SZ on Nils-Ole Book: successful squad builder steps up at BVB | OneFootball

As a player, Nils-Ole Book was not among the very biggest in his profession. As a manager, however, he earned himself an excellent reputation during his time at SV Elversberg, which has now landed him the job at Germany’s No. 2 club in football, Borussia Dortmund. The Süddeutsche Zeitung takes an detailed look at Book’s development so far.

First of all, we learn that Nils-Ole Book goes by his middle name. Such calls in a professional context have so far come exclusively at SV Elversberg, where he worked continuously from 2017 onward. Starting out as a scout, he then spent many years responsible for assembling the squad — supported by just one other employee in that department.

That circumstance alone already highlights the scale of the leap Book is now making with his move to BVB, which will therefore be only his second stop as a man responsible for squad planning. Added to that is the fact that the Südtribüne alone at BVB holds about twice as many people (25,000) as Elversberg has residents (13,000).

Even so, it was above all the work of Nils-Ole Book that led this small community from the depths of amateur football into the top group of the 2. Bundesliga. Last season, SV even played in the promotion/relegation playoff for the Bundesliga. That was followed by the usual industry-wide exodus from the Saarland club’s squad, including Horst Steffen’s move to Werder Bremen. But thanks to Nils-Ole Book’s skill, SVE is once again right up there in the promotion race.

Photo: IMAGO

At BVB, hits of a higher quality will be required

Book can take credit for discoveries such as Nick Woltemade, Fisnik Asllani and, most recently, Younes Ebnoutalib, whom he unearthed in the sixth tier. For the latter, he paid 50,000 euros, only to now sell him to Eintracht Frankfurt for a reported eight million. Anyone who thinks Book was previously able to throw around money from main sponsor Ursapharm and that this is why he has been so successful is mistaken. As the SZ reports, he has so far worked with the fourth-smallest budget in the 2. Bundesliga, without that doing anything to hurt his hit rate.

Now comes the move into a completely different dimension, to Borussia Dortmund, a club he has supported since childhood, as Book revealed at his first press conference in Westphalia. At BVB, “the executive level already feels bigger (...) than Elversberg’s entire front office,” the article continues. Of course, the challenges in Dortmund are greater. Now Book also has to prove himself in the new league, which, including the Champions League, is effectively two levels above his previous role.

Here, he will be expected to deliver hits on the level of Haaland, Dembélé and Bellingham (the elder). In addition, the current squad contains plenty of question marks over who will stay and who will leave. And to underline the new dimension of Book’s work, the SZ turns once more to figures. Borussia Dortmund alone just paid 12 million euros for Brazilian talent Kauã Prates. That is more than double the 4.5 million euros that Book was able to invest at Elversberg — over his entire time there.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.