Dortmund's surprises with Peter Stoeger

By Oliver Trust

BERLIN, Dec 10 (Xinhua) -- Borussia Dortmund's answer to its crisis couldn't be more surprising but is showing the clubs deep desperation in their attempt to get back to success. It was no surprise that the Blacks and Yellows gave their coach Peter Bosz the sack after the team lost contact to the national league's top and was eliminated in the Champions League after a poor campaign as early as after the group stage.

Bosz's successor was the most significant surprise as Dortmund appointed Austrian Peter Stoeger as their new head coach until the end of the season 2017/2018. The 51-year-old was sacked only eight days ago at the Bundesliga's taillight FC Cologne after four and a half years.

"This is not only a great challenge for me but the chance to show I can do better as I did with Cologne this season having achieved only three points. To get this opportunity in Dortmund proofs that I must have done a good job in Cologne in the time before," Stoeger commented.

He called the job in Dortmund a once-in-a-life-time-chance.

Under Stoeger Cologne promoted to the Bundesliga and qualified with the side for international competition after 25 years.

Dortmund's CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke admitted that Stoeger was one of the club's options to follow after former coach Thomas Tuchel who departed the club after the last season after two years.

While Stoeger was not available that time, the club decided to sign Dutch Peter Bosz who had reached the Euro League final with Ajax Amsterdam and stood for a modern football style. Confidence in Bosz only lasted six months.

"Our first obligation now is to gain stability for the team. We are convinced that Peter Stoeger due to his abilities will reboot confidence in our squad," Watzke said.

Dortmund highly depends on the income from the Champions League as the club is noted at the stock market. Watzke called it a red line not to qualify for next season's Champions League campaign. After a 1-2 defeat against Werder Bremen, last Saturday Watzke had to take action.

Stoeger said Dortmund's call this Saturday evening was a big surprise for him too. "I returned from Cologne to Vienna this Saturday to see my family and my mother. We had dinner, and I had to leave after only 30 minutes," Stoeger reported after flying back to Germany from his home country.

With a smile on his face Stoeger said his mother wasn't upset after he left that quickly, but happy for him.

According to rumors, Dortmund plans to sign 30-year-old Julian Nagelsmann (TSG Hoffenheim) next summer. Watzke rejected to comment rumors.

"The club's obligation was to react as the team had lost its faith," former German international and current TV pundit Thomas Strunz mentioned.

Last week reports came to light speaking of a profound gap between coach and team. In the squad, several performers due to reports lacked motivation. Several media reports talked about team spirit had been lost after weeks of controversial discussions about the coaches' tactical approach which turned out to overextend the teams' abilities.

Bosz favored a 4-3-3 system with an intense pressing system which turned out to be too risky for the team. A few weeks ago team leaders met with Bosz for tactic discussions and demanded a 3-4-3 system instead, insisting the team feels more comfortable with changes.

After a brilliant start after six rounds of matches, Dortmund gained a five-point lead in the Bundesliga but was mostly facing lower quality teams. As soon as the Blacks and Yellows had to face competitive opponents such as RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga or Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid in the Champions League the team's problems were apparent.

Under Bosz Dortmund couldn't win one of its last eight games and dropped back as far as 13 points behind Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich.

Now Bosz is history, and the spotlight is turning into the direction of Stoeger and Dortmund's officials. To sign a coach like Stoeger is a high risk and is increasing pressure on Watzke and Zorc who face an uncertain future when a turnaround can't be achieved. Enditem