July 4th, 2022 – Liam
OK, stealing titles from Star Wars now. Mea Culpa! We can all feel the difference this season and most of us are feeling optimistic. Let’s review:
Players out: Erling Haaland, Steffen Tigges, Roman Bürki, Marvin Hitz, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Axel Witsel, Marcel Schmelzer, Reinier, Marin Pongracic.
I liked Bürki and Hitz, I was sad that Zags couldn’t get over his injuries. That’s about it. Haaland always seemed like a sideshow to me, taking the focus away from the team. Maybe that’s just me being salty. Rumors are abounding about Akanji, about Rapha, about Schulz, about Hazard. Can’t say what will happen, but (at least) Rapha has been a favorite from the beginning. Would hate to see him go.
Players in: Karim Adeyemi, Nico Schlotterbeck, Salih Özcan, Niklas Süle, Jayden Braaf, Alexander Meyer, Sebastian Haller.
Can you feel the defense? Nico and Süle lined up in front of Kobel? Özcan in Defensive Mid? A back three with Hummels?
…and the offensive possibilities? Adeyemi will be a star no matter where he lines up. Malen will feed off that sort of creativity. Haller will be a center target like all Dortmund strikers of the past.
July 2022
- July 05, 10am, Tue: Lüner SV vs Borussia Dortmund (PRE)
- July 09, 8am, Sat: Dynamo Dresden vs Borussia Dortmund (PRE)
- July 14, 9am, Thu: Verl vs Borussia Dortmund (PRE)
- July 15, Fri: Training Camp – Bad Ragaz (PRE)
- July 18, 10am, Mon: Borussia Dortmund vs Valencia (PRE)
- July 22, 10am, Fri: Borussia Dortmund vs Villarreal (PRE)
- July 29, 11:45am, Fri: 1860 München vs Dortmund (POK1)
A great bunch of pre-season matches this year. Valencia and Villareal should give us a good idea what Terzic is thinking. Then our first trip to München for the season. Not the match we were anticipating, but a solid Pokal opener.
The Bundesliga opener will be our first chance for a meetup:
- Aug 06, 9:30am, Sat: Dortmund vs Bayer Leverkusen (BUN1)
This season, as last season, we’ll meet at LA Draught on Lincoln Blvd. in Santa Monica. Let’s get a crowd out.