There's a lot of trouble at BVB about Sven Mislintat.
The training camp in Bad Ragaz is intended to foster a sense of team spirit among the players of Borussia Dortmund for the upcoming season. However, the situation in the management appears to be quite different. A power struggle is brewing that could escalate at any moment.
The idyllic setting is deceptive. The Champions League finalist Borussia Dortmund has once again checked into its favorite hotel in Bad Ragaz to approach the most important phase of the season's preparation in peace. However, the backdrop in Bad Ragaz has cracks: There is great anger within the team because the technical director and squad planner, Sven Mislintat, is overstepping his authority.
The "Bild" newspaper, the "WAZ", and the "Ruhr Nachrichten" have reported on the allegations, and their content largely matches the findings of the sports information service. According to these reports, Mislintat is being sharply criticized internally. On the one hand, he is making solo decisions on transfers, which are not part of his job description, and on the other hand, he has annoyed his superiors with public appearances. The new head coach, Nuri Şahin, is said to have even asked him to leave the training ground after an argument.
Mislintat returned to BVB in May. He is supposed to scout and propose potential new signings, mainly assisting sports director Sebastian Kehl, who is responsible for the day-to-day sporting business. CEO Lars Ricken is leading the club strategically as the successor to Hans-Joachim Watzke.
A difficult, assertive type
Unlike his previous stations at Ajax Amsterdam and VfB Stuttgart, Sven Mislintat does not have decision-making power at BVB. He left VfB after three and a half years amid discord, and his engagement in the Netherlands ended after a few months with his dismissal. Mislintat is known as a difficult, assertive type who tries to concentrate as much power as possible in his hands: This is also known in Dortmund, where he once fell out with coach Thomas Tuchel.
Tuchel had ordered that Mislintat was no longer to appear in the team's vicinity. In the end, however, he was the one who had to leave the club. The "diamond eye" Mislintat, on the other hand, was promoted from chief scout to head of professional football but left at the end of 2017 to join FC Arsenal. In May 2024, the 51-year-old was re-presented at BVB.
"Internal meetings got out of hand"
And the unrest is brewing again. The club declined to comment on the matter, and the "Bild" newspaper is already speculating about a "quick exit". According to the newspaper, "internal meetings got out of hand", and Mislintat's behavior is described as dominant. A "reasonable discussion atmosphere" was "hardly present" at times. According to information from the sports information service, a quick separation is not yet being considered.
The accusation that Mislintat leaked internal information to the press is also sensitive. It had been noticeable that transfer influencers often knew about impending purchases first - as was the case with the Brazilian right-back Yan Couto, whom Mislintat is said to have viewed very critically. However, the influencers could also have obtained their information from player or agent sides.
The football league standings could potentially be affected by the ongoing power struggle within Borussia Dortmund, given Sven Mislintat's controversial actions and the discord within the team. Despite being brought back to BVB in a supporting role, Mislintat's authoritarian behavior and public appearances have caused tension with his superiors and head coach, Nuri Şahin.
