"You have never experienced the bad scenes of the 1980s, the glory of the 1990s, and the hell of the early century, and you will never understand what great achievements Dortmund has created today."

This is a sentence that the president of Dortmund, 65-year-old Reinhardt-Laubal often says. Even if he doesn't appear in the media often, many people who hear him say this will think that this is his boast about himself, just as those old people like to brag about him back then.

But only those who truly understand Dortmund can understand that what this lawyer, who has lived in Dortmund for fifty-three years and has served as the third time as President of Dortmund, said is not a self-boasting, but a kind of counsel for all Dortmund employees and players today.

In the 1970s, because the 1974 World Cup was held in the then Federal Republic of Germany, Dortmund ushered in a major revival opportunity for Dortmund, who was relegated to the Bundesliga, at that time, and they built a magnificent West Stadium, which made Dortmund's attendance soar at that time. Especially after returning to the Bundesliga in 1976, Dortmund gained huge profits from the new stadium and gained a foothold in the Bundesliga.

What really made Dortmund improve was that in 1979, after the current chairman Laubar took over, he carried out a round of reforms to the team, helping Dortmund enter the middle and upper reaches of the Premier League in the next few years, and laid the foundation for Dortmund's Bundesliga powerhouse. However, in 2019, Laubar stepped down due to internal conflicts in the team's management.

But immediately afterwards, Dortmund was getting worse and worse, with financial crisis and internal conflicts within management emerging one after another, and the team lost its competitiveness. By 1984, it had to invite Laubar back to Dortmund to take charge of the overall situation, and he did not disappoint. In three years, Dortmund was the highest league ranking in 19 years.

But Laubar left Dortmund in 1987, and his good friend Nibaum took over as the team's chairman. The latter also performed very well in this position, bringing the team's famous coach Heathfield and creating the glory of Dortmund in the entire 1990s. That period can be said to be the pinnacle of Dortmund's history and won a Champions League.

Nibaum's glory was based on the overall strength of German football at that time, but at the same time, due to the overall bubble operation of German football, Dortmund was heavily in debt, exceeding 100 million euros. After the Kirch Group announced bankruptcy in 2018, Dortmund fell into a heavy and inextricable debt crisis overnight.

In 2004, Nibaum resigned, but at the meeting of the members, he strongly recommended his friend Laubar to take over Dortmund. He believed that Laubar would definitely improve the current situation of the team. As soon as Laubar came on stage, he announced a shocking and important news, which dug German Defense Minister Hitruk to Dortmund and served as the team's finance director.

This was definitely a bombshell at that time. Everyone knew that German Defense Minister Hitruk had a very good relationship with the then Prime Minister Schroeder, and he was a soldier who was strict in the military. Does he know how to manage finances?

I still remember that when Hitruk announced his inaugural speech, he reflected his military characteristics. He said, "Not any player should leave. My idea is to fire the entire team. I must be rude, and even pay no effort to play in the Bundesliga, and pay the price of relegation. We have no choice.

This caused a huge response at that time. It was also the ones that included Laubar, Hitruk, and the general manager Votsk who later came to power, and the team's technical director Zorko and others. This group of people had a consensus from the beginning, that is, to create a military-like rigorous order and rules for Dortmund.

Later they invited Klopp, precisely because they fell in love with the head coach's strict military governance. They appreciate Klopp's style that almost made the team an iron army team. They believe it is consistent with the Dortmund iron army concept they want to build.

It turns out that it was this group of people who, starting from 2004, spent nearly ten years helping Dortmund get rid of the heavy debt of 100 million euros and building Dortmund into an unbreakable and invincible iron army.

As a team that adopts strict discipline management similar to the army, Dortmund adopts very rigorous management methods in all aspects of the team, such as the team's salary structure.

Dortmund's current salary is not high even in the Bundesliga, which has always been criticized by fans. They believe that the team should show their ambitions, but both Laubar and Vatsk are very clear that the salary structure cannot be loosened at will, because Dortmund in the 1990s was burdened with heavy debts.

Could it be that the shadow of almost bankruptcy that year is not enough to wake up?

Therefore, they would rather let one or two core players go away every year than increase their salary significantly. Even if the team's finances have improved in recent years, they still cannot let go of their salary. The reason is very simple. No one can guarantee that the team's performance is good or bad, but once the team's salary is raised, it will almost never be reduced.

What if the team's salary increases and the team's performance becomes sluggish? Should we start living in debt again? Wouldn't that be back in the 1990s?

