Borussia Dortmund travel to Real Madrid Tuesday in a rematch of last season's Champions League final amid worrying form and criticism of coach Nuri Sahin. Tipped to be eliminated at the group stage last year, Dortmund arrived for the showpiece finale at Wembley in June, riding a wave of momentum. Dortmund dominated the first half and well into the second, but were felled by a trademark Real Madrid counterpunch, conceding twice in the final 20 minutes to lose 2-0.
Since then, coach Edin Terzic was shown the door, falling victim to a poor domestic season with a fifth-placed finish, bringing his assistant Sahin into the hot seat. Sahin, a Dortmund junior who had stints at Real Madrid and Liverpool as a player, has overseen 10 games in all competitions. Now he faces the biggest test of his mettle to date with his Dortmund team having looked inconsistent and still appearing to lack a clear tactical identity.
Dortmund started the season with a solid 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, but were later thrashed 5-1 by Stuttgart. Sahin's side are seventh in the Bundesliga, but are top of the 36-team Champions League group after wins at Club Brugge and against Celtic at home. The only discernible trend so far for Dortmund has been their strength at home and their woes on the road.
In front of their 82,000-strong Westfalenstadion home crowd, Dortmund have won five from five, scoring 19 goals and conceding six. On the road however, their two wins in five matches have come against fourth div.