Bundesliga – Not exactly what I was expecting, but not bad at all. Bayern faltering, same for us. Leverkusen looking strong, but we’ll see. It’s going to be a long season, and we can only get stronger. Bayern Match is included below. No matter what day or time that match happens, I know we’ll all be at LA Draught for it.
Champions League – Beyond the Bundesliga, we have two “must show up” matches in UCL. Milan at home should tell us where we are at the moment, while away to Newcastle will confirm. We’ve been on an upswing since PSG, so I’m hoping for the best.
Pokal – Everyone was hoping for an interesting draw. Kaiserslautern? St. Pauli? Not to be this time around. It will be Hoffenheim at home on Halloween. At least something we know we can handle.
04.10 WedBorussia Dortmund vs Milan – 12 noon, Paramount+
07.10 Sat Borussia Dortmund vs Union Berlin – 6:30am, ESPN+
20.10 Fri Borussia Dortmund vs Werder Bremen – 11:30pm, ESPN+
25.10 Wed – Newcastle United vs Borussia Dortmund – 12 noon, Paramount+
28.10 Sat Frankfurt vs Borussia Dortmund – TBA*, ESPN+
31.10 Tue Borussia Dortmund vs Hoffenheim – TBA*, ESPN+ POK
04.11 Sat Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern München – TBA, ESPN+
OK, kind of a tough group. Not because the other teams are particularly good, but because all of the teams are so tightly grouped in quality.
Amazing to see how low PSG has fallen, and, of course, they always suck in UCL. Newcastle are up there based on last seasons results, but they are probably not that good. AC Milan is probably fairly ranked, but Dortmund…well…we all seen their recent form. So here’s September:
01.09 FriDortmund vs FC Heidenheim – 11:30am, ESPN+ 2-2
16.09 Sat Freiburg vs Dortmund – 6:30am, ESPN+
19.09 Tue Paris SG vs Dortmund – 12:00pm, Paramount +
23.09 Sat – Dortmund vs VfL Wolfsburg – 6:30am, ESPN+
The start of the season almost seems anticlimactic after San Diego and Las Vegas. Some of us were hosting Dortmund in Southern California for the second time, but many more had their first experience of Dortmund in the USA.
Topspiel first week at home is the perfect situation. First team is healthy, except…Adeyemi is doubtful. Köln is (believe it or not) having more injury problems than us, including obvious starters like Ljubicic and Hübers. This should be good.
26.08 Sat VfL Bochum vs Dortmund – 6:30am, ESPN+
This is as close as we get to a Derby nowadays, so I guess we make the most of it.
31.08 2023/24- 9am – Champions League group stage draw – Details Here
You’ll all want to see who we get. There are some weaklings in Pot 1 that could really help us out.
Place: San Diego International Airport 3225 N Harbor Dr, San Diego, CA 92101, USA
Arrival time: 3:00pm
An airport reception is planned together with the local fan club. The first nice opportunity to get autographs and photos. Since we will have a BVB bus on site, you cannot miss the right exit. The exact flight number will be shared with you within the next days. If you want to get in contact with the local fan club beforehand, you
can contact the chairwoman “Kim Dais” at email hidden; JavaScript is required.
07/26 Wednesday Fan Viewing Party: USA vs. Netherlands
Place: O’Briens Pub – 4646 Convoy St, San Diego, CA 92111, USA.
Time: 05:30pm – Kick-off: 06:00pm. Its limited capacity, please be on time.
The Fan Club of the US Womens Team “Outlaws” and members of BVB San Diego Fan Club and are watching the match together.
All BVB Fans are welcomed. Former player Patrick Owomoyela will also join the viewing party event.
07/27 Thursday Borussia Dortmund vs. SD Loyal
Place: Snapdragon Stadium 2101 Stadium Way, San Diego, CA 92108, USA – Kick-Off: 07:30pm
Time: Get-together: 05:15pm.
There is a BVB fan area close by the stadium with several activities and mini games, like cornhole, beer pong etc. Happy to meet you there
UPDATE: Borussia Dortmund will hold an open training session in the San Diego area on July 25th. Time and Location TBD.
