With Klopp It would be like swapping one problem for another,
FANS TURNING
Things would get worse before they got better. Dortmund emerged from the winter break looking tighter and more disciplined in defence, but just as clueless going forward. Against Bayer Leverkusen at the end of January, their pass completion rate was just 44 per cent. Not possession; pass completion. In other words, almost three in every five passes was going astray. A goalless draw left them bottom of the table.
Then, a 1-0 defeat at home to 10-man Augsburg earlier this month saw the first concerted elements of fan unrest. Angry protests took place after the match, and Hummels and goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller walked over to the jeering fans to speak to them in person and appeal for calm.
Slowly, things started looking up. Tying the brilliant attacking midfielder Reus to a new four-year contract was a spectacular and unexpected coup. Meanwhile, consecutive wins have lifted them out of the bottom three, with a trip to Juventus to come on Tuesday night. But with their Bundesliga status at risk, the Champions League holds little interest for Klopp. “We only want to stay in this league, and to make that secure as early as possible,” he said last week. “I’m not worried about anything else.”
He looked tired. And there have been times during this season when Klopp has looked more tired than ever. Seven years in a job this relentless must take its toll. Eleven places and 30 points ahead of them, Bayern Munich are disappearing out of sight, having taken two of Dortmund’s best players – Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski – with them.
The temptation to start afresh in a country that loves him will eventually become overwhelming. But still the inventor of fighting football carries on fighting. “We’ve had a guilty conscience for long enough,” he said ahead of their last game, a 3-2 win over Stuttgart. “Now we have to start playing positively.”
At times during the Stuttgart game, you could see it. Dortmund were still giving the ball away far too easily, but there were flashes of the old magic too. They were winning the ball high up the pitch, just like they used to. They were moving it at speed. And their effortless second goal – Gündoğan, Reus, a back-heel from Kagawa, the finish from Gündoğan – evoked the carefree one-touch kickabout from training earlier in the week.
On the touchline, Klopp pumped his fist: once, then again, and again and again, until finally he was engulfed by his bench, a blur of leaping yellow and black.
Certain teams are unmistakable.
FANS TURNING
Things would get worse before they got better. Dortmund emerged from the winter break looking tighter and more disciplined in defence, but just as clueless going forward. Against Bayer Leverkusen at the end of January, their pass completion rate was just 44 per cent. Not possession; pass completion. In other words, almost three in every five passes was going astray. A goalless draw left them bottom of the table.
Then, a 1-0 defeat at home to 10-man Augsburg earlier this month saw the first concerted elements of fan unrest. Angry protests took place after the match, and Hummels and goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller walked over to the jeering fans to speak to them in person and appeal for calm.
Slowly, things started looking up. Tying the brilliant attacking midfielder Reus to a new four-year contract was a spectacular and unexpected coup. Meanwhile, consecutive wins have lifted them out of the bottom three, with a trip to Juventus to come on Tuesday night. But with their Bundesliga status at risk, the Champions League holds little interest for Klopp. “We only want to stay in this league, and to make that secure as early as possible,” he said last week. “I’m not worried about anything else.”
He looked tired. And there have been times during this season when Klopp has looked more tired than ever. Seven years in a job this relentless must take its toll. Eleven places and 30 points ahead of them, Bayern Munich are disappearing out of sight, having taken two of Dortmund’s best players – Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski – with them.
The temptation to start afresh in a country that loves him will eventually become overwhelming. But still the inventor of fighting football carries on fighting. “We’ve had a guilty conscience for long enough,” he said ahead of their last game, a 3-2 win over Stuttgart. “Now we have to start playing positively.”
At times during the Stuttgart game, you could see it. Dortmund were still giving the ball away far too easily, but there were flashes of the old magic too. They were winning the ball high up the pitch, just like they used to. They were moving it at speed. And their effortless second goal – Gündoğan, Reus, a back-heel from Kagawa, the finish from Gündoğan – evoked the carefree one-touch kickabout from training earlier in the week.
On the touchline, Klopp pumped his fist: once, then again, and again and again, until finally he was engulfed by his bench, a blur of leaping yellow and black.
Certain teams are unmistakable.