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Mame Biram Diouf

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The under-fire BVB boss had no complaints after angry fans whistled his side off the field as it lost 1-0 at home to Augsburg on Wednesday.
 
Jurgen Klopp admits that all of the criticism coming Borussia Dortmund's way is "legitimate", conceding that it is doing "everything wrong" at the moment.
 
BVB is rock bottom of the Bundesliga after 19 rounds of action, two points from safety following Wednesday night's dismal 1-0 loss at home to Augsburg.
 
A chorus of whistles greeted Dortmund's latest setback, prompting captain Mats Hummels and vice skipper Roman Weidenfeller to go into the crowd to speak to disgruntled supporters, and Klopp admitted that he can understand the fans' frustration.
 
"We can be accused of anything tonight and it is all justified," the under-fire BVB boss told reporters after the game at Signal Iduna Park. "Battling also means having the courage to take the right decision. We were missing that tonight.
 
"It hurts, no doubt. We are doing everything wrong at the moment. We are not making anything of our chances."
 
Hummels, meanwhile, added that the players had no issue with the supporters expressing their anger with the team's current predicament at the full-time whistle.
 
"If one is in this position after 19 games then it would be unacceptable not to have understanding of the fans' reactions," the center half said.
 
Dortmund now faces a crucial Bundesliga clash with 15th-placed Freiburg this weekend.

 

 

 

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Henrikh Mkhitaryan wants out of relegation threatened Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season, according to the playmaker's agent, Mino Raiola.
 
Jurgen Klopp's team have been on an alarming slide this season and are stranded at the bottom of the Bundesliga, two points from safety.
 
The 26-year-old Armenia international elected to join the German club over Liverpool in 2013 and has since established himself as one of Europe's most prominent attacking midfielders.
 
But Dortmund's form has left Mkhitaryan disenchanted and eyeing a departure from the Westfalenstadion, something which will alert the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal.
 
'Henrikh wants to leave Dortmund at the end of the season,' his representative Raiola is reported as saying in Bild. 'We will have to wait and see what we can do.' 
 
Dortmund paid a reported £21million to Shaktar Donetsk for Mkhitaryan, whose deal expires in 2017.

 

 
 
 

 

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Borussia Dortmund are said to be in the search for a striker to replace €19.4 million summer signing Ciro Immobile after an extremely underwhelming start to the season. 
 
According to Eurosport, Jurgen Klopp wants to replace Italian international Ciro Immobile in January with PEC Zwolle loan star Tomas Necid, who is out of contract at the end of the season. The report goes on to state the German side are not the only ones, with Feynoord and Ajax also watching the player.
 
Last season, Immobile was rated as one of the top strikers in Serie A and even won the golden boot over the likes of Carlos Tevez, Antonio Di Natale and Gonzalo Higuain. However, that achievement means very little now after a start to the season which has seen the Italian international net just 3 Bundesliga goals in 13 games - a rate of less than one goal every four games. Although, it has to be said his record in the Champions League - four goals in five games - is more respectable. 
 
In the summer, prior to the forward going to the World Cup, Borussia Dortmund were able to beat off reported competition from Tottenham Hotspur to his signature in order to parade him as Robert Lewandowski's replacement. Although, six months down the line, the transfer doesn't look good for any of the parties involved.

 

 

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After a scoreless tie in Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund find themselves in last place in the Bundesliga. But the league re-starts thick and fast and on Wednesday night a great opportunity presents itself to leave the relegation ranks. A win against visitors FC Augsburg will propel the black and yellows up to 14th place.
 
It's the first home match of the year and the thrill of anticipation is palpable in Dortmund, yet also the expectancy is enormous against the league's fifth place team. No doubt the Westfalenstadion will be on fire, but the team needs to make sure the spark is kept alive. While focusing on defensive stability and playing a serene no-nonsense football might be honorable in Leverkusen, Dortmund fans will want to see the attacking features of their team. Another scoreless tie won't satisfy anyone. Borussia Dortmund have to fully get out of the starting block now and show the Bundesliga that they mean business.
 
The coming few days will pave the way for either a possible journey to the European spots or whether BVB stick around in relegation battle for a little longer. It will also be an interesting indicator for some players whose futures are still uncertain. Marco Reus, Mats Hummels and Ilkay Gundogan are among those and will likely have their agents on stand-by. If the remaining games of February turn out to be similar of the first half of the season, the black and yellows might be in serious trouble.
 
