There were just two teams fighting it out for the Bundesliga leadership in the early weeks, and one of these was Dortmund. Borussia lost the first game of the season, but then didn’t look back afterwards. Though they didn’t take over top spot from Mainz until round 8, they weren’t defeated for a second time until the final game of 2010 just before the winter break. It was a remarkable run by Klopp´s men who amassed an incredible 43 points in the first half-season. Dortmund scored the highest number of goals for the concession of just ten in 17 encounters, which gives one some idea of how outstanding they were prior to the winter break. Ironically, the side that kept most pressure on Borussia during that time was Mainz, team coach Klopp´s previous club. Dortmund didn’t perform quite as well in 2011, otherwise they would have broken one record after another. Still, it was enough to win the Bundesliga title with seven points to spare over their nearest challenger. Their away form in particular was extremely impressive, while crowds of over 80,000 greeted them week in week out at home. Top player Sahin´s exit is now imminent, as he is due to join other German stars Khedira and Ozil at Real Madrid. On the plus side, promising young stars such as Mario Gotze could be the future that may enable Borussia to compensate for the imminent departure of key players sought by top clubs abroad. Borussia ended the season with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Frankfurt, who were relegated as a consequence of the defeat.
