In Dortmund, another young Englishman made the match.
Borussia Dortmund have made a successful start to the 2024/25 season. The Champions League finalists beat Eintracht Frankfurt (2-0) thanks to a brace from Jamie Bynoe-Gittens.
Many Borussia Dortmund fans, and not only them, but almost all German football fans were waiting for this day. The Dortmund club played its first official match under the guidance of the new coach Nuri Sahin.
Of course, Nuri Sahin, whose surname means “falcon” in Turkish, is a Borussia legend. But as a player. As a coach, Nuri has not achieved anything serious yet. I worked a bit in my historical homeland with Antalyaspor, but I was impressed. And in the history of football, there are many cases where a very good player became a mediocre coach. And vice versa.
Shahin’s Surprises
At the same time, it was important for the young coach (Nuri is only 35 years old) to successfully conduct the first match to win over the fans. Yes, and feel confident. In the first round, Borussia faced a very serious opponent – Eintracht Frankfurt. In the previous championship, the rivals took fifth and sixth place, respectively. But it is necessary to take into account that the “eagles” were 16 points behind the “black and gold”. The Frankfurt team is worked by hereditary coach Dino Toppmeller, son of the famous Klaus Toppmeller. Dino has little experience of independent practice – only one year. However, previously he was in the coaching staff of Leipzig and Bayern. And the “Eagles” team is quite strong. It is worth it only for the goalkeeper Kevin Trapp. If he finds the courage, he can give an amazing match. But if he is not in the mood, he will miss everything that flies through the gate. Or former Dortmund and German national team legend Mario Götze, who plays in the red and black shirt, but does not finish the match.
The finalist of the last Champions League started the match without two new arrivals: striker Sehrou Guirassi (he is injured) and right-back Yann Couto. But the starting lineup included central defender Waldemar Anton (Vladimir Riptsov) and midfielder Pascal Gross. The failed Russian national team player became a partner of the significantly slimmer Niklas Süle.
Tug of war
The first half was not spectacular. There were few dangerous moments. Even controversial. However, shortly before half-time, the ball hit the visiting midfielder Fares Shaibi. But it was the ball that found the hand, so no penalty was awarded. The opponents went to the locker rooms with the score 0:0.
After the break, the visitors created a couple of close chances for Gregor Kobel, which remained unrealized. Shahin needed to do something and made two substitutions. Donyell Malen and Karim Adeyemi went to rest, and another debutant, Maximilian Bayer, and 20-year-old Jamie Gittens ran onto the pitch. The latter, as you know, is English. Until recently he had the double surname Bynoe-Gittens, but then decided to abandon the first member.
And then Gittens came out
In general, Dortmund knows how to find English talent and develop it. First, Borussia promoted Jadon Sancho. And it is not the fault of the German club that Jadon, having returned to his homeland, did not take root in Manchester United. Then in Dortmund grew the star of Jude Bellingham, who later became the leader of Real Madrid, the England national team and a contender for the Ballon d’Or. Now it is the turn of Jamie Gittens, a native of Reading, who is no stranger. This season is Jamie’s fourth. He has already made his mark, scoring in the Bundesliga and Champions League. Milan, for example. True, he has not yet reached the level of Sancho and Bellingham. Everything is ahead. Although Jamie has a slightly different profession than Jadon and Jude. He is a winger. Right-handed, but feels comfortable on both the right and left.
By the way, the Borussia scouts who found him at the Manchester City academy assured that Gittens was more talented than his two compatriots who became great Dortmund players. You just have to give him time to open up. There are many who want to buy a footballer who turned twenty last August 8. But Borussia still doesn’t want to part with Jamie for 30 million. The price could still increase.
The young Englishman decided the outcome of the match. In the 72nd minute, after a pass from Pascal Gross, he burst into the penalty area and unleashed a powerful shot under the crossbar. Trapp was forced to capitulate. Jamie then began to shake up the visitors’ defense, forcing the Eagles defenders to break the rules. Gittens removed any doubt about the outcome of the match when, at the end, he created a one-on-one with Trapp, putting the ball between the keeper’s legs. Thus Borussia won the opening match of the championship, and Nuri Sahin celebrated his return to the club with an important victory.
He will do it for the first time
To be honest, it is not clear why Nuri released the young Englishman only at the end of the first hour. If Jamie had started from the first minute, perhaps there would not have been a nervous first half. But Shahin is now the head coach and knows better who to let go and when.
Again, don’t rush to conclusions. But the first impression of Borussia’s performance under the guidance of its former leader is quite favorable. You can feel the coach’s hand and the ability to make timely substitutions. Perhaps with the return of Nuri Sahin a new period will begin for Dortmund. Or even an era.