But so far there is no need for negative thoughts. Gundogan will be first and foremost focused on the game against FC Augsburg, as he'll be probably be back in the starting lineup after being sidelined with muscular problems. His presence is needed, with manager Jurgen Klopp handing out a different game plan for Wednesday. It's unlikely that the black and yellows will just punt any ball away in just to avoid loss of possession in dangerous zones. No doubt, FC Augsburg will put up a tough fight and not wait around their own penalty box for the one counter attack; they will give Dortmund more breathing space to build up they plays than Leverkusen.
 
Although Matthias Ginter put down a marker on Saturday with a very solid performance, Klopp might favour his 'double-eight' in defensive midfield with Nuri Sahin and Gundogan to have more ball control in the center of the pitch. Pinpoint vertical passes might be the key, as Dortmund's offense will outpace the slow back line of die Fuggerstädter. Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker and Ragnar Klavan are experienced centre backs for Augsburg, but agility is not one of their strengths. The same goes for their goalkeeper Alexander Manninger, who is great between the sticks, but not the quickest off his line.
 
Klopp said on Monday: "We've trained a whole range of things during the winter break, but Leverkusen is a special side with special demands. Against Augsburg we hope to make use of different measures." A more controlled build-up from the back and avoiding another shocking pass quota of 44 percent seems to be one of the measures. Hopefully set pieces were also on the list. Dortmund will have to do better in defending indirect free kicks and corners than Hoffenheim did, who lost 3-1 in Augsburg on Sunday. Markus Weinzierl's side can create a lot of danger with crosses and free kicks in a game, and did so against Hoffenheim in a match that was marked by heavy snowfall.
 
Dortmund have been prone to teams playing with a lot of width so far this season. This is a problem that needs to be solved before Wednesday night, or it might get uncomfortable. Augsburg may not consist of flashy star players, but that doesn't hinder them from playing gritty and determined attacking football.
 
The Southerners have been tipped by many pundits to be among the relegation battle after losing key players such as Andre Hahn, Kevin Vogt and Matthias Ostrzolek, but the work of Weinzierl and sporting director Stefan Reuter cannot be praised enough.
 
Klopp has spoken about gaining stability during the winter break, but confidence can only build in matches. Beating this Augsburg outfit will surely give this Dortmund side a nice boost ahead of Freiburg and Mainz. It feels like a lot is stake for the Westphalians with every game, as they either get on the board and ride a wave of momentum or continue to flounder in the vortex of the relegation battle.

 

 

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When it comes to succeeding at an overseas club, the assimilation game that U.S. prospects must play is an enigma, one that might very well have stumped famed cryptologist Alan Turing. Yet for U.S. under-17 international Christian Pulisic, it's a code that he's determined to crack.
 
It's a challenge that is complex and full of subtlety. There is an entire culture to adapt to, both in terms of playing and everyday life. The game becomes a job, and not just a passion. Individual clubs and coaches add layers of complexity. Language can be a major barrier as well. Then there is the pressure to perform.
 
Granted, it's a puzzle that other Americans -- Brad Friedel, Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley, among others -- have managed to solve. But the overseas challenge is unique to each player, a personalized maze to be navigated.
 
That is the journey that Pulisic has recently begun. After spending most of 2013-14 season at the U.S. U-17 residency program in Bradenton, Fla., the 16-year-old attacking midfielder has chosen to start his professional career with Borussia Dortmund, a relationship that will be formalized once he receives a Croatian passport courtesy of his father's ancestry.
 
In recent months, in between stints with the U.S. U-17s, Pulisic has been training with Dortmund's U-17 and U-19 teams. He's even been thrown into the linguistic deep end and attends a German school, though picking up the language has proven to be less difficult than he imagined.
 
"I was thinking that kids just wouldn't talk to me, because they'd be afraid to speak English to me like I would be afraid to speak German to them," he told ESPN FC via telephone. "Once you start picking it up, you can kind of put a mixture in there. They can speak to me in German and respond in German or English, whichever one works."
 
