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How did Borussia Dortmund become a factory for talent?
Here is a story of a club that has continually reinvented itself and now stands tall as one of the top destinations for highly-rated football talent.
Head Coach Jurgen Klopp of Borussia Dortmund goes up to collected his runners-up medal after losing the UEFA Champions League final match against FC Bayern Muenchen at Wembley Stadium on May 25, 2013 in London, United Kingdom.
(May 24, 2013 - Source: Alex Livesey/Getty Images Europe)
Brief history
If we focus on merely achievements and numbers, Borussia Dortmund is undoubtedly one of the most famous football clubs in the whole of Europe, and the club has a remarkable reputation of having astounding numbers during their matches.
According to the club’s website, Borussia Dortmund stands for intensity, authenticity, cohesion and ambition. The club has a special place in the hearts of the club’s fans who have remained profoundly loyal in all the good, bad and ugly times for more than a century.
The club was founded in 1909 in the German city of Dortmund in the North Rhine-Westphalia region. In football talk, the club is commonly known with the abbreviation: “BvB”, which ultimately stands for Ballspielverein Borussia or in English "Borussia club for ball games." The full name is BV Borussia 1909 EV Dortmund and is definitely one of Germany’s most decorated clubs that will always be talked about for generations to come.
The club has managed to grab eight national titles, three DFB-Porkals, a Cup Winners’ Cup and an unforgettable Champions League win in 1997. Borussia Dortmund is famous for producing world-class talents like Marco Reus, Ousmane Dembele and Christian Pulisic.
In 2003, the club fell into a financial predicament in the aftermath of excessive spending om expensive players in the transfer market. The club received financial support from arch-rivals Bayern Munich which gave them $2 million euros for paying players’ salaries. However, within a year, the club managed to repay the loan. Having gone through several challenges off and on pitch, supporters started to resent the team’s performances and were calling-out for change.
In 2008, they hired one of the most prominent managers of all times in European football named Jurgen Klopp who is the current coach of Liverpool Football Club. After making a good name for himself at Mainz, he had become the first choice for the club. Under his leadership, the first few seasons were average but eventually, Klopp, as he has come to be affectionately known, pushed the squad to incredible winning ways. He implemented a high pressing counter-attacking style which was described as heavy metal football and the club went on to take the Bundesliga title in the 2010 and the 2011 seasons.
Youssoufa Moukoko of Dortmund in action during the B Juniors Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Viktoria Koeln on August 19, 2017 in Dortmund, Germany.
(Aug. 18, 2017 - Source: Lukas Schulze/Bongarts)
Talent development
BvB takes pride in engaging youthful players and developing them to become world-class players. The end of 2019 saw the club fashionably sign a young teenager in Erling Haaland, a Norwegian who is originally from the Netherlands. In his January 2020 Bundesliga debut, the young superstar came from the bench to score a hat-trick in what has become one of Borussia Dortmund’s greatest ever comebacks in history.
The business model of recruiting raw, young talent and to nurture them into becoming superstars has become BvB’s best philosophy over the years. Since the unimpressive bankruptcy that the club experienced in 2005, in the aftermath of overspending, the executives of the club changed the strategy of recruitment. The Black and Yellow has become the best finishing school for young footballers in the entire world. In today's times, there is nowhere else in the world that a highly promising player in their late teens can go and so reliably be molded into a superstar. The smartest players, parents, and agents are aware of this notion. The youth co-ordinator for Borussia Dortmund Youth Academy explicitly stated that, “the biggest advantage at BvB is that we offer the greatest gift that young boys are looking for and it is the chance to play.” The main goal of the youth academy is to raise players that will qualify to become world-class players. The young players are kept in good shape as they are blessed with boarding facilities, healthy diets, great living conditions, and exceptional education. In the mornings, the young players go to school and later on they can carry on with proper training which does not necessarily exhaust the body’s performance.
Professionalism is a key factor at the multi-talent factory as they reach high limits in training. Their mentality is flooded with ‘winning’ it is ever so evident in the players’ performances on the pitch. For a young player, there is nothing like Dortmund City which is inundated with black and yellow colors everywhere and the training ground optimizes it. The players are graded into simple age groups namely, 12-15 years where they focus on technique, and 17-19 years where they focus on winning strategy and tactics.
The club sees training young players as a culture and the coaches are passionate to develop talent as a way of investment for the club. That is what distinguishes BVB from other clubs in Germany and in many parts of the world.
