Borussia Dortmund is in intensive planning for the time after boss Hans-Joachim Watzke – there are increasing signs of Sven Mislintat’s return.
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SPORT1 reporter Manfred Sedlbauer and BVB reporter Oliver Müller discuss the current status and what a commitment from Mislintat would mean for sports director Sebastian Kehl and coach Edin Terzic in a new edition of the SPORT1 podcast “The Dortmund Week”.
Why Mislintat has such a good reputation in Dortmund
The name Mislintat has been floating around Dortmund for some time. Now the return of the former chief scout is becoming increasingly clear.
One thing is clear: BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke will leave the club in autumn 2025. The 64-year-old plans to hand over overall sporting responsibility at the end of the season.
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It is therefore logical that the sporting leadership will reorganize itself. So would Mislintat actually be an asset to BVB? “He didn’t get his nickname by chance,” says Sedlbauer, referring to Mislintat’s reputation as a diamond eye, as the 51-year-old is known for his ability to discover young talent at an early stage.
This also happened with players like Jadon Sancho, Shinji Kagawa, Ousmane Dembélé and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who Mislintat once directed to black and yellow. It is said that this is not the only reason why his reputation at Watzke is extremely high.
About BVB, Arsenal and VfB to Ajax
Mislintat had already joined Borussia in the summer of 1998: first as a game analyst, then in various positions in the scouting department. The Westphalian native then worked as director of professional football for almost a year until his departure in November 2017.
This was followed by a year-long stint at Arsenal as head of the scouting department before Mislintat moved to VfB Stuttgart and took up the position of sporting director there.
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Most recently, Mislintat was under contract with Ajax Amsterdam as technical director, but had to leave just four months later after taking office in May 2023.
“You can’t evaluate the work in Amsterdam. But otherwise Mislintat did an excellent job at all his stations. He has enormous expertise and is well connected, including internationally,” praises BVB reporter Müller. The insider therefore has no doubts that the former chief scout could help BVB.
Nevertheless, the BVB reporter also points out problems with employees that Mislintat is said to have had in his position as sports director at VfB. The Ajax bosses also justify the end in Amsterdam with the “lack of broad support in the organization”.
Strained relationship between Kehl and Mislintat?
Incidentally, Mislintat was already an issue in Dortmund in 2021. At that time he was considered a potential candidate for the position of sports director. But things turned out differently: Kehl, then head of the licensed games department, succeeded Michael Zorc.
The relationship between Kehl and Mislintat seems to be strained anyway – also due to statements made by Mislintat in the summer when he was still working in Amsterdam. At that time, BVB decided not to sign Edson Álvarez, who still played for Ajax – and then moved to West Ham in the Premier League. Instead, sports director Kehl signed Felix Nmecha.
“As far as I know, Dortmund and the Álvarez side went extremely far in their discussions. “I fully expected that Borussia would get him,” Mislintat said afterwards in kicker – and claimed: “There was never an official offer from Borussia to us.”
According to the podcasters, it is still completely open which position Mislintat should fill at BVB. “How tense this cooperation would become depends primarily on Mislintat’s demands. If he ‘just’ wants to become chief scout and doesn’t care about job titles, there won’t be any problems,” says Müller, but emphasizes that both of them “have to get their act together.”
Smell of stables instead of fresh wind – a BVB problem?
Mislintat would be an external solution, which once again falls into the “stable smell” category. BVB fans in particular have recently often criticized the fact that there is a lack of fresh air. “Similar to the signing of the new assistant coaches Nuri Sahin and Sven Bender, who are doing a good job. And yet I think that a certain amount of outside input would be good for BVB,” Sedlbauer doubts.
Müller doesn’t see it as “a big problem if, after Mislintat, Dortmund were to bring in someone who wasn’t or isn’t at the club yet. Maybe even a new coach.”
What happens to Kehl and Terzic?
Kehl’s promotion to management appears to be a “logical solution” not only because of the sports director’s own statements in the STAHLWERK Doppelpass on SPORT1 – Kehl had more or less submitted a verbal letter of application on the show a few weeks ago.
“He knows the club inside and out and has the BVB DNA. “He is also popular with fans and players,” says Sedlbauer, assessing Kehl’s standing in the club. Nevertheless, the future of the former Dortmund captain has not yet been finally clarified.
The situation is similar with the coach. “Terzic’s whereabouts will probably depend very much on achieving the minimum goal,” says Sedlbauer: “That would be fourth place in the Bundesliga and the associated direct qualification for the Champions League.”
According to kicker, Mislintat’s contract with Ajax, which was actually valid until 2026, was terminated prematurely. Nothing would then stand in the way of continued employment in the near future.
A decision on how the club’s management will proceed should be made after Easter. Either way: BVB has definitely opened the door for Mislintat’s return.
2024-03-27 22:53:05
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