That the football business is brutal and can turn into an absolute nightmare from one day to the next is something even established stars have to experience time and again firsthand. Jobe Bellingham, too, is suddenly facing the threat of a nightmare start to the season at BVB. Will he have to settle for the bench from now on?
After a strong second half of last season, the Englishman had actually established himself as a regular for Dortmund. Actually. But after the 1-2 Super Cup defeat against Bayern, everything suddenly seems different. As 'kicker' reported during the week, Bellingham will probably not be part of the starting eleven for today’s season opener against Hamburger SV (kick-off at 6:30 p.m.). Because of a single match?
In the showdown with FCB, Bellingham really did have a nightmare of a day. Symbolic of it: the 45th minute. The 20-year-old lost the ball in the build-up to Michael Olise, who then reacted quickly, burst past Dortmund’s defense and made it 2-0 for Bayern at the time.
“I don’t blame Jobe at all there. He’s standing exactly where he needs to be,” BVB coach Kovac stressed at the subsequent press conference after Bellingham had come under fire following the match. Despite defending him, Kovac apparently is not planning to use Bellingham at defensive midfield for the time being.
The reason for that could be Joey Veerman. Dortmund’s new signing is significantly more experienced at 27 than the 20-year-old Bellingham. In addition, unlike the Englishman, he is considered a much stronger playmaker and a more reliable passer.
Apart from the mistake before the goal against Bayern, Bellingham made several more errors in build-up play. After ten minutes, for example, he played a square pass in his own half straight to Luiz Diaz, who then won a corner for Munich. Is that too much risk for Kovac against HSV?
The BVB coach himself has also come under criticism repeatedly of late and likely wants to avoid a poor start to the season at all costs. On top of that, the Black and Yellows did not pay just under €22 million to PSV Eindhoven for the midfielder a few weeks ago for nothing.
“Joey is a really terrific footballer who brings a lot of creativity, technique and vision,” Dortmund’s sporting director stressed during the signing. CEO Lars Ricken echoed that sentiment: “Joey is a player who will help us enormously with his abilities.”
But one thing is also clear: Dortmund are facing a long season. Veerman and first-choice international Felix Nmecha will inevitably need a rest from time to time in defensive midfield. Otherwise, Dortmund will not be able to cope with the triple burden of the cup, the Champions League and the league.
For the moment, though, that sounds more like a consolation prize for Bellingham, who clearly has ambitions to remain a BVB regular. Unfortunately, as a player, you can’t always choose that for yourself.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
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