The role of Jurgen Klopp in promoting young talent
In the aftermath of bankruptcy in 2005 and not being able to pay hefty salaries of the players they had bought, performances needed a lot to be desired. In 2008, they roped in a profoundly unique coach in Klopp and under his leadership the club would revamp their youth production line, paying handsome dividends culminating in a Champions League final appearance in 2013. It was the same year in which the current Liverpool manager handed debuts to six academy products.
The German-born manager implemented an attacking football style that has its foundations in Dortmund youth, which is now being emulated by Europe’s big spenders to this day. It is said by BVB's youth coordinator that during games for the young players, their focus is not necessarily on winning though it's important, but on putting in a performance that is satisfying. At the end of each game, the young lads at the youth camp are given a sheet to fill, rate their performances and lay down their overall thoughts on how they can become better.
The youth lads are not only trained on the pitch but off the pitch with programs orchestrated to enhance their confidence in life, which inevitably plays a vital role on the pitch. There is a cultural activity done every quarter of the year that they participate in and an example is when BVB made them act out a play in English in front of 300 people. It is the kind of pressure that they have to overcome in order to play in front of 80,000 people at the Signal Iduna Park.
“A model born out of necessity and desperation has since become a hugely profitable business model for the club. In the last three years alone, Dortmund has raked in £427 million from transfers”
Ousmane Dembele of Dortmund runs with the ball during the friendly match between Wuppertaler SV and Borussia Dortmund at Stadion Zoo on July 9, 2016 in Wuppertal, Germany.
(July 8, 2016 - Source: Christof Koepsel/Bongarts)
Dortmund’s successful youth products
Generally, it is obvious that of all the young players that get in the club youth camp, only a handful will make it to the top level but this is a different with BVB as they developed a reputation of being master craftsmen. The development of youthful talent has boosted the financial position of the club as they have had remarkable sales of talents over the years. One of the most incredible sales they pushed was the over €100-million sale of Ousmane Dembele to Barcelona. Dortmund have carefully put themselves in a position of attracting Europe’s elite and developing them to become renowned world-class players. Below is some of the top talents to emerge from Dortmund in recent memory.
1. Ousmane Dembele
Popularly known as the dribble king, his talents were clear to see even while he was still at a tender age at Rennes. But it was Dortmund who shrewdly signed the teenager for a mere €8 million in 2016. The Frenchman enjoyed a wonderful debut season in the Bundesliga, which attracted the attention of Barcelona, who were desperate to sign a new winger following the shock departure of Neymar for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2017. Regardless of a troubled exit from Signal Iduna Park, Dembele still netted BVB a remarkable profit, with Barcelona agreeing to pay an initial €105m fee with the potential for a further €40m in add-ons.
2. Pierre- Emerick Aubameyang
The Gabonese starlet was given one of the toughest of jobs when he came to Dortmund in 2013. He played alongside Robert Lewandowski in his debut season at Signal Iduna Park and it was an incredibly rich show. However, when Robert decided to leave for arch rivals Bayern Munich, this meant the onus fell on Auba to become the center of the BVB attack, almost all on his own. Remarkably, he pulled it off, with a whopping 141 goals in 213 games making him one of Europe's elite strikers. He eventually left for the English Premier League, joining Arsenal for €62m which represented a massive return on the estimated €13m they had acquired him for from St. Etienne in 2013.
3. Ilkay Gundogan
The Germany midfielder Ilkay Gundogan ran the Dortmund midfield for five seasons between 2011 and 2016, having joined on a cut-price of €5.5m deal from Nurnberg when he was just 20. Manchester City was absolutely impressed with his gameplay and came to sign him in 2016. Dortmund pocketed €22.1m as profit from the sale of the striker and at his current club, he has won two English Premier League Championships, an FA Cup and two Carabao Cups.
Julian Weigl of Dortmund celebrates with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Dortmund (r) after he scored his teams sixth goal to make it 6:1 during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Moenchengladbach at Signal Iduna Park on September 23, 2017 in Dortmund, Germany.
(Sept. 22, 2017 - Source: Lars Baron/Bongarts)
4. Shinji Kagawa
Shinji was plucked from his native Japan for a mere €350,000 in 2010, with Dortmund taking advantage of a clause that allowed him to leave Cerezo Osaka on a cut-price deal should a European club come knocking. The attacking midfielder quickly became a fan favorite at Signal Iduna Park, scoring at a rate of just under a goal every two games and helped BVB to the Bundesliga title in each of his two seasons in Germany. Manchester United was delighted by his style of play and pulled out £17m from their billfold to secure his services. Dortmund were sorry to see him leave but happy with their substantial market gain. Just two years later after an unsuccessful spell at Old Trafford, Dortmund were able to re-sign Kagawa for just €8m.
