Borussia Dortmund sack Sahin after Champions League setback

Borussia Dortmund have fired head coach Nuri Sahin in the wake of Tuesday’s 2-1 Champions League loss at Bologna, saying they had “lost faith” in him.

Dortmund were beaten finalists in the competition last season, but the loss on Tuesday was the club’s fourth successive defeat in all competitions.

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In the Bundesliga, Dortmund sit 10th, 20 points behind leaders Bayern Munich.

German media reported potential successors included former Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag, who has been seen attending Dortmund games recently, or one-time Benfica and Bayer Leverkusen handler Roger Schmidt.

Sahin was assistant to former Dortmund coach Edin Terzic in last season’s surprise run to the Champions League final where they lost to Real Madrid and the 36-year-old was promoted to head coach in the summer.

“We have unfortunately lost faith that we will achieve our sporting goals,” sporting CEO Lars Ricken said on Wednesday.

Ricken added the decision “hurts… but was unavoidable after the game in Bologna.

“We value Nuri Sahin and his work very much, we hoped for a long collaboration and until the end we had hope that we could achieve a sporting turnaround together.”

The sacking continues a tumultuous time for recent Dortmund managers.

Since Jurgen Klopp’s departure in 2015, Dortmund have had eight head coaches, including Terzic’s two stints at the club. Only one, Lucien Favre, has stayed for longer than two years.

Later on Wednesday, Dortmund announced U19 coach Mike Tullberg would take over on an interim basis starting with Saturday’s home clash with Werder Bremen.

A disappointed Sahin said he “unfortunately was not able to live up to Dortmund’s sporting ambitions at this point in time.

“I wish this special club all the best.”

– ‘Change of coach’ –

Sahin’s hiring maintained the club’s recent strategy of hiring former players in leadership roles.

Terzic grew up in the area and was a Dortmund scout and junior coach before taking the top job.

Ricken and sporting director Sebastian Kehl also had long careers as Dortmund players.

Sahin came through Dortmund’s junior ranks and played 274 games for the club — he was a member of the side that won the 2011 Bundesliga title — either side of stints at Real Madrid and Liverpool.

The Germany-born former Turkish international’s first head coach position was at Turkish side Antalyaspor, where he finished his playing career.

Sahin took Antalyaspor to seventh and 13th-placed finishes in the league, before he departed to become assistant manager at Dortmund in January 2023.

After Tuesday’s loss, Sahin told reporters “if I am the problem, or if a change of coach solves the issues, then that’s no problem at all.”

Under Sahin this season, Dortmund have found it particularly tough away from their 82,000-capacity Westfalenstadion fortress, having lost nine and won just four of their 15 matches.

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In addition to their poor league form, Sahin’s side were eliminated in the last 32 of the German Cup by Wolfsburg.

They do though still entertain hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League, despite the defeat by Bologna, as they lie 13th in the table.