By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- For weeks, chaos reigned at Borussia Dortmund but they have now turned into one of the favorites to win this season's Bundesliga title. Several pundits firmly expect the yellow-and-blacks to be Bayern Munich's strongest rival for the German championship.
"I won't be surprised if Dortmund turns out to be strong enough to win the title this season," former Dortmund and Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld told the Berlin-based tabloid "Bild". Speaking to the sports magazine "kicker", former Dortmund professional Christoph Metzelder said: "Dortmund is back in the race. They are at least the clear number two and could maybe go one better."
Only weeks ago, the 2012 German Champion seemed to have hit rock bottom. Replacing their former coach Thomas Tuchel with Dutchman Peter Bosz caused as much trouble as the prolonged transfer of Ousmane Dembele to Spanish giant FC Barcelona.
Ahead of their Bundesliga match against SC Freiburg in the third round of matches this Saturday, Dortmund is not only sitting pretty at the top of the table but has surprised fans and pundits alike by finding their form so early in the season.
Coach Bosz seems to be motivating the restructured squad. "It's down to the coach that we've been able to avoid the difficulties that come with having to make so many changes," CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke commented. Bosz, Watzke continued, kept cool despite the turbulence and not knowing who he was going to have available.
For Metzelder, the main reason for the good atmosphere at the club is the work of the club leaders, Watzke and the Director of Sports, Michael Zorc. "There are still eight to ten clubs in Europe that Dortmund can't resist when they come looking for players. But the club always seems to be prepared and comes up with a replacement. It's remarkable," said Metzelder.
Dembele joined Barcelona for 105 million euro plus additional payments should he do well in Spain.
Metzelder mentioned 28-year-old Andrej Yarmolenko coming from Dinamo Kiev and 17-year-old top talent Jadon Sancho from Manchester City. Also, Bosz's balanced working methods seem to be going down well with the team that is used to the methods of Juergen Klopp and Tuchel, two coaches who are considered to be very impulsive.
Watzke is keeping his feet on the ground despite the praise. "It's clear that we have a competitive team, but at this point, we have to say that we haven't won anything yet. It'll take some weeks before we see what is possible this season," Watzke commented.
In Bosz's 4-3-3 system, the attack is still the forte while the entire team has to adapt the coach's plan to quickly regain the ball and intensified pressing. While Yarmolenko and Christian Pulisic will be the ones to support star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Bosz can count on other options such as Maximillian Philipp, who joined from SC Freiburg. In addition Nuri Sahin is currently back at his best and Julian Weigl, Marcel Schmelzer, and Jeremy Toljan are on their way to competing for a place in the starting eleven.
Watzke and Bosz praise the attitude of Aubameyang despite the offers he received from international clubs in Asia and Europe. The Gabon striker already scored six goals in the four games. "It's only possible when your mind is clear and you act professionally. Aubameyang is a top striker at the same level as Robert Lewandowski," Watzke said. "We are pleased he is in good shape and in a good mood."
Bosz still has to deal with an oversized squad of 30 that Dortmund has missed out on reducing. Top striker, Marco Reus will be sidelined until at least the beginning of 2018.
Seven games in the next 22 days will be a stress-test for Bosz and his team. "We must increase the speed in our game, but I'm happy with the general progress" Bosz recently commented. It's also made Dortmund's rivals sit up and take notice.
