Jadon Sancho’s Return to Form at Borussia Dortmund: A Second Chance Story

In the first leg at the Metropolitano a week ago, Atlético de Madrid outclassed Dortmund during the first 60 minutes, scoring two goals following gross defensive errors from Edin Terzic’s men, who however had the good idea to reduce the score in the last ten minutes by Sébastien Haller, to keep hope alive before the return to the Westfalenstadion, with only one goal to come back (2-1 defeat). In BVB’s initial slump, Jadon Sancho was a small bright spot in the attacking game, even if he was well contained by the experienced César Azpilicueta. The 24-year-old Englishman thus confirmed his rebirth, after months of wandering around Manchester United.

Among the young players who passed through Borussia Dortmund to put their careers in orbit before joining the biggest in Europe, there are successful trajectories like Erling Haaland or Jude Bellingham, essential respectively to Manchester City and Real Madrid. And then there are miscalculations, a category to which Jadon Sancho belongs. Having passed through the Manchester City training center, he joined Dortmund at just 17 years old, at the end of the 2017 summer transfer window. Bright for three and a half seasons in the BVB midfield, he delivered around fifty assists in the Bundesliga playing alongside center forwards Paco Alcacer and Haaland, and scored around fifty goals in all competitions.

Like a cruciate ligament rupture

Performances which opened the doors to the English selection, with which he played one minute of the Euro-2021 final at Wembley, lost by the Three Lions on penalties against Italy (Sancho missed his). Winner of the German Super Cup in 2019 (he scored and provided an assist in the 2-0 victory against Bayern) and the German Cup in 2021, he joined Manchester United in the summer of 2021, for 85 millions of euros. With the Red Devils, his performance diminished during his first season, and his playing time reduced dramatically.

Jadon Sancho

Credit: Getty Images

He ends up banned from September 2023 for “a disciplinary problem”, which the player denied, considering himself to be “a scapegoat”. The lifeline is launched in January 2024 by Dortmund, who returns it in the form of a loan, without a purchase option. His start was sluggish, but he clearly gained momentum during the month of March, scoring the first goal of his new adventure in yellow and black against Werder Bremen on March 9. “We must not forget that he spent a very, very long period without playing. It is as if a player had had a cruciate ligament rupture and had been out for a long time,” said sporting director Sebastian Kehl. .

A few days later, at the foot of the yellow wall, Jadon Sancho did it again against PSV Eindhoven in the round of 16 second leg, after three minutes of play, to put his team on the path to a first quarter-final qualification in three years . Sick on the eve of traveling to Mönchengladbach, Jadon Sancho is feeling better again, Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said late Monday morning, who will however have to do without Sébastien Haller, injured in the left ankle in the league on Saturday .

“We know he is not 100%. We will get him there,” Terzic promised about Jadon Sancho after his goal in Bremen in early March. He is on track to keep his promise.

2024-04-15 21:52:00
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