The Japan Times - Disappointed Dortmund chase consistency with Europe at stake

EUR -
AED 4.178058
AFN 80.791251
ALL 98.690885
AMD 442.3331
ANG 2.050084
AOA 1043.643014
ARS 1339.967543
AUD 1.775608
AWG 2.050323
AZN 1.93279
BAM 1.954638
BBD 2.278325
BDT 138.166632
BGN 1.953411
BHD 0.428698
BIF 3382.074155
BMD 1.137489
BND 1.490107
BOB 7.857259
BRL 6.437954
BSD 1.137114
BTN 96.857983
BWP 15.524701
BYN 3.721371
BYR 22294.777541
BZD 2.284222
CAD 1.575063
CDF 3274.829622
CHF 0.939223
CLF 0.027939
CLP 1072.139675
CNY 8.297978
CNH 8.2737
COP 4794.423661
CRC 574.853139
CUC 1.137489
CUP 30.143449
CVE 110.198507
CZK 24.925806
DJF 202.497815
DKK 7.464018
DOP 67.009567
DZD 150.733151
EGP 57.80433
ERN 17.06233
ETB 152.214555
FJD 2.567195
FKP 0.849313
GBP 0.849772
GEL 3.11624
GGP 0.849313
GHS 16.261188
GIP 0.849313
GMD 80.761393
GNF 9849.057171
GTQ 8.757793
GYD 238.616021
HKD 8.825166
HNL 29.509454
HRK 7.533017
HTG 148.790221
HUF 404.125773
IDR 19061.466053
ILS 4.120667
IMP 0.849313
INR 96.843679
IQD 1489.714217
IRR 47902.488619
ISK 146.13291
JEP 0.849313
JMD 180.132893
JOD 0.806706
JPY 162.341254
KES 147.020675
KGS 99.473704
KHR 4552.273211
KMF 491.964745
KPW 1023.855541
KRW 1632.961623
KWD 0.348447
KYD 0.947628
KZT 581.681576
LAK 24596.158909
LBP 101887.621965
LKR 340.634464
LRD 227.432769
LSL 21.100754
LTL 3.358708
LVL 0.688056
LYD 6.221246
MAD 10.548328
MDL 19.570278
MGA 5131.903458
MKD 61.481417
MMK 2388.481791
MNT 4063.542884
MOP 9.086397
MRU 45.019232
MUR 51.40089
MVR 17.528255
MWK 1971.810228
MXN 22.296779
MYR 4.92248
MZN 72.799163
NAD 21.100754
NGN 1823.70093
NIO 41.844751
NOK 11.801752
NPR 154.973172
NZD 1.910445
OMR 0.437954
PAB 1.137114
PEN 4.169084
PGK 4.711199
PHP 63.820504
PKR 319.450746
PLN 4.27131
PYG 9106.585231
QAR 4.145535
RON 4.978333
RSD 117.129325
RUB 92.993347
RWF 1625.519177
SAR 4.266738
SBD 9.502935
SCR 16.366901
SDG 683.061626
SEK 10.966067
SGD 1.489939
SHP 0.893887
SLE 25.835423
SLL 23852.549776
SOS 649.910707
SRD 41.916957
STD 23543.718475
SVC 9.949996
SYP 14789.583175
SZL 21.093458
THB 37.996105
TJS 12.008154
TMT 3.98121
TND 3.401577
TOP 2.664114
TRY 43.724131
TTD 7.715345
TWD 36.743048
TZS 3056.991512
UAH 47.24241
UGX 4167.485378
USD 1.137489
UYU 47.881109
UZS 14724.244974
VES 98.446128
VND 29580.392344
VUV 137.985323
WST 3.150948
XAF 655.56432
XAG 0.034207
XAU 0.000344
XCD 3.07412
XDR 0.814056
XOF 655.5672
XPF 119.331742
YER 278.795525
ZAR 21.098879
ZMK 10238.756594
ZMW 31.811805
ZWL 366.270881
  • AZN