5. Christian Pulisic
Christian Pulisic is one of Dortmund’s latest and arguably greatest transfer success story. The versatile American attacker was picked up at the tender age of 16 and quickly forced his way into the first teams of both his club and his country. In signing for Chelsea, Pulisic became Dortmund's second-biggest sale of all time, after Dembele. Dortmund sold him to Chelsea for £58m.
6. Mario Gotze
A product of the club's youth system, Gotze cost the club nothing and quickly became a teenage sensation. In 2013 the attacking midfielder decided to depart after Bayern Munich triggered the €37 million release clause in his contract. The lad is most famous for scoring the winning goal for Germany in the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil but through a combination of form and fitness issues, he never settled at the Allianz Arena and returned to Signal Iduna Park for €22m in 2016, admitting that he regretted ever leaving.
7. Sokratis Papastathopoulos
The Greek international’s sale proved another good investment when he chose to move to Arsenal. The defender starred for five years at BVB's camp, forming a remarkable partnership with Hummels to establish himself as a top-class center-half. Arsenal decided to move for the Greek and paid BVB approximately €15.9m meaning more money for the club.
8. Henrikh Mkhitaryan
The Armenian playmaker arrived in Dortmund in the year 2013 coming from Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk. He was phenomenal in attacking midfield. Three outstanding seasons in the Bundesliga earned Mkhitaryan a €41.8m move to Manchester United, and the Black and Yellow got another healthy profit on their initial investment. He later moved to Arsenal where he played delightful football alongside a former BVB player in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang before being signed by Roma on loan.
Mario Gotze of Borussia Dortmund and Shinji Kagawa of Borussia Dortmund battle for possession during a Borussia Dortmund training session ahead of the UEFA Champions League Group H match against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium on September 12, 2017 in London, England.
(Sept. 11, 2017 - Source: Alex Pantling/Getty Images Europe)
9. Mats Hummels
In the case of Mats Hummels, Bayern Munich's loss turned out to be an infinite gain for their arch-rivals BVB. The defender was not playing extremely well as a youngster for Die Roten and was shoved off to Borussia Dortmund in 2008 for a dirt-cheap fee of just €4m. Investment in Hummels was worthwhile as he became the chief cornerstone of the Dortmund defense system. He assisted the club in acquiring two consecutive league wins, also helping them to a Champions League final in the 2012-13 season. Hummels also got his hands on the 2014 World Cup trophy with Germany before Bayern Munich came to buy him out of BVB for €35m though later returning home to Signal Iduna Park.
10. Matthias Ginter
Props go to Borussia Dortmund for the exceedingly great eye for talent. BVB discovered Matthias Ginter when he was just 20 and they got him for just €10m from Freiburg prior to the 2014-15 season. He became a master in the Dortmund defense for three years, playing more than 100 games before he was allowed to leave for Borussia Monchengladbach. BVB cleared made a healthy profit of €7m on the center-back when they released him.
Out of necessity and desperation to profound success
Jurgen Klopp the manager of Borussia Dortmund speaks with Mats Hummels of Borussia Dortmund prior to kickoff during UEFA Champions League Group D match between Galatasaray and Borussia Dortmund at Turk Telekom Arena on October 22, 2014 in Istanbul, Turkey.
(Oct. 21, 2014 - Source: Lars Baron/Getty Images Europe)
Borussia Dortmund has now built one of the most admired structures in Europe as they continue to develop young stars that grow up to become world-class players. Borussia Dortmund manages their young prodigies with familial care. They are in regular dialogue with the parents of Sancho, for instance, and with the FA about the footballing development. In the 2019/20 season, the average age of Dortmund’s team has been 25.4 - three years younger than Bayern Munich, and almost a whole year younger than any of the 20 Premier League clubs, according to Football Observatory.
Dortmund’s business model is to essentially identify the world’s best young players, nurture them and give them game-time they would have been denied elsewhere, and then sell them on for a huge profit. Wild over-spending in the past led to the club almost becoming bankrupt and it's from that unhealthy experience that encouraged the club’s executives to look at different ways and focus on talent development to avoid excessive and unnecessary costs.
