Borussia Dortmund sacked coach Nuri Sahin after a 2-1 loss to Bologna in the Champions League on Tuesday, saying they had “lost confidence” in him. Dortmund lost in the final of the competition last season, but Tuesday’s loss was the club’s fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions. In the German League, Dortmund ranks tenth, 20 points behind leaders Bayern Munich. Sahin was an assistant to former Dortmund coach Edin Terzic last season, which surprisingly reached the Champions League final, where it lost to Real Madrid, and the 36-year-old was promoted to the position of coach in the summer.
“We have unfortunately lost confidence that we will achieve our sporting goals,” Lars Rieken, the sport’s chief executive, said on Wednesday.
Ricken added that the decision was “painful… but it was unavoidable after the match in Bologna.”
He added: “We appreciate Nuri Sahin and his work very much. We were hoping for long-term cooperation, and until the end we had hope that we could achieve a sporting transformation together.”
The sacking continues a turbulent time for Dortmund’s new coaches.
Since Jurgen Klopp’s departure in 2015, Dortmund have had eight head coaches, including Terzic’s two spells at the club. Only one, Lucien Favre, stayed longer than two years.
Dortmund, which hosts Werder Bremen in the league on Saturday, said that “information will be provided in due course” regarding a successor.
German media reported that among the candidates were former Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag, who was seen attending Dortmund matches recently, or former Benfica and Bayer Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt.
Terzic, who has been unemployed since leaving the Dortmund job at the end of the season, is reportedly not a candidate for the job.
A frustrated Shaheen said, “Unfortunately, he was not able to live up to Dortmund’s sporting ambitions at this time.”
“I wish this distinguished club all the best.”
Shaheen’s appointment maintained the club’s recent strategy of employing former players in leadership roles.
Terzic grew up in the area and was a youth scout and coach at Dortmund before taking the top job.
Rijkin and sporting director Sebastian Kehl also had long careers as Dortmund players.
Sahin came through the youth ranks at Dortmund and played 274 times for the club – and was a member of the team that won the 2011 Bundesliga title – at both Real Madrid and Liverpool.
The German-born former Turkish international’s first coaching position was at Turkish side Antalyaspor, where he ended his playing career.
Sahin led Antalyaspor to seventh and 13th place in the league, before leaving to become an assistant coach at Dortmund in January 2023.
After Tuesday’s loss, Shaheen told reporters, “If I am the problem, or if changing the coach solves the problem, then this is not a problem at all.”
Under Sahin this season, Dortmund have found it particularly difficult away from the 82,000-capacity Westfalenstadion, having lost nine matches and won just four of 15.
In addition to their poor league form, Sahin’s team was eliminated in the round of 32 of the German Cup by Wolfsburg.
However, they still have hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League, despite the defeat to Bologna, where they sit 13th in the table.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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