While any involvement with the U.S. senior team is at minimum a few years off, the start of Pulisic's pro career comes at an interesting time for the U.S. program. Longtime mainstays like Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley have retired from the international game, and it remains to be seen how long players like Clint Dempsey will be able to contribute. There figures to be a creative void that will need to be filled. Pulisic is undaunted by the challenge of one day moving the U.S. program forward.
 
"Seeing these great players moving on, and hearing that we're the next generation, I don't feel like there's this huge pressure," he said. "I just feel excitement, knowing that we're seen as these kids that can model ourselves after these great players, move forward with our careers like that. I think it's exciting. I'm ready for it."
 
The U.S. national team has seen enough prospects flame out to be understandably gun-shy about hyping any of its youth internationals. This is especially true when it comes to the attacking side of the game. But there is a hint of excitement whenever Pulisic's name comes up. The U.S. has long struggled to produce creative midfielders, but the Hershey, Penn. product has shown impressive technical ability and instincts in the attacking third.
 
"Pulisic isn't scared, he's willing to take anybody on and he's super competitive," said U.S. U-17 manager Richie Williams. "When you're playing that No. 10 position in a 4-3-3, you have to get forward to finish plays and set up the other attacking players. Christian does that very, very well."

 

Along the way, Mark used the connections he gained through coaching to arrange training stints for his son with the likes of Chelsea and Barcelona, noting that Christian always held his own. But Mark credits a year the family spent in England, when his wife worked there as part of a teacher exchange program between 2005-06, as being crucial to his son's development. It wasn't so much any technical prowess that he gained, but it did deepen his son's love for the game.

 

"I just learned when to play quickly, and when to do my own thing," he said. "And I learned how to implement that with the team and how I can find a mixture of when to dribble and when to pass."

 

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Borussia Dortmund suffered their 11th defeat of the season against FC Augsburg on Wednesday night in a 1-0 final. It's the low point of the season so far. It has been bad before, but now even the fans are turning against their side. The match ended with whistles and upset fans because after this loss and this performance even the last and strongest believer will be disillusioned.
 
When Roman Weidenfeller and Mats Hummels walked to the fences of the Sudtribune, all they saw was anger and disappointment in the fans' faces. It has been a long and hard fall to this point. The rest of the team stood and listened to the tantalizing whistles, while being speechless about yet another horrendous performance of their own.
In their first home match of 2015 BVB showed that they had learned almost nothing in the four weeks they had to solve their problems during the winter break. They are still clueless up front, while frail at the back. The combination play is miles away from the fast and enticing flow that once was. All that's left is consternation.
 
"The problem is that we aren't taking the lead anymore. We never can just sit back and counter for once," said Hummels post-match. The defender can be happy that ex-Dortmund player Dong-won Ji didn't take his chance after 13 minutes, as it took FC Augsburg little time to get a free look on goal. Weidenfeller rushed out, only to be caught in no man's land, but the lob from Dong-won was aimed to high and misplaced. This all came before BVB could even create a chance.
 
After that wake-up call, things improved for Dortmund. They obtained more control over the game and created chances, but nothing that would have forced Augsburg goalkeeper Alexander Manninger to break a sweat. Dortmund's offensive play is rudimentary; however promising the situation looks, in the end it's the same unforgiving tameness that nullifies all the effort.
 
The worst part is that Dortmund just cannot take advantage of situations anymore. They couldn't take advantage of the fact that Augsburg had never beaten them. They could not take advantage of Augsburg's shaky back line. Instead of Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker, it was Christoph Janker, who hasn't played in a Bundesliga match since March 2014, and nor could Dortmund take advantage when Janker was sent off for holding Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as last man in the 64th minute.
 
Borussia Dortmund failed to create a chance against 10 tired Augsburg players until stoppage time, when Ciro Immobile returned the ball polished on a pillow case with a golden ribbon to Manninger, as he pointed his header three yards in front of goal directly into the arms of Augsburg's keeper.
 
Instead it was Augsburg's Halil Altintop who did the damage in the match, jogging past three yellow defenders Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Hummels and Marcel Schmelzer with one simple feint, before waltzing into Dortmund's penalty box in the 50th minute. The ball deflected off Schmelzer's legs into the path of Raul Bobadilla, who had no trouble smashing it past Weidenfeller.
 
