Even in comparison to recent seasons, when Dortmund have been fighting it out for league and European titles, the 2014/2015 season has been one of the more dramatic under manager Jürgen Klopp. It has also turned out to be his last with the side he had managed for seven years as he left his contract one year early. Few would have expected that to be the case when the season kicked off as they finished second last season, made it to the final of the cup and achieved another quarter final appearance in the Champions League. But a year on they just about managed to make it into the Europa League, went out with a whimper in the Champions League and were again beaten in the final of the cup. Along the way BVB found themselves bottom of the table at one stage of the season and were beaten by rivals and sides who finished at the very foot of the table. Their league form at the start of the season was not greatly troubling but performances dipped rapidly. The hangover from Germany’s World Cup win hit Dortmund hard and they were without centre back Mats Hummels for the opening rounds, but also had plenty of other injuries to worry about. Defeat to Schalke in round 6 sparked a five game losing streak but even once that was ended their form barely improved even though they also had the majority of their squad back by early November. At the turn of the year the club were second bottom of the league but their progress in the Champions League and the cup was surprisingly good as they managed to negotiate the group stage and early rounds respectively. The start of the 2015 was not kinder to Klopp’s side though as they hit bottom of the league after round 18 but finally, from round 20 onwards, results did start to improve. Wins against strugglers Freiburg, Mainz and Stuttgart, as well as some better performances from key players helped the club to rise from the foot of the table. That did not stop them being eliminated from the Champions League by eventual finalists Juventus who easily disposed of them, and against the top sides in the league they still had troubles. In the closing stages of the season the poor form of other sides in the top half meant a Europa League place was still possible and a penalty shoot-out win against Bayern in the cup meant they would be returning to Berlin for one last time under Klopp. A win on the final day of the season secured the Europa League place but Dortmund were simply outclassed by Wolfsburg in the cup meaning there was not fairy-tale finish for Klopp as he departed. Though the side he leaves has a number of top players, the depth is simply not there to rival the current top four. Star players like Marco Reus and Mats Hummels simply did not play enough this season (20 and 24 appearances respectively). In addition their main summer signing Ciro Immobile was quickly reduced to a benchwarmer and ended with just three league goals, a year after being top scorer in Serie A. In fact only a single player managed over thirty appearances, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who had something of a break out season this term. He was their top scorer by far and best player of the campaign. However he, along with a number of other players, are transfer targets for other clubs this year and it is uncertain what the squad will look like in August when the season kicks off again. Former Mainz coach Thomas Tuchel will replace Klopp and comes with a big reputation, but he has to rebuild a side which has become bloated by trying to secure their spot as the second best side in Germany, when in reality that was always going to be hard to achieve. Next season could well be less spectacular, with an emphasis on more youthful signings again, but the club will hope to move away from the yo-yo nature of this last campaign.