Huge credit goes to Jurgen Klopp as he spearheaded the model when he arrived from a second-division side called Mainz. The Dortmund website shows that the club stopped looking at seasoned, mid-market pros and instead concentrate their efforts on identifying "young high-potentials" who are just beginning of their careers, hungry for game time, willing to learn and crucially, much less of a burden on the balance sheet. In the 2007-08 season, the average age of new recruits had been just over 27 years. Twelve months later, it was reduced to 23.5 years and it went only further down from there, hovering between 22 and 23 over the following decade.
A model born out of necessity and desperation has since become a hugely profitable business model for the club. In the last three years alone, Dortmund has raked in £427 million from transfers, including £105m for Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona), £62m for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal) and £58m for Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), the latest high-profile departure.
Truth is Dortmund would rather keep their best players to become the best club in Europe but selling some great players is in acceptance of economic reality. When players start getting demand from other big clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich, they are offered profoundly higher wages and as such a decision to leave by these players will be inevitable so they can earn what they deserve.
Parting Word
All factors remaining constant, Borussia Dortmund will soon be able to pay their players enough to keep them in the long term, then win titles and make a tremendous impact in European Football. The club will need to continue developing worthy talent in the academy, scouting, signing up-and-coming stars and consistently reaching the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. Their ability to develop young talent will always be talked about for several years!
FT 2019 Preview: Dortmund's youth ending Bayern’s Bundesliga dominance
Black and yellow are the colors that represent the German Bundesliga at the turn of the year. Borussia Dortmund are youthful, electric, and playing exciting football that has resulted in a 6 point lead over Bayern Munich. They just may be making Bundesliga great again.
“Nineteen-year-old Dan-Axel Zagadou and twenty-year old Abdou Diallo, the French internationals of Ivorian and Senegalese descent respectively are also part and parcel of the Bundesliga leaders defence that is linked up to the attack with those who need no introduction. ”
After winning six straight Bundesliga titles, from the 2012/13 season to the most recent one, Bayern Munich had almost rendered the German top flight, a predictably boring contest. But now, half way through the season as the league paused for the festive break, with Dortmund six points ahead of the champions, there is hope for a twist of fate.
Lucien Favre’s men have been outstanding, outscoring everyone and nothing short of spectacular as they lost only once in seventeen Bundesliga appearances. There is a reminisce of Jurgen Klopp’s Die Borussen who won back to back championships between 2010-12, also reaching the UEFA Champions League final. It comes as no surprise with strikingly similar features accompanying the current team, young blood all around the pitch and a few immaculate seniors providing the balance. More interestingly is one of their young full backs, Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi. Three assists in three champions league matches and three more in twelve Bundesliga appearances is not bad for the 20-year-old defender on loan from Real Madrid. In fact, transfer rumours suggest that the German club will go all the way to tempt Los Blancos to sanction a permanent move for the youngster. He really is one of the best young full backs in the world right now, has been important in Dortmund’s electric form and will continue to be as the new year unfolds. Nineteen-year-old Dan-Axel Zagadou and twenty-year old Abdou Diallo, the French internationals of Ivorian and Senegalese descent respectively are also part and parcel of the Bundesliga leaders defence that is linked up to the attack with those who need no introduction. The eighteen year-old Jadon Sancho and USMNT’s Christian Pulisic who is twenty and soon to depart for Chelsea. The team also had a “midas-touch” effect on former Barcelona forward, Paco Alcacer who misfired at Camp Nou but became a scoring freak at Signal Iduna, scoring a remarkable twelve goals in seven matches. Even the prodigal son Mario Gotze, returned and got rejoined with former pitch-partner, captain Marco Reus.
Make sure you have Dortmund on your watchlist for 2019, they are definitely paving the way for many other great things to come.
Could Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi become one of the best full backs in the world?
For all of Dortmund’s recent successes in the Bundesliga, a portion must be attributed to Hakimi . Apart from winning the Bundesliga Rookie of The Month in September and serving up a hat-trick of assists in the Champions League, Achraf may just be getting started.
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal consoles Achraf Hakimi of Morocco following Morocco's elimination from the World Cup after their defeat in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group B match between Portugal and Morocco at Luzhniki Stadium on June 20, 2018 in Moscow, Russia.
(June 19, 2018 - Source: Stu Forster/Getty Images Europe)
We only loan our valuables because both the lender and borrower cannot do without them. When they are not as valuable, we give them away forever. That is the same principle that has applied on the 20-year-old Achraf Hakimi who is currently on loan at the German Club, Borussia Dortmund from Real Madrid. Apparently Real Madrid already regret that. But why? Is it because he could most likely become one of the best full backs in the world?