It was the moment that mustn't happen. Conceding goals by the sheer brilliance of the opposition is one thing, but this was far from it. Not taking away anything from Augsburg's thoroughly deserved win, but the goal was easily preventable. Time seemed to bend around Altintop. Dortmund players were trying to reach the ball, as well as they could, but just like in a nightmare, they seemed unable to escape their fate -- and there is no reason to believe that these situations won't happen again in the coming games. This Dortmund side is now completely drained off its confidence and abandoned by any sort of clarity once they go behind.
 
The Bundesliga is tight at the bottom and a win on Saturday against SC Freiburg will probably be enough to leave the relegation zone, but one cannot shake the feeling that Borussia Dortmund will remain in contention for a relegation spot for a little bit longer. There won't be the big turnaround that every Dortmund fan was hoping for. It will be a slow and painful fight until the either bitter -- or still utterly unsatisfying -- end. This game has killed all the hope for now and it will take a few convincing performances to change this. Until that happens, the team's fall from grace will remain a tragedy.

 

 
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Henrikh Mkhitaryan wants out of relegation threatened Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season, according to the playmaker's agent, Mino Raiola.

 

Jurgen Klopp's team have been on an alarming slide this season and are stranded at the bottom of the Bundesliga, two points from safety.

 

The 26-year-old Armenia international elected to join the German club over Liverpool in 2013 and has since established himself as one of Europe's most prominent attacking midfielders.

 

But Dortmund's form has left Mkhitaryan disenchanted and eyeing a departure from the Westfalenstadion, something which will alert the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal.

 

'Henrikh wants to leave Dortmund at the end of the season,' his representative Raiola is reported as saying in Bild. 'We will have to wait and see what we can do.' 

 

Dortmund paid a reported £21million to Shaktar Donetsk for Mkhitaryan, whose deal expires in 2017.

pmsl

Lallana>Mkhitryan

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Kevin Grosskreutz has been ruled out for six weeks due to a torn thigh muscle suffered in Borussia Dortmund's 1-0 defeat to Augsburg on Wednesday.
 
The Germany international was withdrawn in the 60th minute of the clash at Signal Iduna Park, which saw the visitors hold on to claim all three points through Raul Bobadilla's goal despite Christoph Janker's red card.
 
And that loss has proven doubly costly for BVB, with Grosskreutz, who can operate on the wing as well as in central midfield and at full-back, reduced to the role of a spectator until March.
 
"Borussia Dortmund will be without Kevin Grosskreutz for the next six weeks," a statement on Dortmund's official website read.
 
"The all-rounder, who was used as a full-back in the game against Augsburg, went off on Wednesday night with a small tear to the thigh muscle.
 
"The medical department expects that Grosskreutz will be out for about six weeks, so he could perhaps be ready for the Champions League second leg against Juventus on March 18."
 

 

 

Cant catch a break atorr right now

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Hipsters all over england are crying into there atletico scarfs

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cnat wait to see their squad get ripped apart

 

with their muggy yellow wall

 

brick by brick

 

all gone

 

bayern >>> ... ending alll competitiion

 

wolfsburg will be next

Squad won't get ripped apart.

 

It's bad for them right now but they'll finish mid table I'm sure of it. Still in Europe as well. No Europe for one season I reckon, keep 75% of their squad. And go again.

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Squad won't get ripped apart.

 

It's bad for them right now but they'll finish mid table I'm sure of it. Still in Europe as well. No Europe for one season I reckon, keep 75% of their squad. And go again.

 

if it was Bayern I'd agree, one bad season would be fine after winning the league and CL in recent years

 

but these Dortmund players are all at that stage where they've proven their ability, but haven't won trophies.

 

they don't want to be wasting a whole season with no end goal

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Squad won't get ripped apart.

 

It's bad for them right now but they'll finish mid table I'm sure of it. Still in Europe as well. No Europe for one season I reckon, keep 75% of their squad. And go again.

 

if it was Bayern I'd agree, one bad season would be fine after winning the league and CL in recent years

 

but these Dortmund players are all at that stage where they've proven their ability, but haven't won trophies.

 

they don't want to be wasting a whole season with no end goal

 

 

Most the players mentioned don't have the higher calibre of team after them that would make them want to jump ship in order to win major trophies.

 

Other than Reus, what other top quality player is ducking for a better team to winning trophies

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