Here is an unspoken truth: if it had not been for an inconceivably miserable first-half of the season, Borussia Dortmund would be a set participant in next year’s UEFA Champions League group stage.
The legs in this BVB squad are still well above average and, contrary to some gloomy predictions, it appears missing out on the big European stage has not triggered the much-feared exodus of star players.
The logical consequence? Much like with its domestic cup ambitions, Dortmund needs to be frank enough to openly declare the Europa League final as its target for 2016.
Returning customers, but something has changed
Five years ago, just one season after BVB had embarked on the Juergen Klopp era, a young and internationally inexperienced Borussia Dortmund side for the first time dipped its toes into a European football competition. Back then it had been drawn into a group with Paris Saint-Germain, Sevillla and Karpaty Lviv, an ask a little too big at the time – many commendable performances and nine points in total notwithstanding. Dortmund failed to qualify for the knockout stages, but likely was not overly bothered, as it went on to qualify for Champions League football for the next four consecutive years.
Now BVB are back (assuming they get through the qualification round) and how the black and yellow outfit has evolved since then is nothing short of remarkable.
Most notably, the side has grown up to its prime and is dripping with international experience and coveted individuals who all seem committed enough to make the best of the assumed one-off year.
The most ostensible change on the sideline is the coach, Thomas Tuchel, who has already voiced his eagerness to sharpen Dortmund’s most recently blunted attacking play. To make matters better, Tuchel too has been able to gather some European miles when he stunned the public and lead dwarf club FSV Mainz into the Europe League.
A glance at this year’s participants, including Liverpool, Valencia and Napoli, promises some mouth-watering clashes for Dortmund fans and players alike, but everyone in black and yellow should be confident enough to see BVB at least on a par with those clubs.
Chelsea sets an example
If Chelsea’s 2012-13 Europa League campaign is anything to go by, the tournament has certainly become a well-respected sister competition to the Champions League heavyweight. The celebrations of the boys around Frank Lampard that night in Amsterdam underscored just how much meaning players already ascribe to winning the triangular-shaped cup. Chelsea beat Benfica in an electric final, which had all the elements a great finale deserves and every professional football players lives for. Chelsea had won the Champions League in 2012 and nothing suggested its joy was somewhat subdued compared to the previous year.
Of course the same holds true for this year’s winner, Sevilla. However Chelsea might serve as a more fitting analogy for Dortmund simply because the blow the Blues were dealt by missing out on another year of Champions League football can be likened to Dortmund’s current situation. Chelsea decided to grab the bull by the horns and collect another trophy for the club. Dortmund is to take a leaf out of its book.
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The Europa League is healthy for Dortmund’s growth
Back to Dortmund, the Europa League also ensures (next to the financial benefits) that BVB are not coerced to change their ways. When a club acclimatises to partaking in three competitions per season including matches midweek and that pillar all of a sudden breaks away, the squad would abruptly be too big and out of whack.
Dortmund can consider itself lucky it does not have to slim down the team at this stage and will acknowledge the main driver enabling the preservation of its philosophy right now is the Europa League. That, among other reasons, is the key motivation to embrace the competition next season and appreciate it for what it is: an attractive European showdown that offers plenty of money and prestige to play for. And perhaps the best part: BVB can absolutely make it theirs.
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