Borussia Dortmund have announced the sacking of head coach Nuri Sahin, the decision coming just hours after the team suffered their fourth consecutive defeat.
Borussia Dortmund lost 2-1 at Bologna in the Champions League on Tuesday, leaving them 13th in the table and 10th in the Bundesliga, 20 points behind leaders Bayern Munich.
“Unfortunately, we have not been able to fulfill Borussia Dortmund’s sporting ambitions this season. I wish this special club the best of luck,” Sahin said in a statement released by the club.
“We are very grateful to Nuri Sahin and his work,” Dortmund managing director Lars Ricken said. “We lost confidence in achieving our sporting goals after four consecutive defeats, having won only once in our last nine games and while we are 10th in the Bundesliga.”
Sahin was assistant to former Dortmund coach Edin Terzic in last season’s surprise run to the Champions League final where they lost to Real Madrid and the 36-year-old was promoted to head coach in the summer.
“We have unfortunately lost faith that we will achieve our sporting goals,” sporting CEO Lars Ricken said on Wednesday.
Ricken added the decision “hurts… but was unavoidable after the game in Bologna.
“We value Nuri Sahin and his work very much, we hoped for a long collaboration and until the end we had hope that we could achieve a sporting turnaround together.”
“This decision also hurts me personally, but it was inevitable after the game in Bologna.”
There is also a consensus that the favorite to take over is Erik ten Hag, the former Manchester United manager.