3 Christmas Wishes for Borussia Dortmund Fans

'Tis is the season to be jolly—and to make wishes, of course—as Christmas is right around the corner.

Borussia Dortmund fans already got into the holiday spirit after the club's final game at Signal Iduna Park earlier in December in a tradition that shows why the famous Yellow Wall can be such a boost to the team on the pitch.

After the rollercoaster ride that was 2015, an impressive first half of the season under first-year head coach Thomas Tuchel has already been a gift to the Black and Yellows' supporters. There are still some wishes they hope will come true in 2016, however. 

Below, you will find three wishes we believe Dortmund fans would make, but we encourage you to let us know what yours would be in the comments—whether you agree with our picks or think "Bah, humbug!" 

Contract Extensions

Dortmund fans would've been forgiven for looking at Bayern Munich supporters with envy last week, when they received the news that no fewer than four key players had extended their contracts with the Bavarian Giants.

Unlike their counterparts in red, the Westfalenstadion faithful had to see revered players leave the club with regularity in recent years, with the prodigal son Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski the most painful losses, because they joined Bayern, of all clubs.

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A whopping eight BVB players have contracts expiring in the next 18 months, according to Transfermarkt: Roman Weidenfeller's ends in June 2016, while Lukasz Piszczek, Mats Hummels, Marcel Schmelzer, Sven Bender, Ilkay Gundogan, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Moritz Leitner are scheduled to be out of contract a year later.

While Weidenfeller and Leitner wouldn't be considered big losses at this juncture, everyone else on the list plays a vital role in the club's long-term future. Dortmund would likely be forced to sell some of them in the summer if they don't agree to a new contract.

It seems unlikely that all six players would extend their contracts, but the news of a new deal for captain Hummels, midfield genius Gundogan or fan favourite Mkhitaryan could be enough to get fans excited.

An Injury-Free 2016 for Marco Reus

Dortmund have been fairly lucky with injuries this season so far, according to the bloggers of Fussballverletzungen.com (link in German), a website dedicated to the statistical evaluation of injuries in the Bundesliga. They rated BVB as the club with the sixth-fewest sick days in the first half of the season.

One man who hasn't been as lucky is Marco Reus. The 26-year-old missed eight of Dortmund's 30 games across all competitions with various injuries, continuing a worrying trend: According to German magazine Kicker (h/t Alex Chaffer of Deutsche Welle), the attacking midfielder missed 20 of his side's 49 matches in the 2014/15 season:

One of the biggest attractions the Bundesliga has to offer when fully healthy, the constant stop-and-go has led to inconsistent form for Reus in the last 18 months or so. His club's fans would love nothing more than to see him stay healthy for the entirety of 2016—and to see him finally win a trophy of importance.

Silverware

The third wish is fairly self-explanatory: Dortmund fans want to celebrate a trophy again. The Black and Yellows haven't gotten their hands on an important piece of silverware—the German Supercup doesn't count—since 2012, when they won the double of Bundesliga title and DFB-Pokal. 

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Bayern's superiority over the course of an entire Bundesliga season notwithstanding, Dortmund had their opportunities to win a trophy in every year since that magical season: They lost the Champions League final at Wembley in 2013 and DFB-Pokal finals in both '14 and '15.

Considering where BVB came from at the outset of the campaign, a title race with Bayern in the Bundesliga this season was always going to be too much to ask for. But there's no reason to believe they can't win the cup or the UEFA Europa League.

Lars Pollmann is a featured columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for Yellowwallpod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.