Bundesliga Preview: Borussia Dortmund's Market Deals Put Title Defence in Doubt

Even though we haven't ventured into July, the newly-crowned Bundesliga champions, Borussia Dortmund, have already announced that they have completed their summer transfer activity and have their squad up and ready for the preseason in preparation for their first title defence since 2002.

A look at the current squad reveals only small changes to a side that went on to secure the title with two matchdays remaining but not after sorting themselves through a tricky last few months. Besides the lose of their talismanic midfielder, Nuri Sahin, to Real Madrid, Dortmund have managed to hold on to the players that impressed throughout the season. Players such as central defensive pair Mats Hummels/Nevan Subotic and the brilliant young attacking midfield Mario Gotze, amongst others.

While that, given the intense interest the players garnered, in itself is an achievement for general manager Marc Zorc and the rest of the team's management, there has been a lack of improvement brought forward to a side that very clearly struggled in the second half of the season.

Some might argue that it was the absence of their superstar attacking midfielder Shingi Kagawa, who broke his foot at the Asian Cup and was subsequently ruled out for the rest of the season, that caused this dip in form, but Dortmund's failings in the Europa League group stage, from which they failed to qualify, show a similar cause for concern. 

Some of Dortmund's success in the first half of the season was down the surprise value of their performances and the wide notion that the period of spectacular performances was just a bubble that would eventually burst, as per many young talented sides in the past. Opposition teams were still willing to attack them and clubs like Stuttgart, Hamburg, Hoffenheim, those that had realistic hopes of a Europa League place, would consider not getting a result against Dortmund as a failure.

As the midseason break drew close and it seemed clear that this Dortmund team were not actually in a bubble but in a Kevlar vest, the mentality of the same teams changed from being one of trying to gain a positive result to that of being satisfied with a draw, thus leading to defensive tactics.

This was where the talented and young side of Dortmund began to show cracks in their armory. The second half of the season saw them gain 32 points, compared to 43 in the first half, which was lower then Bayer Leverkusen's total (35) and Bayern Munich's (36). Much of the points dropped by Dortmund came against the sides you would expect them to defeat, sides like Kaiserslautern, Stuttgart, Werder Bremen, Borussia Monchengladbach and Schalke. While newly-promoted Kaiserslautern had a strong season, the rest of the sides were in the bottom half of the table and struggled for large parts of the season.

While not being a case of the Dortmund players being overconfident, it was more to do with the opposition frustrating them into making plays which displayed arrogance and petulance. Long shots, overly ambitious passes and errors in defence crept in as Dortmund went further into a match not being in a comfortable winning position. Finishing off chances was another problem prevalent throughout this period, the match against Koln, which ended in a 1-0 win for Dortmund, was one of the many where the Dortmund side spurned countless opportunities in front of goals.

Going through a re-run of Dortmund's ill-fated Europa League campaign displays similar performances. Teams in Europe, no matter which of the two competitions being played, are known to be defensive with the tactic of countering. That was thus the popular tactic for PSG, Sevilla and Karpaty Lviv, the teams in Dortmund's group.

Dortmund subsequently struggled to score goals while also allowing needless ones to be conceded. Consecutive draws against PSG hurt Dortmund the most as both matches were ones which they should've won. In fact, Dortmund dominated every match they played but struggled to get wins in each of them ending up with a record of two wins (both against Karpaty), three draws and one loss from the six matches and coming third behind PSG and Sevilla.   

From the struggles Dortmund had to go through in the second half of the season and the Europa League, it seems like they are in need of more experienced heads in the first team. Players that would calm the younger ones through those tough times where nothing seems to be going for them. Instead, Jurgen Klopp and Marc Zorc have chosen to make the side even younger by exclusively bringing in younger talents from Germany and across the world.

Ivan Perisic (22), Ilkay Gundogan (20), Moritz Leitner (18) and Chris Lowe (22) will be the additions to the squad while Australian talent Mustafa Amini (18) will likely stay at his current club for the next season. None of these players have any extensive experience in either the Bundesliga or, more importantly, the UEFA Champions League.

