Hans-Joachim Watzke fires back at media criticism of Borussia Dortmund

Speaking at Borussia Dortmund’s annual general meeting, CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has fired back at the criticism surrounding Dortmund in the media in recent weeks (via @bvbnewsblog). 

On the reporting on the club, Watzke said: “We won’t let the media destroy us in order to generate clicks. We want reporting that is analytically independent of the media. We have 24 points from 12 games. 2 points per game. If we’re honest, we would have hoped for 2 or 3 more.” He added: “But: We have to acknowledge that Leverkusen are doing very well. If they win 11 out of 12 games, then that’s extraordinary. Last season, first place had 26 points after 12 games, so we would have been just two points behind them with 24 points we have now.”

Watzke furthered his comments with: “We are currently in a Champions League spot. In this difficult Champions League group, we are in first place. When we win against Newcastle they say they weren’t that good. They won 4-1 against Chelsea yesterday. As things stand, we are first. When I looked at the media regarding Dortmund and Leipzig, I had the feeling that one was playing for relegation and the other for the title. We’re ahead of Leipzig and have progressed in the cup.”

The CEO finished off his clapback with: “I’m looking forward to the next few weeks. We all live for games like this. Finally, I’d like to say something. I read yesterday that my presence had decreased significantly. That’s total bullshit, of course. Everyone who knows me knows that I’m present every minute.”

Although Watzke may be correct about Dortmund’s numerical performance in the league and in the Champions League, most of the time Dortmund have ridden their luck in these games and would scrap results in games that they should have lost, such as their 3-3 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt. 

The football that is also being played on the pitch has been abysmal and they have usually had to rely on one player stepping up to rescue the game for them. This is a long way off the Dortmund team in the second half of last season when several players would step up when needed. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan