All information accurate as of August 13th, 2026.
Club Name: Borussia Dortmund
Founded: 1909
Stadium: Signal Iduna Park – 81,365 capacity
Nickname: BVB, Die Schwarzgelben (The Black and Yellows)
Titles: Bundesliga x5, DFB-Pokal x5, DFL-Supercup x6, European Cup/UEFA Champions League x1, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup x1, Intercontinental Cup x1
Head Coach: Niko Kovač
Captain: Emre Can
Mascot: Emma the Bee
Goal Song: (Remix of) Village People – Go West
2025/26 Season: 2nd
Opening Fixture: Hamburg (H)
Head Coach:
Not one lacking in experience, 54-year-old Niko Kovač is in his second full season with Borussia Dortmund having taken over in January 2025 after spells with the Croatia national team, Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern München, Monaco and VfL Wolfsburg. The Berlin-born former Croatia international will be hoping to go one better than the club’s performance last season, where they finished a respectable 2nd but still 16 points off the unassailable leaders Bayern.
Last season, Kovač opted to deploy a 3-4-2-1 on most occasions, with the backup option being a 3-5-2 with a flat midfield.
Transfers:
The transfer window has not been Dortmund’s busiest so far, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some more action later in August.
The big acquisition by Michael Zorc, BVB’s Sporting Director, has been the 18-year-old Greece international Konstantinos Karetsas from KRC Genk. Having grown up in Belgium, the attacking midfielder switched allegiance to play for his parents’ country, becoming the youngest goalscorer for the national team when he was still just 17. Highly fancied by all the typical suitors, Dortmund swooped in for his signature and a transfer fee of €30m. Although he failed to score in the Belgian league last season, he managed 11 assists, second only to his fellow countryman Christos Tzolis. With creativity in abundance, Kovač will seek to develop Karetsas into the superstar that he really should become with all his ability.
Another key signing for long-term development has been French youth international Joane Gadou, who joins from Red Bull Salzburg for €19.5m. The centre-back, who stands imposingly tall at 6ft5, is still a bit unpolished in possession but has incredible athleticism and plenty of potential to grow.
As a club that always promotes youth, look out for Samuele Inácio (18, Italy) and Mathis Albert (17, USA) as two attacking options that could play more regularly this season, having both been handed debuts in the previous campaign.
Five players have exited that are worth discussion. Karim Adeyemi has moved on to FC Barcelona after four seasons in black and yellow, a fee of €22m being agreed for the 24-year-old forward who failed to make Germany’s World Cup squad, reinforcing the view of many fans that he has ultimately stalled in his development over the last couple of years. Hansi Flick will be hoping to reignite Adeyemi’s career with the all-action attacking style his Barcelona side has become known for.
Wingers Cole Campbell and Julien Duranville have left to Elversberg and Olympique Lyon, respectively. Duranville, once touted as a future elite in European football, never quite made an impression with BVB, but still has plenty of time on his side at just 20 years of age after a forgetful loan spell at FC Basel last season. He returns to his native France for just €5m. Campbell, meanwhile, spent last season on loan at TSG Hoffenheim, but only featured five times in the Bundesliga, so BVB have done well to recoup a decent €6m fee for him.
Julian Brandt brings his seven years with die Schwarzgelben to an end, as he was released following the expiration of his contract.
Lastly, defender Niklas Süle has retired from professional football aged just 30 due to several ACL injuries that have compounded his fitness levels. He will play amateur football this season, which is great to see.
Key Player:
Such is the talent available at Borussia Dortmund, I could have gone with any number of players for this segment. I’ve landed, however, on Gregor Kobel.
The #1 is indispensable, and he maintained the best defensive record last season with just 34 goals conceded and 15 clean sheets. He was also the hero in the penalty shootout against Colombia this summer as Switzerland impressively reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
It is my opinion that he is pushing close to be rated amongst the top five goalkeepers in the world at the minute, just behind the likes of David Raya, Thibaut Courtois, Gianluigi Donnarumma, and you’d have to say Unai Simón at this point.
If Dortmund want to win any silverware this season, Kobel will no doubt be a key part of it, and his teammates know that he can be relied upon.
Predicted Line-up:
With Nico Schlotterbeck and Emre Can injured for the start of the season, the line-up will probably look something like this. Karetsas and Gadou will be aiming to nail down a starting position from the get-go.
Predicted Finish:
2nd. Forgive me for stating the obvious that this team is the second best in Germany. They still have a long way to go to reach Bayern, but I do think that they will reduce the 16-point gap somewhat this time.
Prediction Table (so far...)
1 -
2 - Borussia Dortmund
3 - Bayer Leverkusen
4 -
5 -
6 -
7 -
8 - Union Berlin
9 -
10 -
11 - Mainz
12 -
13 -
14 -
15 -
16 -
17 - Köln
18 -
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