Borussia Dortmund crisis hits new low as fans confront players
Borussia Dortmund's disastrous Bundesliga campaign seems to have picked up right where it left off before the winter break. On Wednesday, Dortmund suffered its latest defeat, a 1-0 home loss to 10-man Augsburg. The loss was Dortmund's first ever to Augsburg and left the 2013 Champions League runners-up sitting rock-bottom of the Bundesliga table after 19 matches.
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When the final whistle had blown on what was Dortmund's 11th defeat of the season, fans at Signal Iduna Park made their feelings known for the first time this season, jeering and whistling the players for their shockingly bad performance.
With Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp looking on, goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller and defender Mats Hummels made their way over to the supporters' section in an effort to placate the disgruntled fans. Weidenfeller even scaled a perimeter fence in order to better converse with one particular group of supporters.
Wednesday's reaction marked a change in tone from Dortmund's fans, who despite having seen their team suffer its worst-ever start to a Bundesliga season, had previously stood by their manager and club. In December, Dortmund even cancelled its normal Christmas party and instead hosted 1,000 supporters at the stadium, as players on hand signed autographs and even took shifts behind the bar to pour beers for fans.
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It was a nice gesture that bought the club some good faith heading into the Bundesliga winter break. But after the Augsburg loss, fans had apparently reached their breaking point. Klopp, who led Dortmund to back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012, admitted confidence was at an all-time low. "We lack confidence there, and we have to work on it," said the manager. "We have to give the lads their confidence back."
Dortmund's dramatic downturn in form and fortune has been one of the great surprises of the European soccer campaign. Despite losing striker Robert Lewandowski to Bayern Munich, Klopp's team remains basically intact from what it was last year. And while Bayern was always the strong favorite to lift the Bundesliga trophy, most expected Dortmund to be right behind them. Certainly, no one expected the club to be fighting a battle with relegation midway through the season.
Dortmund, who has only won four league matches so far, will hope to get its Bundesliga season back on track on Saturday against 15th-place Freiburg.