Dortmund fans will be in sections 116, 117, and 118. BVBLA will be in section 117.
Information on opportunities to meet the team (parties, signings, open practices) will be posted here. For information as it breaks, check out the Fan Club pages in Facebook:
“Good morning San Diego BVB supporters! I wanted to share with you all some exciting news regarding BVB’s visit to San Diego at the end of July. The club is planning on holding a public training session on July 25th. The exact time and location are still TBD. The club is going to set aside some tickets for our group to come to the training session. These tickets will be limited and available on a first come, first serve basis. – Kim Dias, SD Borussia Dortmund Fans
Dortmund In Las Vegas
Borussia Dortmund will be in Las Vegas on July 30th versus Manchester United at Allegient Stadium.
(From BVB Midwest Fanclub) BVB coming to Chicago y’all. Here is a tentative schedule:
Hotel Reception: Date: 07/31 Place: Viceroy Hotel Time: From 05:00pm. The time is still being finalized. Let me know if you could make it?
PUMA Store signing autograph session Date: 07/31 Place: Dicks Sporting Goods Address: Chicago Dicks Sporting Goods 1538 N Clybourn Ave, Chicago, IL 60610, United States Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm. Anyone interested in attending, please send me a quick email or messenger with the number of people. We will then provide you with access.
EVONIK Football Clinic Date: 07/31 Location: Lincoln Park Mini Soccer Courts Time: 08:00-09:00pm All are welcome, but you must bring your own soccer equipment.
BVB Senior Squad Public Training Date: 08/01 Place: To be announced. Time: 07:30 pm If you are interested in attending the public training, please send me a short info. We will reserve seats for you.
Night Out Date: 08/01 Place: To be announced. Time: After the training After the training session we can have a beer. Bar to be announced.
BVB vs. Chelsea Date 08/02 Place: Soldier Field Time: 07:30pm We have a black and yellow fan area outside the stadium where we can meet 2 hours before kickoff. Details TBD!
Must Win, Must Watch!OMG! Can’t sleep, going crazy, hitting Reddit and Facebook hourly to find out what’s happening! Is Jude OK? Will Reus start? As a fan since 2014, I can’t remember anything like this, because I wasn’t watching in 2012.
Imagine Reus and Hummels holding up the Meisterschale! I’m not sure my heart can take it.Of course, we’re all meeting up for this one. 6:30am, get some coffee, join the crowd, be a part of it!
Saturday, May 27, 6:30am LA Draught 3021 Lincoln Blvd Santa Monica, CA 90405
Out of Champions League, disappointing result in the Derby. Keeping tabs on who’s injured and who’s not. After 10 straight victories, setting new records, it’s back down to earth again.
Long time fans will recognize this roller coaster of emotions as a typical Rückrunde, but here’s the difference: The team seems to have fixed a lot of its issues this year (defense, set pieces, mentality) and the Coach is not in danger of losing his job.
With that in mind, we are still looking at three meet-ups in a row. That too is probably a record. So after the Derby, two more big weekends.
Borussia Dortmund vs Köln – March 18 at 10:30am @ LA Draught
You may remember our sad showing in Köln last October. Alexander Meyer started, along with Anthony Modeste. Brandt scored our single goal. Tigges put the game away for Köln. This time may be very different. Haller is up front, and Kobel should be back. Reus should also be back.
Köln is sitting at 12th in the table coming off a 2-0 defeat to Bochum. They are not having a good year. Will this match put us back on winning ways?
Bayern München vs Borussia Dortmund – April 1 at 9:30am @ LA Draught
I can’t say I like the Der Klassiker title added to this match, but if it generates more interest in the Bundesliga… If you remember back to the Hinrunde, we played them to a 2-2 draw with Anthony Modeste supplying a miracle header for the tie.
I won’t make any predictions this time around, but I will say that if Adeyemi, Brandt, Kobel and Reus are all healthy, we can go toe to toe with the current Bayern team.
Nine games in a row. A new record! Games won in league, a game won in the Pokal and a first leg match won in UCL. All good in January and February. The future looks bright!