The player caught the eyes of many when Spain faced Morocco in the World Cup. Interestingly, he was playing for his native homeland against the country that had given him a place to be born and grow up. Even though he pulled impressive stunts at left back position, he prefers to play on the right where he likes running up and down the flank with the opportunity to use his favorite right foot to swing in crosses or weed out the ball from the feet of the opponents. Such versatility is what distinguishes a player from others. His coach at Dortmund, Lucien Favre also alluded to the fact that he does a great job when playing forward too. He was quoted saying:
“He’s playing so well. He’s great going forward and he does a good job at the back. He played at left-back for Morocco, but prefers to play at right-back. He has so much potential.”
In his first three games with Borussia Dortmund, he rocked up two assists and one goal. He also won the Bundesliga Rookie of the month of September which places him right on track for winning the Bundesliga’s Rookie of the season. Even though he has not scored in the UEFA Champions League, his unquestionable dribbling and crossing abilities have graced him with three assists.
The young star also has quite a teachable spirit. He says he is ready to play as an attacker, but since he is with a coach who prefers a team with a strong defense, he will do just that. In an interview, he was quoted saying, “He's a coach who likes his teams to defend well and that's what he's asking me to do. In attack I'm ready, but the coach wants me to improve tactically and defensively and I think I'm getting it.”
“.he prefers to play on the right where he likes running up and down the flank with the opportunity to use his favorite right foot to swing in crosses or weed out the ball from the feet of the opponents. Such versatility is what distinguishes a player from others”
This is a multi-faceted player who is not, however, willing to use the field to flex talent but to ensure that he grows. It is these tiny things that ensure that a player is not just good, but continuously becomes greater. He also stated that the reason why he agreed to the loan was because of their willingness to help young players grow and help them become better. A great full-back who is persistently after growth!
![FT Top 5 Young Players With African Roots: Ousmane Dembele [Barcelona]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a3beebbd74cff231e14edc2/1526619836573-RRNVY39N964OQMGI747V/Ousmane+Dembele+3.jpg)
FT Top 5 Young Players With African Roots: Ousmane Dembele [Barcelona]
The Barcelona forward has a Malian father and Senegalese-Mauritanian mother. He is also another big money signing plying his trade at FC Barcelona and has just won a La Liga title and Copa Del Rey cup with the Catalans. He is expected to feature in next month’s FIFA World Cup finals in Russia.
Dembele was born on 15 May 1997 in Vernon, Eure, Normandy to a Mauritanian-Senegalese mother and Malian father. He first played football when he was 12 at Evreux FC 27. He made his senior debut for French Ligue 1’s Rennes against Angers on 6 September 2015 and went on to score 12 goals in 26 appearances from the midfield. Rennes’ sporting director, Mikael Silvestre compared Dembele to Christiano Ronaldo whom he had seen arriving at Manchester United around at a similar age. One season later, on 12 May 2016, the Bundesliga giants, Borussia Dortmund announced that they had tied the 18-year-old to a five-year contract. Ousmane enjoyed a stellar debut season pulling the strings from the midfield and combining with the likes of the Gabonese, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, and Shinji Kagawa to lead Sebastian Tuchel’s men to a first major title in five years as they beat Eintracht Frankfurt to clinch the 2017 DFB Pokal. Dembele was named the man of the match in that final and made it into the Bundesliga team of the season, also winning the Bundesliga Rookie Award.
In a move perceived to be one in which Barcelona was replacing Neymar who left for PSG, the Catalans signed Dembele on 25 August 2017 for €105 million and reported €40 million add-ons becoming the joint second most expensive footballer in the world with French teammate, Paul Pogba- who was born to Guinean parents. Dembele had a slow start to life at Barcelona with season marked by injuries but is undoubtedly on course to become a football great. He is expected to combine with Kylian Mbappe at France to form a relatively young but talented French squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russia.
Bayern win 6th straight Bundesliga Title
FC Bayern make it six in a row with games to spare
Bayern Munich thrashed Augsburg 4-1 to claim their sixth successive Bundesliga title. The German champions were disappointed by an early own goal by Sule which gave the advantage to Augsburg in the 18th minute. Before Augsburg’s confidence grew, Joshua Kimmich took up the creative responsibility and crossed in for Tolisso who scored in the 32nd minute. From then on, it was all Bayern as Kimmich also provided a goal for James Rodriguez only six minutes later. Arjen Robben’s half-volley and Wagner’s header confirmed the victory for the side and sparked the title-winning celebrations on a day that Frank Ribery was born. This victory means that Bayern Munich have now won 27 Bundesliga titles and this is the fourth title for coach Jupp Heynckes, who came out of retirement to replace Ancelotti late last year. Bayern have undeniably dominated the domestic league. This makes one wonder what their rivals are doing and if they are doing enough to stop this consistent team. Borussia Dortmund their closest rivals for years have recently fallen backward and are not as competitive as they used to be. It seems as if they have given up considering that most of their talented players and that of the rest of the teams in the league, are just lured to the German champions which weakens them.
