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Borussia Dortmund appoint Nuri Sahin as new coach

June 14, 2024

Borussia Dortmund fans only had to wait a day for news of who would follow Edin Terzic as head coach. Midfield maestro of old Nuri Sahin, once a famous product of Dortmund's youth academy, will take the reins.

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Nuri Sahin on the training ground at Borussia Dortmund. May 14, 2024.
Sahin had been getting his formal qualifications while working as assistant coach at DortmundImage: Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images/picture alliance

Borussia Dortmund announced on Friday that the club's former player Nuri Sahin had signed a three-year contract to replace Edin Terzic as head coach. 

Sahin had been part of Dortmund's coaching staff this season as Terzic's assistant.

"We are convinced that Nuri is the right coach for us," new sporting director Lars Ricken said of the appointment. "He has been intensively preparing himself for a coaching career in recent years, will take on his new job with great dedication and develop our team further." 

Dortmund academy product taking reins of the team

Rather like Terzic before him, the 35-year-old Sahin will take up the job despite a fairly bare coaching CV. But he counters that with close and longstanding ties to the club, ever since he became the youngest player ever to compete in a Bundesliga game on his debut for Dortmund, before his 17th birthday, back in 2005. That record stood for more than a decade but has since fallen.

Nuri Sahin and Thomas Müller battle for the ball in a game between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund from February 26, 2011.
Nuri Sahin was a key cog in defensive midfield for Dortmund back when Jürgen Klopp was coachImage: dapd

Sahin went on to play more than 250 games for Dortmund before moving on to Real Madrid, then Liverpool, then Werder Bremen and finally Antalyaspor in Turkey.

"Nuri knows the club, its staff and the BVB DNA, both as a player and as a co-trainer," Ricken said.

Hummels leaving BVB, as well as Reus, as generations shift

But Sahin will also be taking over as players of his generation depart the club.

As well as Marco Reus, whose departure had been clear for some time, veteran defender Mats Hummels will also leave Dortmund in the off-season, the player confirmed earlier on Friday. 

Marco Reus and Mats Hummels on the pitch after Bourssia Dortrmund's Bundesliga match against VfB Stuttgart. Archive image from December 12, 2020.
Two of Sahin's old running mates, Marco Reus and now also Mats Hummels, will not be available to the new coach next seasonImage: Maik Hölter/TEAM2sportphoto/imago images

"Dear fans, my time in black and yellow is now coming to an end after more than 13 years in total," Hummels said of his two stints at Dortmund, bookending a few years with Bayern Munich in the middle.

"It was an enormous honor and joy for me. This club with its fans is something truly special — and for me it's even more than that." 

Dortmund had a mixed season in 2023/24, struggling to a fifth-placed finish in the Bundesliga, but simultaneously making an impressive run all the way to the Champions League final. They lost to Real Madrid despite having many of the better chances in another European final defeat at Wembley stadium. 

Critical comments in the media from Hummels ahead of that final about Terzic's work as coach reportedly upset Dortmund's management and may have played some role in his departure.

It was clear Hummels' contract was expiring, but less clear whether the club planned to offer him another.

msh/rmt (AFP, dpa, SID)