Sponsor not to blame: Why Dortmund wear their unpopular away kit so often | OneFootball

Even in the 2-1 victory of BVB in Wolfsburg, the players under coach Niko Kovac once again wore the away kit with the large grey portion. This is the kit that is extremely unpopular among fans – and it has already been used for the fifth time this season. Who is responsible for the fact that the fans’ wishes for black and yellow jerseys are not being heard?

The WAZ followed up with those points of contact that might be responsible and investigated. The assumption is that the frequent use of the grey away kit is due to the main sponsor Vodafone. After all, on this version of the BVB kit, their logo appears on the players’ chests in its original red color.

With the actual black and yellow home kit, Vodafone was known to have been willing to compromise by allowing the logo color to be black instead of the usual red, so that it would blend in more harmoniously with the kit. Perhaps the sponsor insisted on being seen more often in its traditional red on the away kit in return?

This is by no means the case, as WAZ found out. In fact, there had even been considerations to forego the red on the grey away kit as well. A step that ultimately was not implemented. However, the willingness to do so was there.

Photo: IMAGO

Fan wishes are not being heard by BVB

Kit supplier Puma is also not to blame for the fact that BVB chose the unpopular variant for away matches in Heidenheim, at Mainz 05, at Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt, and now at VfL Wolfsburg. This kit is so unpopular that fans regularly chant “We want black and yellow jerseys!” when their team takes the field in the unusual design. This has already happened five times, and the season is far from over. Last season, the alternative black kit was only used four times.

“The reason Dortmund appears so often in grey is simply a club decision,” is the straightforward answer to the cause of this high frequency. Since hardly any other club uses grey, there is simply more opportunity to fall back on this kit variant.

Despite the fans’ protests – a banner reading “BORUSSIA remains BLACK AND YELLOW” is a regular fixture on the fence – Borussia Dortmund sees no reason to deviate from its chosen strategy. At least from a sporting perspective, there is no reason to do so. Of the five matches BVB has played in this controversial kit, they have won four, drawn one, and thus have been extremely successful in it.

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