Dortmund's pragmatic military style has also been laid out ten years ago. Even now, they still insist on this kind of pragmatic style. For example, they always arrange the team's main battlefield in the Bundesliga. The Champions League is just an additional question for them, because they know very well that entering the Champions League every year is much more important than suddenly winning good results in a certain year.

But in this way, the price paid is also obvious, that is, when Dortmund tightens the team's finances, limits the team's salary structure and budget, and the team's finances make it impossible for Dortmund to sign ups and build a strong lineup like those giant teams, so that the team can maintain competitiveness on multiple fronts.

Looking at all the giant teams, whether it is Heinx's Bayern Munich or Ye Qiu's Tottenham Hotspur, they all have very strong benches and players of different types and styles, which can ensure that the team ensures their combat effectiveness on multiple fronts.

Just like Bayern Munich, when they meet Barcelona, ​​they can also shrink and play, and their defense is solid. They beat Barcelona in two rounds, and Heinquez's defense and oppression were excellent and reached the Champions League final.

By the same token, the same is true for Tottenham Hotspur. They have strong bench thickness and players of different styles can make targeted tactical arrangements based on the opponents they meet. This is the strength of the giant team, and the price they pay is the salary pressure brought by the huge lineup.

The mid- and lower-stream teams definitely have no way to do this. Their fiscal budget is limited, so they can only go one way and fight to the end with a lineup. Just like Dortmund, is Klopp really not good at fighting positional wars?

This may not be true. If he is given enough lineup and manpower, his positional battles may be very exciting.

But the problem is that Dortmund has limited financial resources and his salary budget is at its peak, so Klopp insists on bringing the team's high-intensity oppression tactics to the end and using his extreme characteristics to try.

In fact, in the past few years, he has done quite well at this point, and Dortmund has achieved very well.

But the problem is also obvious, that is, once Dortmund meets a team like Tottenham, it is like Bayern Munich meets Dortmund, it is a natural enemy and has a style of incompetence. They are destined to be beaten badly, just like they beat Bayern Munich hard every time.

Therefore, after losing 3 at home in the first leg at Tottenham, Dortmund's management took the initiative to put pressure on Klopp, saying that the head coach had no problems and the team would continue to trust Klopp and would renew his contract with Klopp. This is because they knew very well that Klopp's defeat was actually caused by the team's operations.

What is presented on the court is just a result. What determines this result is that the team has decided when operating and forming the team lineup. Klopp has done his best in this regard.

One of the most important reasons why Ye Qiu is so respected and is called a magician by countless people is that he can always find some players with good quality and low price to fill the team's vacancies and enrich the team's skills and tactics. But Ye Qiu only has one, and Klopp cannot have Ye Qiu's ability.

In the second round, the chairman of the White Hart Lane Stadium, who was the leader of the team, Laubar, General Manager Vatsk and Technical Director Zorko sat in the stands on the stadium, witnessing Dortmund being defeated by Tottenham Hotspur for 40 away, and personally experienced that the team was eliminated by the North London team in the Champions League semi-finals with a total score of two rounds.

In this battle, Dortmund was played by Tottenham Hotspur from beginning to end. He lost control of the rhythm from the beginning and was completely dominated and influenced by Tottenham Hotspur. Although everyone speculated that it was difficult for Dortmund to create miracles, it was indeed a pity and embarrassment to lose so badly this time.

Moreover, for the three giants of Dortmund, the Champions League was not without mental preparation. The result was clearly reflected in the first round of home defeat. The second round was just a conclusion.

What really bothers them is not the elimination of the Champions League. After all, their goal for the season is to break through the group stage and enter the knockout stage. Klopp led the team to the semi-finals, which has exceeded the team's expectations, so they are not disappointed with the result. After all, they have enough understanding of the strength of their team.

Although Dortmund and Bayern Munich are arrogant in the past two years, in fact, one of the most important reasons why these two teams have performed like this last season and this season is that the sluggish Premier League teams and the La Liga two have encountered problems, so they have taken the opportunity.

But whether in terms of the team's lineup or strength, they do not have the strength to compete with the two Western Premier League champions, as well as Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Liverpool and other teams. Once these teams stabilize, the Champions League will usher in chaos again.

Lewandowski, the one who troubles Dortmund the most now is Lewandowski

This is also the reason why the three Dortmund giants eventually appeared at White Hart Lane Stadium.

The result of the game is whether it is a win or a loss, but it actually has nothing to do with the negotiations between management, because they consider more interests rather than win or lose on the court. And they are also very clear that they cannot bring the winner and lose on the court into this negotiation, otherwise they will not be able to reach an agreement at all.