It is also doubtful as too whether they will add any quality to the first team from last season. Gundogan is seen as a direct replacement to Sahin, but Sahin was far and away the best midfielder in the Bundesliga last season, and it would take at least a couple of seasons for the young Gundogan to reach that level of performance.

Perisic is a signing that has perplexed many of the Bundesliga watchers, especially given the young attacking talents already at Dortmund's disposal; there didn't seem a need to add to it. Playing primarily as a left winger in a 4-3-3 for Club Brugge, he could be seen as a direct competitor for Kevin Grosscheutz, who has occupied that position for the past two seasons with reasonable success. But again, there is a case of Klopp going for an unproven Bundesliga player when there is a perfect left winger in Kaiserslautern's Ivo Ilicevic available.

One player that would've helped Dortmund tremendously is Miroslav Klose, the legendary German international striker who has now moved to Lazio for free from Bayern Munich. He brings with him over 10 years of Bundesliga and International experience, something this Dortmund side are lacking tremendously upfront. Added with the experience would be the quality that Klose brings to a side like Dortmund who play similar tactics to those of the German side managed by Joachin Low, tactics that have made Klose flourish even at the age of 33.

Lucas Barrios and Robert Lewandowski, the two primary strikers in Dortmund's side last season, struggled considerably in the second half of the season to put away their chances. It is those situations that a player of Klose's caliber and experience could come in handy, a player renowned for his ability to put away chances. Klose's high wages might have been a turning off point, but Marc Zorc iterated that the 33-year-old striker was never part of their plans. Plans that I don't think are leading Dortmund towards a successful title defence next season.

One saving grace for the Dortmund side next season would be the return of a number of players who were injured for majority of the previous season, most of whom are seasoned campaigners. Regular captain Sebastian Kehl will add an experienced head in the middle of midfield while Patrick Owomoyela and Mohammad Zidan will provide competition for the full backs and attacking midfielders, respectively.

While it can be argued that the return of these players does go against the initial notion of this article that Dortmund are failing to add experienced heads to their side, the argument is for experienced players that would add quality and experience to the first team, especially in attack.

Of the players mentioned, only Kehl is one who would be good enough to come into the first team, but his fitness has been a major problem for the last six to seven years of his career, and whether he will be able to prove the test of the long season up ahead is a debate in itself. Mohammad Zidan, though being 29, has the same mentality as his younger compatriots. Known to be talented but inconsistent and arrogant throughout his career, there is a doubt as to whether he would be helpful in times of distress and times where calm heads are needed.

Borussia Dortmund's competitors have already shown an intent to extensively increase the quality of their squads from last season. Bayern Munich, favourites for the title every season by default, have flexed their financial muscle to mend some of the extensively visible flaws in their squad. The goalkeeping crisis has been solved, not only for this season but for seasons more to come, by the signing of German No. 1 Manuel Neuer while the arrival of former Schalke favourite Rafinha will allow Lahm to move to the much troubled left back position in the Bayern side. 

Werder Bremen have also done well in making two astute signings in Schalke left back Lukas Schmidtz and talented Bayern Munich playmaker Mehmet Ekici while being on the verge of a third in Genoa's defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos.

Bremen came close to challenging Bayern Munich for the title in 2009-10, but a poor run from January till March left them fighting to win third place from Stuttgart. The selling of Mesut Ozil pushed Bremen backwards the following season, almost to the point of relegation, but now, we might see a revival of their title ambitions with these signings and the return of Naldo after a whole season of being on the sidelines.

Overall, it seems that we will be in for a fantastic season filled with intense competition between the top sides in Germany, with none looking as definite favourites at the moment. Dortmund's young stars will look to build upon the experiences of last season and improve while continuing to play with the flair and exuberance they have been accustomed to showing over the past years.

The mighty Bayern Munich will look to overpower them with the plethora of World Football stars at their disposal. Teams like Werder Bremen, Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke 04 will take inspiration from Dortmund's surprise burst towards the title last season and count on a run themselves.

Therefore, Borussia Dortmund will certainly have more pressure to deal with this coming season in defence of the coveted Bundesliga Shield than they had to in winning it, and the latest signings do not seem to be those that are, as of yet, capable of handling the heat.