THE SCENARIO: It is July 2016. Thomas Tuchel has stunningly resigned his position as Borussia Dortmund coach after just one season, reportedly in frustration at the club’s decision to allow Mats Hummels, Ilkay Gundogan, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to leave this summer. German coach Dirk Lieber has been appointed as his successor but will he be able to challenge Bayern Munich’s supremacy in German football, or will the team from Westphalia have to settle for second place yet again?
Previous episodes: Episode 1, Episode 2
Prefer a different European league? Read our other series here: England – Premier League, France – Ligue 1, Germany – Bundesliga, Italy – Serie A, Spain – La Liga
1 September 2016
We kick off our Champions League campaign this month with matches against Legia Warsaw and Sporting Lisbon. With Real Madrid the other team in our group, we could do with six points from the first two matches or we’ll be under pressure to take points off the Spanish giants.
In domestic matters, we have four league matches to navigate starting with a visit to newly promoted RB Leipzig. After that we play Darmstadt, Wolfsburg, and Freiburg. All winnable matches provided we put in the effort required.
10 September 2016
RB Leipzig vs Borussia Dortmund
RB Leipzig are a peculiar side whom people seem to either love or hate. They were only founded in 2009 by Red Bull and have risen from the regional leagues to the Bundesliga in under 10 years. Now, depending on your point of view, that’s either a fantastic sporting fairytale or a tale of how huge investment by a global company can destroy sports. Personally, I don’t care either way. All I care about is winning.
The game in the end is a pretty comfortable 2-0 win for us, with Dembele and Aubameyang getting the goals. The young Frenchman showed remarkable composure to cut inside and score the opener, and then turned provider for Aubameyang in the second half. It’s early days, but it sure looks like we have another huge young talent in our team.
13 September 2016
Legia Warsaw vs Borussia Dortmund
Our attention shifts to Europe, with a potentially tricky trip to Poland. On paper, we should win this easily but we are away from home in unfamiliar territory so this could be more difficult than people think. I decide to play 4-4-2 for this one, with Aubameyang and Chicharito both starting together.
We dominate the match for long periods (I have no idea why I was so worried) but a combination of poor shooting, outstanding goalkeeping, and heroic defending keeps the score at 0-0 with time running out. Then on 76 minutes, we finally make the breakthrough as Chicharito heads in the rebound after Aubameyang’s shot is saved. The Mexican then delivers a great cross for substitute Gotze to seal the win in injury time.
17 September 2016
Borussia Dortmund vs Darmstadt 98
Back to Bundesliga action as we host Darmstadt. Aubameyang’s finishing has been wayward lately, and he hasn’t had the influence on matches that I was expecting. Chicharito on the other hand has looked lively in all his appearances to date, and I decide to start him at the expense of the Gabon captain. Hopefully this will serve us a wake up call for Auba to hit top form again.
In what is becoming the theme for our season, we dominate the match and create lots of chances but struggle to score. Goalkeeper, woodwork, blocked, etc. Thankfully Piszczek is on hand to smack the ball into the top corner in the first half to give us the lead. We manage to hold on, although Darmstadt nearly grab a scarcely-deserved equaliser at the death only to be denied by the post. That’s three straight wins in the league, and we’re now the only team yet to drop points.
20 September 2016
VfL Wolfsburg vs Borussia Dortmund
Wolfsburg are up next in the league and it’s a reunion with BVB old boy Kuba Blaszczykowski (yes, I had to Google how to spell his name). Chicharito didn’t take his chance last time out, so he drops to the bench and Aubameyang comes back into the starting XI.
Kuba (I’m not writing his full name again) seems a bit excited in this one and with barely 100 seconds played he picks up a booking for clattering his old mate Schmelzer. Aubameyang responds positively to being dropped for the last game and it’s no surprise when he heads in to give us the lead just before half-time. He also plays a part in our second goal, winning a penalty that sees Wolfsburg’s Robin Knoche sent off. Reus steps up to make it 2-0, and it looks like the job is done. Mario Gomez sets up a nervy finish though, scoring the rebound after Burki saves his penalty. Fortunately there isn’t enough time for Wolfsburg to grab an equaliser and we maintain our 100% record.
23 September 2016
Borussia Dortmund vs SC Freiburg
Freiburg visit Signal Iduna Park next and we have a chance to make it five wins out of five in the league. With one eye on the upcoming Champions League match against Sporting Lisbon, I make eight changes. Only Burki, Bartra, and Sokratis keep their places.
Pfffft. Our winning streak ends here as despite creating the best chances, we can’t breach Freiburg’s goal. They hit the post late on, but it would’ve been cruel if they scored after barely threatening all game. It ends 0-0, we’ve dropped our first points of the season, but we’re still top of the league at least.
28 September 2016
Borussia Dortmund vs Sporting Lisbon
I revert to my strongest lineup for the match against Sporting. I expect we’ll be competing against them to finish second in the group behind Real Madrid, so we need to beat them at home and at least grab a draw in Portugal.
Same old story. Lots of chances, not many put away. But we still win it at least. Reus’ penalty just after the hour proves to be enough, although Sporting create a few decent chances of their own prior to that. I shouldn’t complain as a win is a win, but we really need to start taking more of our chances.
Some bad news after the match as Dembele’s picked up an injury that will keep him out for at least a month. He’s been one of our more consistent performers lately, so it’s a blow. It does mean there’s an opportunity for one of our other young stars to shine though. Step forward Christian Pulisic.
Screenshots and videos taken from FIFA 17 by EA Sports