After watching the game, the three Dortmund giants appeared in the administrative meeting room of the White Hart Lane Stadium. Tottenham Hotspur first arranged for the reception of Peter Nien and Ron Gurley. They accompanied the three giants to watch the whole game. After the game, they came to the conference room for a meeting to negotiate. The topic was Lewandowski's transfer.

No one may believe it. In the past, the two teams discussed the transfer of players, often arguing between selling or not selling, or the level of transfer fees. However, this time the negotiations between Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur were not more stalemate about whether to sell or not and transfer fees.

Dortmund must sell it. Half a year ago, they had already proposed to ask Lewandowski to find a buyer by himself. As long as they take out 20 million euros, anyone can take away the Polish center, so whether to sell or not and how much the transfer fee is no longer a problem.

The real problem is, the time of the transfer

This is another very interesting topic, that is, Dortmund hopes that Lewandowski will stay for another year and transfer freely in a year, but Tottenham Hotspur doesn't feel safe because Lewandowski, who is free in a year, may not choose Tottenham Hotspur, and then free transfers, but the transfer cost paid by Tottenham Hotspur may be higher.

Many people think that free transfers are a good thing for players because they don’t pay transfer fees, but they are actually wrong.

Suppose that Lewandowski's transfer this summer is 20 million euros, although it creates a sky-high transfer price for Tottenham Hotspur, an annual salary of 5 million euros, and a transfer cost of 4 years after signing for four years, is at most 40 million euros, of which only 20 million euros of annual salary requires taxes.

But if Lewandowski transfers a free transfer a year later, players will definitely not be able to continue to be satisfied with an annual salary of 5 million euros. According to European football practices, free transfers often represent high salaries, because neither players nor agents are fools, they will transfer the transfer fee to the team, and at that time they are free, many teams will fight to grab it.

If Lewandowski's agent offered an annual salary of 8 million euros or even 10 million euros at that time, you don't need to doubt it, because this is a very normal thing. Then you go and see the free agents signed in by many teams, and their salary will often surprise you.

Once Lewandowski's salary is too high, it will inevitably lead to Tottenham Hotspurs' case similar to Dortmund buying out Reus' contract, which will disrupt the team's salary structure.

So Tottenham is not stupid, either transfer now or think about it again.

"Reinhardt," Peter Nion sat opposite Laubar. The bald man from England was no stranger to Laubar, because Dortmund was also one of the former members of Gl4. Although the president of Dortmund at that time was not Laubar, Laubar often had contact with them.

"I am very clear about the difficulties that Dortmund is facing at present, but you must admit that you have indeed made a major mistake in this matter, but we must also guarantee the interests of our Tottenham Hotspur, so I hope you can think about it again."

The reason why Dortmund is arguing with Bayern Munich now is that the Bundesliga overlord said that he sent two faxes to Dortmund, but Dortmund said he had not received the so-called written offer. Bayern Munich's last offer has been raised to 31 million euros, but Dortmund still did not give in.

The main reason is that Bayern Munich forced the poaching of Gotze was too inauthentic, which completely disrupted Dortmund's plan to retain Gotze and sell Lewandowski, which seriously affected the team's transformation in the next season. Just imagine, losing two core players in a row is too expensive.

But these are Dortmund's own problems, aren't they?

If they had renewed their contract with Lewandowski for a salary of 5 million euros, wouldn’t there be anything that happened later?

Now Lewandowski's agent has notified the team that except Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur, Lewandowski does not consider going to any other team, including Manchester United, which is about to lose Ferguson, which is a headache.

The player must have his own considerations, because he delays for another year and no one can guarantee what will happen within a year.

It's like Tottenham Hotspur and Cavani is leaving. There is only Drogba in the team, but Drogba is old. Ye Qiu wants to introduce another center? If the center brought in Ye Qiu performs well, where will Lewandowski be in the future? Even if the free transfer is made at that time, he will give it to Tottenham Hotspur for free, but they don't want it.

It takes a year to say it is not long or short. Everyone has to be cautious, right?

In fact, Tottenham Hotspur’s participation in the competition has already solved a big trouble for the Dortmund management. Otherwise, they would obviously not accept and be difficult to do both when sending Lewandowski to Bayern Munich, or how to persuade Lewandowski to stay in the team.

Therefore, learning from Leverkusen's approach to Vidal and sending Lewandowski abroad was undoubtedly a very ideal choice. What's more rare is that the players themselves tend to join Tottenham Hotspur, which is the most ideal.

As for letting Lewandowski stay in the team for another year, who can tell whether this is an excuse and reason for Dortmund to get a higher transfer fee?

Truth is within the range of artillery fire, and choices belong to those who have sufficient strength.
Chapter completed!