(Feature)Dortmund's coach Tuchel under fire

What for long has been regarded as a dispute over the direction they should take could now well lead to a deeper crisis for Borussia Dortmund and head coach Thomas Tuchel.

In advance of the first knock-out stage of the 2016-2017 Champions League with two games against Benfica Lisbon, the relationship between the 43-year-old and CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke seems to have reached rock bottom.

First rumors speak about a possible split next summer, one year before Tuchel's current contract runs out. At the same time rumors report about a possible interest of Premier League Arsenal in hiring Tuchel.

After his team suffered a 2-1 defeat against league strugglers SV Darmstadt 98, Tuchel accused Watzke and club manager Michael Zorc of having exaggerated expectations.

"The team is not only the one that played Leipzig or in the Champions League games but also the one that played Darmstadt," Tuchel said. "It's something we should start to remember. I thought internally the message had been understood," he continued.

A few weeks ago, Watzke put Tuchel under pressure by saying the club expects to finish second or third in the Bundesliga thus securing a place in next season's Champions League. In contrast to Watzke, Tuchel is unhappy about the club's transfer policy which is mainly built around buying top young international talents.

Last summer, Tuchel insisted on bolstering his squad with experienced players, but the idea was rejected by the club.

Watzke recently came up with the provocative statement that club and Tuchel still had to "develop a feeling that it makes sense to continue the collaboration over the next three years".

In an interview with the Hamburg-based magazine "Stern" he made it clear that the club expects the coach to get along well with his squad.

Last summer, Tuchel was forced to rebuild his team after kingpins like Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich), Ilkay Guendogan (Manchester City) and Hendrik Mkhitaryan (Manchester United) all left Dortmund to be replaced by young talents.

Now over six months later, Watzke expects the gelling process to be finished.

Tuchel does not require a season for the restart. In his eyes, titles will not be coming Dortmunds' way this season.

However, reaching the Champions league next season is essential for Watzke. The gap between Tuchel and Watzke is growing especially as Tuchel is used to being, like at his former club Mainz 05, the only decision-maker.

At the same time, the head coach's relationship to the club's chief scout is icy. The latter has been banned from the training ground.

As Dortmund recently bought the top Swedish youngster Alex Isak, which Real Madrid were also interested in, neither the club nor Tuchel denied rumors that the coach was not involved right from the start of negotiations.

Tuchel said, "I didn't know the player." And Borussia manager Zorc revealed, "We had to be quick."

With Hummels and Co no longer at the club, the team lacks leadership. As the majority of the squad lack experience, Tuchel would like to turn to "old hands" Mario Goetze, Andre Schuerrle or Gonzales Castro but he says they lack quality at present. Goetze for instance is not part of Borussia`s Lisbon squad.

But not only the coach has to adapt to Dortmund's way of life, the team has to adjust to the coach's demands.

Some rumors indicate many youngsters are having a difficult time getting used to Tuchel, who is constantly demanding the perfect game and a sophisticated tactical system both in training and the matches. Some say the players are overtaxed by the coach.

The future of Tuchel in Dortmund will depend on the ability of the coach to manage expectations and reality. Decisive are not the performances in the Champions League but the ones in the domestic league.

After the era of Juergen Klopp (2008-2015), expectations are high in Dortmund after the present Liverpool manager coached them to several titles like the German Championship in 2011 and 2012.

For now, Tuchel seems to be rather annoyed by the expectations of both the fans and the club. Some see a gap growing between Tuchel and parts of the squad. It is no secret that the experienced players in Tuchel's squad like Castro and World Cup-winners Goetze and Schuerrle are not happy with the coach.

In view of the current problems on the home front, the away game against Benfica this Tuesday evening could be seen as a welcome change.

In the group phase, Tuchel's team played excellently and made the coach call the encounters on the international games "highlight performances". He however also said, "We need more consistency and that takes time for a young team." Endit