Dortmund bosses pump the brakes on Schlotterbeck’s title talk

Dortmund’s management attempt to ease expectations following Nico Schlotterbeck’s challenge to Bayern.

Following Borussia Dortmund’s 3-2 win over Heidenheim, BVB captain Nico Schlotterbeck declared his intention of challenging the Bavarians for the title.

In an interview with DAZN, he said: “As BVB, you have to have the ambition to tell the fans we want to be champions!”. Dortmund capitalised on their rivals’ back-to-back dropped points, reducing a gap of eleven points to just six.

With Bayern set to face third-placed Hoffenheim next weekend, the opportunity to further close the gap could appear ahead of a gripping Klassiker in Dortmund at the end of the month.

According to BILD, the 26-year-old’s comments have caused a stir among the Borussia Dortmund management. Both sporting director Sebastian Kehl and head coach Niko Kovac reacted with surprise to Schlotterbeck’s comments.

Kovac wasted little time in reining in expectations: “I don’t know if Schlotti said that verbatim. My focus is on the rear-view mirror. I want to see the teams behind us shrink in size first. We need to get points to keep the teams behind us at bay.”

Kehl was more cautious in his assessment. “I’m finding it a bit difficult to comment on this after this game and this performance”, he said. “I don’t think it makes any sense now. We need to play better football!”

The defender acknowledged that the team was fortunate to take three points against Heidenheim, but added “That’s football. Now (the gap is) six points. Maybe (Bayern) are slowly starting to think things over.”

Schlotterbeck’s comments come at an interesting time, with contract negotiations between the player and the club ongoing.