Borussia shoot past Schott in the Cup

Welcome to the Dortmund Dispatch.

The Bundesliga season kicks off last weekend and this newsletter will be settling into its weekly schedule.

DFB Pokal Round 1: Borussia Dortmund 6, TSV Schott Mainz 1.

Borussia Dortmund were put through their paces over the weekend by a determined but limited TSV Schott Mainz of the Regionalliga in the first round of the DFB Pokal.

The game finished 6-1 with BVB advancing to the second round and avoiding any embarrassing hiccups against a lower-league team. They lined up with as strong an XI as I think they could muster due to injuries. Gio Reyna and the excellent Karim Adeyemi are injured and I’m sure would have started/ As would new signing Felix Nmecha had he not injured his ankle in Dortmund’s pre-season warm-up against Ajax last weekend. However, fellow newcomers Ramy Bensebaini and Marcel Sabitzer made it into the line-up.

Around 30,000 tickets were sold at the MEWA Arena, home of FSV Mainz, who lent their neighbours the stadium for this significant occasion. The TV commentators stated that as many as 11,000 away tickets were sold to Dortmund fans, and that's how it looked from the rather shonky DFB Play app that I was watching the game on.

The TSV players took to the field wearing shirts bearing the name and squad number of Johannes Gansmann, who would have played in this match had he not torn his ACL in a league match the previous week.

The hosts did not shrink in the face of superior opposition or the larger-than-normal crowd and kept the game open. It might have been wiser for coach Ay Aydin to employ a flatter formation with narrow lines and a low defensive block, but to what extent it would have kept Borussia Dortmund's attacks at bay is questionable. Instead, they showed tremendous ambition and were rewarded with a goal from Nils Gans when the score was 2-0. Particularly impressive was Silas Schwarz on the right side of the attack.

Dortmund's goals came from Sebastien Haller, who scored a brace, and Julian Brandt in the first half. With the game all but decided, Marcel Sabitzer scored his first goal on his competitive debut in the second half. Donyell Malen capped off a high-energy performance, and substitute Youssoufa Moukoko scored the sixth with an emphatic finish.

Dortmund fans should be encouraged by the performance. Nothing was taken for granted, and the players did not ease off. To be fair, the TSV players did not allow their heads to drop and kept their illustrious opponents honest until the end.

The only downside was Niklas Sule. The towering defender had to be replaced by Nico Schlotterbeck after injuring his back halfway through the first half.

Elsewhere around German football

Not much, just Harry Kane signing for Bayern Munich!! It's enough to wrap your head around the Tottenham Hotspur legend leaving his boyhood club, let alone departing from the Actual Best League In The World. Yet, here there’s is, just in time to be part of Bayern’s 3-0 Supercup defeat to RB Leipzig on Saturday.

Kane's decision to move to Bavaria is surely based on winning trophies. However, he joins at an uncertain point in his new club’s story. Bayern only secured last year's Bundesliga title because Dortmund failed to beat Mainz on the final day. Their CEO and Sporting Director were fired, and there are reports that the new coach, Thomas Tuchel, may not have the confidence of the club.

Indeed, one could argue that paying around 100 million euros for a 30-year-old striker with a year left on his contract is a sign that things aren't going well at Bayern. Don't get me wrong; I expect Kane to score a multitude of goals and lift trophies. However, his presence could also be slowing down Bayern Munich's eventual and relative decline.

Either way, Dortmund should still consider the Bundesliga title an achievable target this season.

Other BVB news

Dortmund want to sign another defender, and his name is Armel Bella-Kotchap. The 21-year-old German international moved from Bochum to Southampton last season. However, with The Saints now in the Championship, the player might be open to a move back to Germany, and Dortmund is currently favored to secure his services.

Up Next – The Bundesliga starts, and Dortmund entertain FC Köln

Dortmund open the Bundesliga with a derby game against FC Köln. The club from the cathedral city on the Rhine enjoy a healthy rivalry going back to the 1960s when the two competed for championships. Expect to see the TV coverage director focussing on fans of both teams sitting next to each other in the stadium.

The last time these two met at the Westfalenstadion, back in March of this year, the home side thrashed their guests 6-1. In general, Dortmund tend to win these games, and Köln’s record against Borussia under their popular coach Steffan Baumgart is played four, lost two, drawn one, won one. Both matches in Dortmund have resulted in a home win.

Baumgart joined in May 21 and his high-energy approach to football, no-nonsense and passionate personality, and trademark white flat cap have made him something of a cult hero. The former Paderborn coach has done a great job keeping Effzeh in mid-table and away from their characteristic psychodramas. However, he has not been given much help in the transfer market with only centre-back Julian Chabot from Sampdoria costing money. He also lost their captain, leader, legend, and left-back Jonas Hector who hung up his boots at the end of last season. Worse still, defensive midfielder Ellyes Skhiri, a terrific player that Dortmund should have signed, has gone to Eintracht Frankfurt on a free. The Tunisian international has scored twice and provided one assist against Dortmund so he won’t be missed by the Schwarzgelben.

Köln’s first round match was against VfL Osnabruck of the Bundesliga 2, last night. For a while, it looked like the Billygoats would be the fifth Bundesliga team to be knocked out of the cup in this round of competition having been pushed to extra time with the score at 1-1. But goals from Sargis Adamyan and new signing Chabot in extra time settled the tie.

Thanks very much for reading the Dortmund Dispatch. If you enjoyed this e-mail, please share it with a friend and on your socials, if you have them.