DORTMUND, Germany (AP) – Borussia Dortmund entered Germany’s second division and appointed a new sporting director who drew praise for making impactful transfers on a budget.
Ole Book is a step up from Elversberg, a team from a town with a population of about 13,000. This is less than one-sixth of the capacity. in dortmund stadium.
he will take his place sebastian kalehas been the sporting director since 2022 and was also responsible for Dortmund’s appearance in the final. 2024 Champions League Final. He left Dortmund, trailing Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga by nine points, and leaving Dortmund with uncertainty surrounding the departure of main defender Nico Schlotterbeck, who has one year left on his contract.
“During our conversations, we quickly realized that Ole has a huge hunger for success, high ambitions and great team spirit,” Dortmund management spokesperson Kirsten Kramer said in a statement.
“This is in line with our values and what we want to embody at Borussia Dortmund. The challenge now is to shape the future of the club in a bold and successful way. That is our driving force.”
Despite modest origins, Elversberg rose from the region’s fourth division to the second division during Book’s eight years in a leadership role in the sport. I almost won a promotion. They played in the Bundesliga last season, but were eliminated in the playoffs. The current ranking is 2nd place.
Standout signings include forward Younes Ebounotalib, who joined from the fourth-division club in early 2025 and scored 12 goals in 17 second-division games before being sold to Eintracht Frankfurt in January 2026.
Also on Monday, Dortmund announced that midfielder Felix Nmeka will be out for “a few weeks” with a knee injury and will therefore not be able to feature in the game. Germany national team’s upcoming friendly matches They will face Switzerland and Ghana in preparation for the World Cup.
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
