Tough calls at Dortmund: two stars dropped from Champions League squad | OneFootball

Two familiar names are missing from Borussia Dortmund's Champions League squad. The decision is a bitter setback for midfielder Salih Özcan in particular.

Borussia Dortmund has submitted its squad for the Champions League group stage to UEFA - and has cut two familiar names. Neither new signing Patrick Drewes nor midfielder Salih Özcan are in the 23-man squad of the Black and Yellows.

Drewes came in the summer for around 200,000 euros from VfL Bochum and was supposed to serve as the new number three behind Gregor Kobel and Alexander Meyer. However, coach Niko Kovac decided against registering the 32-year-old for the Champions League. Instead, he relies on 21-year-old Silas Ostrzinski, the regular goalkeeper of Dortmund's U23 in the Regionalliga West. Ostrzinski was already part of the squad at the Club World Cup and now permanently steps into the international spotlight.

The situation is harder for Salih Özcan. The 27-year-old midfielder was considered a sales candidate in the summer, but then was out for a longer period with a knee injury - potential interested parties from Turkey backed off. In the Bundesliga and the Cup, Özcan has so far only made brief appearances. Compared to the numerous alternatives in Dortmund's midfield, he now drew the short straw. His contract runs until 2026, so his sporting perspective increasingly seems uncertain.

Özcan and Drewes not in BVB's Champions League squad

The Black and Yellows have to deal with real heavyweights in the group stage : Juventus Turin, Inter Milan and defending champions Manchester City are the opponents. BVB's journey starts on September 16 with an away game at Juve.

A look at the competition shows: While Dortmund has to accept hard cases, FC Bayern was able to register its entire squad. Coach Vincent Kompany only has 23 professionals available anyway. Notably, four players - Alphonso Davies, Jamal Musiala, Hiroko Ito and Tom Bischof - are on the list despite injuries.

Eintracht Frankfurt (Ngankam, Smolcic) and Bayer Leverkusen (Belocian, Terrier, Sarco, Hofmann) also had to cut professionals. The background is the UEFA rule that only 25 players can be registered, including at least two goalkeepers. Eight places are reserved for locally trained players, otherwise the total number is reduced accordingly.

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