Bayern Munich more attractive than Arsenal for the former Borussia Dortmund coach
Tuchel will have options, as he puts Bayern and Arsenal on alert
The former Borussia Dortmund boss, Thomas Tuchel has today confirmed that he is interest taking the job at his old club’s rivals. Even with an enticing prospect of joining Arsenal, Tuchel showed that he prioritizes the Bayern Munich job because of how big the club is. Arsenal might be an interesting option considering how competitive the English Premier League is but the prospect of joining the biggest club in Germany gives joy to any sensible coach because they are capable to challenge with the very best in the world. Bayern Munich are currently on the lookout for a replacement for interim boss Heynckes who will step down in the summer. Tuchel who turned down the opportunity to work at Southampton a fortnight ago is believed not to be interested also in the structure at Arsenal because it does not suit him. Only he knows what he means by that. He would even prefer the Chelsea role over the one at the Emirates. Tuchel seems to be very ambitious and it would be wise if he picked any role from the aforementioned 3 clubs when it comes up because they do not just come along for they are very big clubs.
Former Borussia Dortmund boss opens up about the reasons behind leaving the club
Tuchel reveals some of the difficulties he had during his managerial stint with Dortmund
Former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel has publicly stated that he is no longer the man-in-charge thanks to the bomb attack that his team experienced during his time. Before the attacks, Tuchel had successfully managed to transition his team from Klopp’s old foe and tactics as he brought fresh players like Dembele and Pulisic who made his team’s attack very threatening. He won the DFB-Pokal in 2016/17 which was his only trophy before leaving the club at the end of the season. He admits that some of his former players are still traumatized by the bomb attack which happened so close to his team bus. This definitely had an effect on the team’s performances thereafter. There was also a major discrepancy claimed by Aki (Borrusia Dortmund Chairman) and Tuchel says that the essence of this discrepancy was that Tuchel was on the bus and the Chairman was not. This led to a fall out which resulted in Tuchel leaving. He is a talented manager and should be given a platform to express his abilities. Who do you think should hire Tuchel in the summer?
The Austrian side terminates Stoger’s team
RB Salzburg eliminates Dortmund
RB Salzburg held on to a goalless draw to eliminate one of the title favorites from the competition. The club won the first leg 2-1 away and many were hoping to see a mean-attacking Dortmund that sought to regain control over the tie and qualify to the next round. With all due respect to Salzburg, a Dortmund vs Atletico Madrid clash in the last 8 would have been more attractive but fair play to them. They did bits in their first leg and shuttered Dortmund in the return. They deserve to go through to the next round.
In other news, Atletico Madrid won 5-1 on Thursday to make it an 8-1 aggregate against Lokomotiv Moscow as they cruise to the quarterfinals. Fernando Torres was the star of the show as he scored a brace in a match where Saul Niguez, Correa and Griezmann all scored past Kochenkov. Rybus’ goal was not enough to rub the blushes of a poor Russian side. Do you know who else has made it to the last 8? Drop your comments below
Arsenal Win 3-0 Against Watford
Arsenal finally ends their winless drought
Arsenal are seemingly beginning to bounce back after a long difficult spell. Arsene Wenger’s side dispatched Watford by 3 goals to nil in the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. This is their first win in after losing 3 games straight before this match. Mustafi scored the opener from a Mesut Ozil cross before Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang scored the second thanks to a Mkhitaryan assist on 59 minutes. It was a delight to see the striker celebrate with his traditional summersault which is very familiar to those that followed him during his days in Germany. The pair combined once again like they did in Dortmund as this time the striker turned provider to Mkhitaryan’s goal in the 77th minute. It is also worth mentioning that Petr Cech saved Troy Deeney’s penalty and went on to secure his record 200th clean sheet in the Premier League. The keeper got the man of the match award after making some fine saves in the match. Mesut Ozil’s assist makes him the fastest player to reach 50 Premier League assists in 141 matches. What a day to remember for the record-breaking duo!