Nuri Sahin fired as Borussia Dortmund coach after Champions League defeat

Borussia Dortmund has reportedly parted ways with head coach Nuri Sahin following the team’s 2-1 defeat against Bologna in the Champions League on Jan. 21.

The 36-year-old Turkish manager, who took charge of the club in June 2024, leaves after a series of poor performances both domestically and in European competitions.

Dortmund is currently in tenth place in the Bundesliga and has lost its last 4 matches in all competitions.

Dortmund’s poor performance under Sahin leads to dismissal

Sahin started his tenure with high expectations because of his legacy as a former Borussia Dortmund player with more than 250 appearances for the club.

However, the team has struggled this season with inconsistent performances and disappointing results.

• Dortmund is 20 points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich
• The team is 7 points away from a Champions League qualification spot

• The defeat to Bologna marked the team’s 4th consecutive loss since the winter break.
• Before this, Borussia Dortmund suffered defeats against Bayer Leverkusen, Holstein Kiel, and Eintracht Frankfurt in Bundesliga matches

The club has secured only 1 victory in its last 9 games across all competitions.

Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League struggles, critical loss to Bologna

The loss to Bologna added to Dortmund’s challenges in the Champions League. Serhou Guirassy gave Dortmund an early lead with a 15th-minute penalty, but Bologna’s Thijs Dallinga and Samuel Iling-Junior turned the game around with 2 quick goals in the second half.

Dortmund must now achieve a result in their final group stage match against Shakhtar Donetsk to keep their chances of advancing to the knockout rounds alive.

This loss also set an unfortunate record for the club.

• It was the first time Borussia Dortmund suffered back-to-back group-stage defeats in the Champions League since November 2021

Sahin admitted to the team’s shortcomings after the match.

We deserved this defeat. We knew Bologna would play with intensity, and we failed to put in what we had prepared. Unfortunately, we didn’t win; we are going through a difficult time.

Nuri Sahin said

Dortmund’s management explains decision to remove Nuri Sahin

The decision to dismiss Nuri Sahin was made during an emergency meeting held on Wednesday morning after the Bologna match.

Borussia Dortmund’s players and coaching staff were informed of the decision late Tuesday night at their hotel in Italy. Lars Ricken, the sporting director, shared the reasoning behind the move.

We had great hopes for Nuri Sahin and his work. We believed in a long-term partnership and hoped for a turnaround. However, after four consecutive defeats and just one win in the last nine matches, we no longer had confidence that we could achieve our goals under the current setup. This decision is painful but unavoidable.

Lars Ricken explained

The search for Nuri Sahin’s replacement has already begun. Borussia Dortmund has reportedly approached potential candidates, including Erik ten Hag and Roger Schmidt.

Ten Hag is available after he departed from Manchester United earlier this season, while Schmidt has been without a club since leaving Benfica in August 2024.