Borussia Dortmund in Focus - Borussia Dortmund and coach Terzic- their partnership comes to an end.
The once-promising partnership between Borussia Dortmund and Edin Terzic has ended. The Bundesliga club has granted the football coach's request to terminate his contract immediately on Thursday. In a club statement, Terzic was quoted as saying, "Dear Borussians, even though it pains me right now, I have to tell you that I will leave BVB today. I asked the relevant people after our final in Wembley for a conversation because I feel that the upcoming reboot should be accompanied by a new man on the sidelines."
Although he led his team to the Champions League final, Terzic is stepping down from his coaching position. The team's disappointing fifth-place finish in the Bundesliga was a heavy blow for him. Despite qualifying for the Champions League thanks to a special regulation, they lost a lot of credibility. Terzic chose to leave the club, which was led by new sports director Lars Ricken for the first time on Thursday, prior to the start of the new season. "Edin Terzic has done exceptional work during his time at BVB. We all have a lot to thank him for," commented club president Hans-Joachim Watzke.
Edin Terzic was recently given the vote of confidence
In the meantime, the outgoing club president Watzke had already said at the beginning of the previous season that he wanted to continue with Terzic "for the next few years." However, the relationship between the local football coach and Borussia began to crack when both the Bundesliga summit against Bayern (0:4) and the following game at VfB Stuttgart (1:2) ended in disastrous defeats.
However, Terzic was still given confidence at a regular meeting of the board of directors just before the winter break. It was assumed that the decision to give Terzic two former BVB professionals, Nuri Sahin and Sven Bender, as assistants for the league restart was a safety net for management in the event of a sporting crisis.
This move may now pay off. So, Sahin is being considered as a potential successor to Terzic as head coach. Like his predecessor, the Dortmund native and Turkish-German Sahin hails from the region around Dortmund. He gained his first coaching experience in the professional league as head coach of the Turkish first division club Antalyaspor from 2021 to 2023.
"I've worked with Edin Terzic closely and for a long time in his roles as youth coach, technical director, and most recently as head coach. It was an honor to work for this club with him," said Ricken.
Missed championship
Only in the European elite class, where Dortmund finished first in the Hammer group with Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, and Newcastle United, did the team occasionally exhibit its great potential. However, the club lost the final against Real Madrid unlucky with 0:2.
In the national league, they couldn't find their way back to the top this season. A summer transfer offensive should help them get back on track.
As an interim coach after separating from Lucien Favre three years ago, Terzic led Dortmund to the cup victory in 2021 and then became the technical director after Marco Rose's appointment as the new head coach. A year later, Terzic returned to his role as head coach after parting ways with Rose.
The well-liked coach from nearby Menden, who is a lifelong BVB fan, initially enjoyed the support of Watzke, who also rallied him during a similar sports crisis at the end of 2023. At the time, Dortmund had only gone into the winter break in sixth place in the table, but still had the potential to become German champions. However, Dortmund missed out on the necessary home win against Mainz 05 on matchday 34 of the season. This missed opportunity appears to have had a lasting impact on Terzic.
Transparency note: This article is updated regularly.
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Despite Terzic leading Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League final, their disappointing fifth-place finish in the Bundesliga was a significant blow for him. Following this, he chose to leave the club, which was now led by new sports director Lars Ricken, prior to the start of the new season.
The team's loss against Real Madrid in the Champions League final and their failed attempt to secure a home win against Mainz 05 on matchday 34 of the season seemed to have had a lasting impact on Terzic, potentially leading to his decision to leave Borussia Dortmund.
