Football Season Guide

Borussia Dortmund enjoyed another good campaign last season and they come into this year with a lot of momentum, but must improve on their consistency and ability to win big matches in the league and cups. Having once again finished in second place behind a rampant Bayern München team, Jürgen Klopp and his Dortmund side will hope that they can finally put some more pressure on their Bavarian rivals with more consistent performances in the league. They will also want to regain the upper hand against them when they play each other in the league. Between late 2010 and May of last year Dortmund were unbeaten against Bayern but lost their home match last season as well as the German Cup final which meant Klopp's side went a second year without a major trophy. However die Schwarzgelben will also have to become better at beating the smaller teams having dropped too many points against them last term. Alongside the league, BVB will be back in the Champions League and with their seeding likely to improve after three good campaigns in a row they should expect a slightly easier group than the last two years. The quarter final is once again realistic for them with a semi final or even final appearance not out of the question if they find form at the right time. A good run in the cup will also be expected but is a secondary consideration to the Bundesliga and Champions League. The squad has changed little over the summer but there has been a significant change in attack where Robert Lewandowski has left the club which moulded him into one of the best strikers in the world to join Bayern on a free transfer. This has forced Klopp and sporting director Michael Zorc to sign up talented Italian striker Ciro Immobile, the reigning golden boot winner in Serie A, from Torino and his pre season form makes him a player to watch this year. Failed striker Julian Schieber has also left to join Hertha Berlin with Adrian Ramos going in the opposite direction but he will be an understudy to Immobile. Centre back Matthias Ginter has joined from Freiburg raising the number of World Cup players in the squad to five, while Ji Dong-Won has joined from Augsburg and Nuri Sahin has made his loan move from Real Madrid permanent. Of the current squad an improvement will be expected from Hendrik Mkhitaryan after his big money move from Shaktar Donestk last season while Marco Reus will want to show how good he is after sadly missing out on the German World Cup win, Milos Jojic could also be on the brink of a breakthrough season after impressing late last term. Dortmund will again be the team most likely to capitalise on any slip ups by Bayern but most important for the fans of the club is that the players continue to develop and play the attacking brand of football they have come to expect.