The consequences of the Hamburg defeat - Borussia looks to come back stronger

The 0-1 against Hamburger SV two days ago still hurts many fans of the Ballspielverein. However, what followed after the match nearly dominates the press talking about the match and the recent situation of Borussia Dortmund. What happened? After the final whistle, there were a few minutes of total silence in the Westfalenstadion. Several fans report that it was a mixture of despair and cluelessness, maybe a little bit of frustration as well. But then, after taking the first punches of this bitter defeat against the team which has not won a Bundesliga match this season before and nearly got relegated last season, the Südtribüne gained some new life. These are situations that show what Borussia Dortmund really is, reactions that make us different to other clubs. In Gelsenkirchen, several fans barracked their team after they drew Maribor on Tuesday in the Champions League, just three days after their derby victory. In Dortmund, this is what happened after the loss against Hamburg which concluded a series of four Bundesliga matches in which Borussia only gained one point:

Of course, this led to several statements coming from the players and officials of our club. “We can be proud of that, but not of us,” Kevin Grosskreutz said. And Klopp added: “That was an unusual situation, which will help us.” Großkreutz later also stated via Instagram: "Much thanks for your support! Together, we will get out of that. You for us, we for you! Every love goes through a crisis at some point and we go through this alltogether! If someone is not able to understand this and keeps on nagging, then I feel pity for him. Everyone can be there in good times but now you see the true fans. Thank you! This was once in a lifetime and will help the team. We will do it together!" All in all, these two or three minutes just show how much credit the team got over the last couple of years and what relationship has developed between supporters and team.

Another interesting thing coming out of the Hamburg game revolves around the skipper/leader function. Mats Hummels, who replaced Sebastian Kehl as the skipper starting this season, refused to give interviews on Saturday just like his proxy Roman Weidenfeller. Hummels also left the stadiums just ten minutes after the final whistle, obviously being very frustrated. Only veteran midfielder Sebastian Kehl was available for comments. “We’ll get up again,” he said. “Seven points out of the seven games are nearly a catastrophe. But at least we have the fans behind us. I don’t think it’s a question of mentality, even if that’s what we are charged with. It’s a mix of various things, and it all leads to us not having too many points right now. We shouldn’t bath in pity now, and we should not lament. The break doesn’t help. But we have to face the situation. Of course, we have a higher aspiration than to suffer yet another home defeat. The players, who’ll return now, will help us, even though it was not like we fielded a B-team on Saturday,” he told Ruhr Nachrichten.

All in all, it is an interesting situation Borussia sees itself in now. Marcel Schmelzer now will be out with a fractured hand for the next four weeks, but creativity in the midfield could come back with the likes of Marco Reus, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and even Ilkay Gündogan (!) who should be back after the international break. Borussia has the support of its supporters. Just believe in the squad, they will come back stronger than ever!

Vanni, 06.10.2014