    1.3900

    71.32

    +1.95%

  • CMSD

    -0.0300

    22.45

    -0.13%

  • SCS

    0.0300

    9.89

    +0.3%

  • RIO

    0.1150

    60.985

    +0.19%

  • NGG

    0.3100

    73.16

    +0.42%

  • CMSC

    -0.0450

    22.275

    -0.2%

  • BCC

    -1.6350

    93.695

    -1.75%

  • JRI

    0.0150

    12.815

    +0.12%

  • GSK

    0.8190

    38.879

    +2.11%

  • RBGPF

    -0.4500

    63

    -0.71%

  • RYCEF

    0.0700

    10.25

    +0.68%

  • RELX

    0.4100

    53.77

    +0.76%

  • BCE

    0.1700

    21.98

    +0.77%

  • VOD

    0.0350

    9.605

    +0.36%

  • BTI

    0.2250

    42.615

    +0.53%

  • BP

    -0.7650

    28.365

    -2.7%

Disappointed Dortmund chase consistency with Europe at stake
Disappointed Dortmund chase consistency with Europe at stake / Photo: Pau BARRENA - AFP

Disappointed Dortmund chase consistency with Europe at stake

Champions League finalists less than a year ago, Borussia Dortmund host Borussia Moenchengladbach in the Bundesliga on Sunday hoping to keep their chances of European qualification alive.

Text size:

Dortmund sit eighth in the league, six points off fourth spot with five games remaining.

Having endured their worst domestic season in a decade, Dortmund's sudden drop-off becomes even more perplexing against the backdrop of their stellar showing against Barcelona on Tuesday.

Dortmund ran Barcelona ragged, beating the Catalonians 3-1, with Serhou Guirassy scoring a hat-trick. Two further goals were chalked off for offside.

Dortmund's fate was however sealed after a poor showing in the first leg, when they lost 4-0.

Just like last year when they stumbled to fifth in the league while beating Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Newcastle and PSV Eindhoven on the way to Wembley, Dortmund's ambitions are frustrated by their inconsistency.

Missing the Champions League would have huge repercussions for Dortmund, a club heavily reliant on European income.

Only once since winning back-to-back Bundesliga titles under Jurgen Klopp in 2010 and 2011 have Dortmund missed out on the Champions League.

A symbol of the club's inconsistency is centre-back Niklas Suele. A 2020 Champions League winner with Bayern, Suele was signed to anchor Dortmund's defence but has only periodically reproduced his top form.

Speaking after the Barcelona match, Suele was at a loss to explain Dortmund's unpredictability.

"The question we face is why don't we play like that in a Bundesliga match? That's something we need to ask ourselves again before we play Gladbach, so we can put in a similar showing.

"We have an incredible amount of quality, that's not up for debate. The sheer determination we showed today, the way we put a team like Barcelona – one of the best teams in Europe – under so much pressure.

We definitely have to accept the criticism about our inconsistency. But we're searching for solutions, we talk about it every day."

Sitting two points ahead of Dortmund, Gladbach are also in the mix for a European spot. A win on Saturday could send Dortmund as high as sixth and within striking distance of the top four, in the season's final stages.

At the top of the table, Bayern Munich can soothe the disappointment after Wednesday's Champions League exit by taking a step closer to the title with a win at Heidenheim.

Bayern sit six points clear of second-placed Bayer Leverkusen, with five games remaining.

For Leverkusen, nothing short of a Bayern collapse will keep their dreams alive of defending their title.

While such a collapse is unlikely, it is not unprecedented -- although it does not make for happy reading for Leverkusen fans. In 2001-02, Leverkusen were five points ahead with three games remaining but lost two of their last three to finish second.

One to watch: Steffen Baumgart (Union Berlin)

Coach Steffen Baumgart and his Union Berlin charges can take the final step to ensuring top-division football next season with a win on Saturday against Stuttgart at home.

As a former Union player, Baumgart's signing was criticised as a 'jobs for the boys' appointment, but the 53-year-old has turned things around in Koepenick.

Union picked up 11 points in a five-game unbeaten run against Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt, Wolfsburg and Freiburg.

"We want to play our own game successfully like we did last time," Baumgart said on Thursday, adding "perhaps we'll take that final, difficult step."

Key stats

11 in 12 - Bayern Munich have won 11 of the past 12 Bundesliga titles.

Four in a row - Wolfsburg have lost their last four, leaving their European hopes hanging by a thread.

23 - Harry Kane has 23 league goals, six clear of second-placed Patrik Schick.

Fixtures (1330 GMT unless stated)

Saturday

Heidenheim v Bayern Munich, Mainz v Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen v Bochum, Freiburg v Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig v Holstein Kiel, Union Berlin v Stuttgart (1630)

Sunday

Augsburg v Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Dortmund v Borussia Moenchengladbach (1530), St Pauli v Bayer Leverkusen (1730)

T.Maeda--JT