Edin Terzic says goodbye to Dortmund. © APA/afp / INA FASSBENDER

Coaching quake at BVB: Terzic says goodbye

The supposed model marriage between Borussia Dortmund and Edin Terzic has ended in divorce.

June 13, 2024

From: dpa/tu

On Thursday, the Bundesliga club complied with the football coach's request to terminate the contract with immediate effect. "Dear Borussia fans, even though it hurts me terribly right now, I would like to inform you that I will be leaving BVB today. I asked those in charge for a meeting after our final at Wembley because after ten years at BVB, including five years on the coaching team and two and a half years as head coach, I feel that the upcoming new start should be accompanied by a new man on the sidelines," Terzic was quoted as saying in a club statement.

Although the 41-year-old reached the Champions League final with his team, he is leaving his coaching position. The disappointing fifth place in the Bundesliga proved to be too much of a burden for Terzic. Although BVB qualified for the Champions League due to a special regulation, it lost a lot of credit. Terzic left Borussia's so-called elephant round, which was led for the first time by the new sports director Lars Ricken on Thursday, early. "Edin Terzic did an outstanding job during his time at BVB. We all owe him a huge debt of gratitude," commented club boss Hans-Joachim Watzke.

Terzic led BVB to the CL final. © APA/afp / ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT

At the beginning of last season, club boss Watzke, who is leaving next year, had asserted that he wanted to play with Terzic for "the next few years". But the alliance between the football coach from the region and Borussia began to crack when both the Bundesliga summit against Bayern (0:4) and the following game at VfB Stuttgart (1:2) were badly lost at the beginning of November.

Nevertheless, Terzic was still given the vote of confidence at a regular meeting of the management shortly before the winter break. However, the fact that BVB appointed two former BVB professionals, Nuri Sahin and Sven Bender, as assistants to the coach for the league restart was seen by many as a safeguard for the management in the event of a sporting crisis.

The student becomes the teacher?

This measure could now pay off. Sahin is being considered as Terzic's successor as head coach. Like his predecessor, the German-Turk born in Lüdenscheid comes from near Dortmund. In addition, after more than 200 games in the black and yellow jersey, he has a special relationship with the club. Sahin gained his first experience as a coach in the professional sector from 2021 to 2023 at the Turkish first division club Antalyaspor.

"I have worked with Edin Terzic for a long time and in a trusting manner during his time as youth coach, as technical director and most recently as head coach. In all positions, it was a privilege for him to be able to work for this club," said Ricken.

Nuri Sahin: Is he the successor? © Social Media

Only in the European premier class, where Dortmund even came out on top in a tough group with Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Newcastle United, knocked out Eindhoven, Atlético Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in the knockout rounds and lost the final against Real Madrid 0-2, did the team reveal its great potential at times. A transfer offensive this summer should help them get back on track in the national league as well.

As interim coach after the separation from Lucien Favre three years ago, Terzic led Dortmund to the cup victory in 2021 and was subsequently appointed technical director following the appointment of Marco Rose as the new head coach. A year later, Terzic returned to the head coach position after the separation from Rose.

Aftermath from last year

The coach, who was initially popular with the fans and was born in nearby Menden, has been an avowed BVB supporter since his youth and has long enjoyed the backing of Watzke, who had strengthened him in a similar sporting situation at the end of 2023. At that time, Dortmund had only gone into the winter break in sixth place in the table, but still had a great chance of becoming German champions on the last matchday of the season. In the 2-2 draw against Mainz 05, BVB missed the home win they needed for this. This missed opportunity apparently has had an impact to this day.