Dortmund sack Sahin: Ten Hag makes QUICK decision

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 22 Jan 2025 04:07 CST
• 3 min read

Borussia Dortmund have sacked head coach Nuri Sahin in a move that has opened the door for former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag to make his return to top-level football.

Sahin has become the one of the highest-profile managerial sackings of the season in Europe just six months after he was appointed as Edin Terzic’s successor at Signal Iduna Park.

He has struggled to get a grip on the job, with Dortmund lying tenth in the Bundesliga having lost seven of 18 matches.

The final straw was a 2-1 loss against Bologna in the Champions League, a match that BVB led 1-0 until the final 20 minutes.

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In a statement on the club’s official website, sporting director Lars Ricken said: “We greatly value Nuri Sahin and his work; we wanted to work together for a long time and hoped until the end that we could achieve a sporting turnaround together.

“However, after four defeats in a row, with only one win from the last nine games and in 10th place in the Bundesliga table at present, we have unfortunately lost faith that we can still achieve our sporting objectives in the current constellation.

“This decision hurts me personally too, but it was unavoidable after the game in Bologna.”

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Ten Hag makes Dortmund decision

Dortmund’s decision to sack Sahin appeared to have set Ten Hag up with a rapid return to the game after he was let go by Manchester United in October.

The Dutchman, though, appears to have turned down any advances from BVB, where he has been spotted watching on in the stands recently.

A report from Sky Sports News indicates: “Erk ten Hag is not keen to take Borussia Dortmund role midway through the season.

“The Dutchman is therefore not expected to replace Sahin in the short term.

“Sky Germany also believe that Roger Schmidt feels the same way and has reservations about the structure at Dortmund and how many people are involved in the decision-making process.”

Ten Hag had been hot favourite for the role, but his decision leaves Dortmund looking elsewhere.