Bitter Champions League exit: BVB miss out on expected millions | OneFootball

After the clear Champions League exit at Atalanta Bergamo, Borussia Dortmund must cope with both a sporting and financial setback. The expected multi-million euro bonus will not materialize, while BVB sporting director Sebastian Kehl finds clear words.

Borussia Dortmund not only suffered a sporting setback with the clear 1:4 defeat at Atalanta Bergamo, but also had to accept a significant financial loss. Sporting director Sebastian Kehl openly admitted after the Champions League exit that the club had firmly counted on the income from the next round. “This progression was planned, the income was planned,” said the 46-year-old, making it clear how economically important reaching the round of 16 would have been for BVB.

Simply reaching the last 16 would have brought Dortmund around eleven million euros – additional income from further matches would have been added on top. Accordingly, the disappointment was great after the clear failure in Italy. Kehl admitted: “To be honest, I hadn’t even considered this scenario before the match.” The missed income is “of course, not a good thing at first,” even though the club wants to analyze and manage the situation internally.

Despite CL exit: Kehl defends quality of BVB squad

Besides the financial consequences, the manner of the defeat weighed heavily. BVB struggled to get into the game and made things too easy for the opponent with their own mistakes. “Today’s game was, for long stretches, not a good game from us. We have to accept that criticism,” Kehl explained self-critically. Especially in the opening phase, his team did not show the necessary determination.

Photo: IMAGO

Despite the clear elimination, however, Kehl did not want to start a fundamental debate about the quality of the squad. “I can understand why these questions are coming up now. But I believe that we have proven often enough this season that this squad and this team have enough quality,” emphasized the sporting director. He still sees BVB on par with the international top teams and made it clear: “I believe we have a place among the top 16 in us.”

The elimination is all the more bitter from Dortmund’s perspective, as they had previously worked themselves into a good starting position. Instead of a possible round of 16, the Black and Yellows now only have the Bundesliga left as a chance for sporting success. Nevertheless, Kehl set a combative tone: “We will try to beat Bayern Munich and give everything.”

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