to the Champions League Final against domestic rivals Bayern Munich, the world slowly fell in love with the black and yellow club from Dortmund.
What’s not to love about BVB? Their home fan base is something that can not be reproduced. The south terrace stand nicknamed the “Yellow Wall” strikes fear into any opponent that steps onto the Signal Iduna Park pitch. It still sends shivers down Klopp’s spine, “You come out and the place explodes - out of the darkness, into the light. You look to your left and it seems like there’s 150,000 people up on the terrace all going completely nuts”. Some have even gone as far to say that the Dortmund stadium is the Mecca of European football.
The infamous Yellow Wall at Dortmund creates a display of their search for the Champions League cup. Photo: @Kollinz_YOLO | Twitter
However, heartbreak is amongst Dortmund fans young and old as their future looks bleaker and bleaker with every passing day. They even stood amongst the bottom three clubs with relegation in their face before rejuvenating their form in the final months of the season to climb to seventh. Upon Jurgen Klopp’s announcement to end his contract early, many players decided to walk in his footsteps towards the exit. It is rumored that both German nationals Mats Hummels and Ilkay Gundogan will be en route to Manchester United this summer. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be on the top of many managers' lists as well to strengthen their striking forces. Even Dortmund's most valuable and loyal player Marco Reus, who has rejected offers to join Munich with Lewandoski and Gotze, is thinking about donning another shirt. So where does that leave Dortmund and the thousands of fans in the Yellow Wall for next season?
Former FSV Mainz 05 manager Thomas Tuchel will fill Klopp’s shoes, and it will be no easy task. He commonly uses a defensive 4-3-1-2 formation with high blocks amongst the middle three. Tuchel's use of high blocks in the midfield allows him to cover more players and limit their options on the counter attack. Simply put, the midfielders limit their opponents options of whom to pass to when attacking by pressing higher and using their body to limit the options. Having either the option of dribbling around the defender or passing backwards gives the team using high blocks an advantage and more opportunities to capitalize on mistakes.
FSV Mainz's use of Tuchel's high block tactics in a match against Bayern Munich. Photo: Lee Scott | Bundesliga Fanatic
Dortmund currently run a slightly different, more attack-minded, version of this with a 4-2-3-1. Adjusting to a more defensive mindset would be a good change of pace for the club judging by how the current season has ended with only four goals in the positive for their goal differential. This is a huge change from last season, which ended in a second place finish with 42 goals to the good. Shinji Kagawa and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are already fighting for minutes on the pitch as attacking midfielders, and with a more defensive approach, their time could be cut even shorter. However, the young Serbian, Miles Jojic who typically appears as a late substitute under Klopp's control may see himself integrated into the squad more often when the new management arrives.
With Nuri Sahin returning from Real Madrid this past season with more experience under his belt, he will be a good replacement for Gundogan under Tuchel’s control. Theo Walcott could come to Signal Iduna Park as well in a player-for-player transfer with Arsenal for Marco Reus.
Like many new managers, it will take time for their techniques and strategies to become cemented into the players' heads. The same happened to Klopp when he made the change from Mainz to Dortmund, and this will likely play out for Thomas Tuchel as well. His contribution to the current Mainz success mirrors the same success Jurgen Klopp had during his campaign in the Bundesliga. Naturally, it is a perfect choice for Dortmund to hand over the reins to an accomplished and improving German manager.