The downside is, we had an easy schedule in February with Bochum, Hertha and Hoffenheim. March is more daunting.
Mar 03, 11:30am, Fri: Borussia Dortmund vs RasenBall (BUN22)
Mar 07, 12pm, Tue: Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund (UCL)
Mar 11, 9:30am, Sat: Sch*lke vs Borussia Dortmund (BUN23)
Mar 18, 10:30am, Sat: Borussia Dortmund vs Köln (BUN24)
When Karim Adeyemi went down for a minimum two weeks, there was a lot of gloom. He was the star against Chelsea for one shining moment. We heard “Here it comes again! Injuries!”
But really, our injury list is tiny compared to previous years and even the first half of the season. Our defense has solidified, our pressing is organized. Forward play looks pretty again, with smooth and delicious movement into the box. Since Can has come back to the midfield together with Özcan, we have a steel curtain look.
None of this is by accident. This is the team that Edin has been working for, but never had the healthy players to implement. This team has turned a corner.
In March we will have the rare opportunity to meet up three times in a row. (OK, that includes April 1 versus Bayern). March 11 is our second leg Derby against the Baby Blues. March 18 versus Köln is at a reasonable 10:30am.
The Bayern Match is still TBA, but it’s hard to believe that it won’t be the feature match of the day. Stay tuned.
It’s been a disappointing first half, starting with Sebastian Haller’s diagnosis, continuing through more injuries (Reus, Dahoud, Reyna, Bynoe-Gittens). Some players have still not lived up to their promise, most notably Malen and Adeyemi.
The result is we are sitting at 6th in the table, 4 points off Frankfurt at 4th, 9 points off Bayern at 1st.
Long time fans will recognize this as not so bad. They will look back to 2015 (aka Klopp’s last season) when we fought to get to 7th; or maybe 2018 when Peter Bosz took us to the bottom of the league, and Peter Stöger brought us back to 4th.
In other competitions, we are well in the running with winnable draws. On February 8 we play VfL Bochum in the Pokal Round of 16. On February 15 we play Chelsea at home in the UCL Round of 16.
The Good New
We now head into the Rückrunde (plus a few) well rested, with injured players coming back into the mix, and a favorable schedule. Outside of the fact that Haller will probably not see action for a while, it appears that all players are back for Marbella.
Bayern is scrambling to shore up their defense with Lucas Hernández and Manuel Neuer out. Chelsea is in the middle of an historic losing streak and a massive injury crisis (Mount, Sterling, Fofana, James…).
No obvious meetup dates through January and February. Maybe we can sort something out for Chelsea on February 15. I have a feeling that will be a fun match.
Had to stop following the Borussia Dortmund Fans Worldwide Facebook group last week. Too many negative posts. The group was invaded by “fans” who really seemed to have no love for the team at all and very little grasp of the English language. Here’s where I draw the line:
“Burki out!” – this has been ongoing for quite a while, but after Köln it exploded in that group. It was posted no less than 20 times, some demanding that Hitz take over, some demanding that we buy a “better” Goalkeeper. Hey people! He is the Goalkeeper for Borussia Dortmund! He is very good. We are not buying anyone else and he’s been starting ahead of Hitz for Dortmund and Switzerland for years.
“Favre out!” – This was the call after the Union match. I’ll admit that I’ve posted the same thing jokingly, but these idiots are serious.
“Good Riddance!” – I read this sentiment tossed at Abdou Diallo, Omer Toprak, Andre Schürrle and Maxi Phillip. That’s when I knew that these were not Dortmund fans. We support any player that puts on the uniform, and when they leave we wish them well. That’s it. That’s all.*
*OK, this may not apply to Dembélé, but you all know why.
OK…sorry to rant, but needed to speak out. If you are looking for a team that tosses out €100M on a backup striker, Dortmund is not for you. If you are looking for a club that gives up easily on players and coaches, Dortmund is not for you.
There is a reason why Sancho, Witsel, Brandt and others come to Dortmund. It’s because Echte Liebe is not just a marketing slogan. It is the foundation of everything.
