Marco Rose is the right man but Dortmund still have more work to do | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund are not having a season to remember.

Just sixth in the Bundesliga and six points from the top four, the club is in real danger of missing out on Champions League football for just the second time since 2011.

“I’m still of the opinion that we’re improving,” Mats Hummels told reporters after a 2-2 draw with Hoffenheim on Saturday.

The defender admitted things weren’t panning out as planned but insisted he remains “100% convinced” that the decision to part with Lucien Favre in December was the right one, citing the more “aggressive and active” style Edin Terzić wants to implement.

As things stand, the style hasn’t taken and Dortmund will not be in the Champions League next season. But things are looking up.

Monday saw the confirmation that Marco Rose will be taking over from Terzić as soon as the season ends.

Before then, Rose has commitments with Borussia Mönchengladbach (including a DFB Pokal quarter-final against his future employers) to focus on. Like Dortmund, he will compete in the last 16 of the Champions League and spend the next three months fighting for a place in the Bundesliga top four.

Whether or not he coaches at Europe’s top table next season is more or less out of his hands but his arrival does mean one thing: Dortmund are back on the right path.

Rose cut his teeth at RB Salzburg, where he knocked Dortmund out of the Europa League in 2017, and has done a superb job at Gladbach.

After qualifying for the Champions League with the Foals last season, he oversaw their progress from a group that included Real Madrid and Inter. Manchester City are up next.

But substance is just one thing. The other is style, and fans in Dortmund will be thrilled to see an effective and aggressive high press at the Westfalenstadion again.

The modern Borussia Dortmund has been built on Jürgen Klopp’s image but they haven’t played Klopp football since his departure, or anything even remotely resembling it since Thomas Tuchel was sacked in 2017, and that matters.

Rose, who was shown red and sent to the stands during a cup tie against Dortmund last season, shares Klopp’s habit of wearing his heart on his sleeve. He even played under Klopp at Mainz and clearly learned a thing or two.

Like the Liverpool boss, Rose will suffer no fools and insist on an identifiable style, restoring some identity and direction at a club that has been aimless for a while now.

But that can only be part of the solution. It won’t be enough without other areas of the club improving, and quickly. The pressure is now on sporting director Michael Zorc and the club’s scouting department.

How much can Dortmund get for Jadon Sancho in the summer? Who else will have to be sold either to raise funds or because they won’t fit in Rose’s plans? Can Dortmund get good money for those players?

And can they then identify, afford, and attract the players who can do things Rose’s way?

Failure to qualify for the Champions League will likely mean Dortmund record a loss of around €100m for the year, forcing sales and tightening their budgets for the summer transfer window. Without the ability to outspend all their rivals, Dortmund will have to act smarter again.

It can’t, of course, be forgotten that Max Eberl’s superb squad building at Gladbach provided Rose with the platform to succeed

Smart sales and good scouting have provided signings at bargain prices, with the likes of Marcus Thuram (€9m), Florian Neuhaus (free) and Denis Zakaria (€12m) starring at Borussia Park over the last two seasons.

All while Dortmund have pumped millions into players from other Bundesliga clubs who have failed to become regulars like Nico Schulz (€25m), established names who have failed to impart that winning mentality they were signed for like Mats Hummels (€30.5m) or Emre Can (€25m).

And, of course, the insistence on pursuing the world’s most coveted young players who will, one day, be sold for big profits. Is this a ploy to build a competitive football team or to make money? Because you could be forgiven for seeing it as the latter in recent years.

But where are the smart captures? The bargains? The ones nobody else saw developing?

Dortmund have lost their way, they’ve become predictable and, from the outside, it can come across as lazy.

Rose’s appointment is a reason for optimism and a big step in the right direction for a club that has lost itself but they aren’t out of the woods yet. This can only be the beginning.

It’s time for the club to get smarter off the pitch again, otherwise they will limit what Rose can deliver on it.