Dortmund's Perfect Start: A New Era in the Bundesliga
BVB’s perfect start, a pointed glance at Munich, a coach in Elversberg dreaming in black and yellow, a teenager back from the treatment room, and a firm “no” to a Sancho sequel – Dortmund’s week had everything.
Ricken enjoys the view from above – and nudges Bayern
Borussia Dortmund have opened the season flawlessly and, for once, Bayern Munich are looking up at them in the table. Two points behind. That alone gives the mood in Dortmund a different edge.
Lars Ricken is too experienced to declare a title race in September. He still used the moment.
“There is a very respectful relationship between the two clubs. Nevertheless, in recent years we have not given Bayern the feeling that a declaration of intent had to go out to them either,” the 50-year-old sporting managing director told Bild.
Respect on the surface, a little needle underneath. The fact that Bayern are currently chasing, not leading, clearly pleases him.
“I do not want to conceal the fact that I hope they are a little annoyed,” Ricken admitted. “We know the table and they are currently not where they think they belong. If that feeling prevails, I would be pleased.”
Dortmund are not shouting about a power shift. But they are happy to turn the screw a little in Munich’s mind.
Elversberg’s Wagner, a Bundesliga coach with a BVB scarf at heart
While Dortmund are setting the early pace, one of their long‑time admirers is quietly making waves elsewhere.
Vincent Wagner is writing a remarkable story with SV Elversberg, the Bundesliga newcomers punching above their weight. His footballing heart, though, beats for BVB.
“Now I have to watch what I say. I have been a Borussia Dortmund fan since the 1995/1996 season,” the Elversberg head coach told Bild. Almost three decades in black and yellow – at least emotionally.
The idea of one day standing on the touchline at Signal Iduna Park still feels distant to him. “At the moment I still lack the imagination to one day be standing there on the touchline. I am happy at SV Elversberg and glad that I am allowed to be a Bundesliga coach – because I love my job,” he said.
His footballing compass is set by two giants of the modern game. “I try to have my teams play football in a holistic way. The intensity and passion of Klopp paired with the tactical understanding and meticulousness of Pep Guardiola.”
Dortmund fan, Klopp’s fire, Guardiola’s detail. And right now, Elversberg are the beneficiaries.
Teenage prospect Kaba finally back on the pitch
At Dortmund, the next generation is edging back into the spotlight.
Seventeen-year-old midfielder Mussa Kaba celebrated his comeback after half a year out. He went straight into the starting XI for BVB’s reserves in a 3-2 win over Rödinghausen and played the first half.
Physical growth spurts and the muscle problems that followed had sidelined him since March. The club chose a careful plan rather than a rushed return. Minutes, not headlines, were the priority.
Kaba shared his comeback with another returning youngster. Alongside Enzo Duarte, who had also recently been injured, he collected important match practice with the U23s.
Coach Daniel Rios underlined what matters most in the coming weeks: “Now it is about Mussa and Enzo getting minutes and getting into rhythm. There is always coordination with the professional department.”
For Dortmund, this is the quiet work behind the first team’s shine – building bodies and careers step by step.
Why Sancho stayed a memory, not a new signing
While the future was returning in the U23s, one name from the past hovered over the club all summer: Jadon Sancho.
The winger is currently unattached, and talk of a second comeback in Dortmund never really disappeared. Ricken has now explained why it remained just talk.
“To a certain extent it was important to me to bring in new faces, new stories, new figures for identification,” he told Bild. Dortmund wanted a fresh chapter, not a reprint of an old one.
Sancho’s status played a big role. For a player of his calibre, a reserve role was barely realistic. “Jadon has that kind of force,” Ricken said. Even with limited minutes, the Englishman would have dominated the narrative.
Ricken feared that “Jadon would be our only topic.” Every game, every training session, every squad decision – filtered through one name.
That would have had consequences. “As a consequence, you would then have to look: do you sell a Fabio Silva?” he said. Planned signings might have stalled as well: “Can you then only bring in Karetsas and not Konstantelias?”
The knock-on effect would have reached the academy, too. “We have young players like Inacio or Mathis Albert. Do you then have to sell or loan them out?” Ricken asked.
In the end, the answer inside the club was clear: no second Sancho era. “These are decisions we make,” he concluded.
Dortmund sit top, Bayern are chasing, a Bundesliga coach in Elversberg is dreaming in black and yellow, and the club’s youngsters are fighting for their own space. The question now is whether this new‑look BVB can turn early momentum, and these hard-nosed decisions, into something that finally lasts until May.
