Borussia Dortmund must win at OSC Lille to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Sporting director Sebastian Kehl will also be keeping an anxious eye on the team, which has recently been disappointing again.
For the fourth time, OSC Lille and Borussia Dortmund will meet in a European Cup match on Wednesday (March 12, 2025, from 6:45 p.m. in full in the audio report on Sportschau).
There have been three draws so far. In February 2002, an away goal in the first leg of the UEFA Cup (now the Europa League) round of 16 was enough for BVB to clinch the title after the 0-0 second leg. Sebastian Kehl was a new signing for Dortmund, but was not allowed to play – winter signings could not be registered at that time.Now there was a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Dortmund, and since the away goals rule was abolished, another draw would lead to extra time and perhaps even a penalty shootout.Sebastian Kehl will be watching this time as Borussia's sporting director, whose squad he bears significant responsibility for. A failure would therefore also reflect badly on him.
"Lack of consistency means lack of quality"Failure would be another disappointment in a season so full of disappointments. BVB is only tenth in the Bundesliga after 25 matchdays. They lost to Holstein Kiel, they lost to VfL Bochum, and last Saturday, without a trace, without courage, without ideas, without energy, without strength, without energy, without any motivation, lost 1-0 to FC Augsburg in their own stadium.Previously, BVB had managed two consecutive victories for the first time this season, and this raised hopes of finishing in the top four and thus returning to the Champions League."Lack of consistency is a lack of quality," said Nico Schlotterbeck after the defeat to FC Augsburg. Coach Niko Kovac also took a hard line on the team. Sebastian Kehl, meanwhile, made a sort of self-report, suggesting that the squad needed some changes after this season.
Verdict of a good transfer summer now outdatedLast summer, Maximilian Beier, Waldemar Anton, and Pascal Groß, three German internationals, arrived. Serhou Guirassy, a goalscorer, was also brought in. Yan Couto, on loan to Girona FC from Manchester City , also joined.BVB, and thus Kehl as well, were credited with a good summer transfer window, but that assessment is now outdated. The price-performance ratio is poor, and that reflects on Kehl, even though the coach is primarily responsible for the team's performance.But Nuri Sahin failed to bring the new signings up to the level expected from the new signings.
Since Kehl was considered a supporter of Sahin, who had to leave after a miserable start to the 2025 calendar year, the blame fell back on the sporting director, who was and continues to be accused of failing to make a few necessary transfers (central and full-backs).Desired transfer failedIn the winter, Salih Özcan was recalled early from a loan because Felix Nmecha was injured. Daniel Svensson, a full-back who doesn't seem to be any better than Ramy Bensebaini, also arrived. Carney Chukwuemeka was loaned from Chelsea . He played less than 45 minutes in three appearances. The 21-year-old Englishman's medical and injury record is worrying.
However, Dortmund still needed a strong midfielder after the transfer of Rayan Cherki ( Olympique Lyon ) fell through.This also falls back to a sporting director, and so Sebastian Kehl will not be the only one in Lille watching closely to see whether BVB can once again break away from the disappointments in the Bundesliga and advance to the quarter-finals.Under observationThe sporting director's work is also under scrutiny. Although his rival Sven Mislintat has since been suspended after an ongoing dispute, and Kehl's contract has been extended, there have been critical voices toward the sporting director among influential men in Dortmund's management team for years.Further restructuring at the club could also affect people outside the team, especially if no international football is seen in Dortmund next season. According to information from the club, contracts were drafted in such a way that parting ways would be comparatively inexpensive.