BVB: Kovac Trains Skeleton Squad - Süle Sick and AWOL
Borussia Dortmund commences training with limited personnel; Sulu ails. - Borussia Dortmund begins training with a reduced team - Süle contracts illness
Gear up, BVB fans, because the Black and Yellows are back in business, albeit with a stripped-down crew! With Niko Kovac getting the ball rolling for the Club World Cup, only a handful of pros showed up for the initial training session. Niklas Süle, unfortunately, was a no-show due to a spell of illness.
The U-19 squad beefed up the depleted ranks for this session, but it remains uncertain if any of these prodigies will tag along to the USA on June 13th.
International duty has kept a dozen of our national team players away from the scene. They'll be joining the fray in the near future.
With the definitive Club World Cup roster still anyone's guess, the BVB is eyeing Jobe Bellingham, bro of erstwhile Dortmund player, Jude Bellingham, from AFC Sunderland. However, the looming June 10th deadline for Club World Cup participants makes things tricky.
BVB plans to bring Carney Chukwuemeka, currently loaned from FC Chelsea, along for the ride, despite his post-June 30 situation being a murky mess. He might even see some action in the preliminary matches. On the contrary, but unfortunately, Soumaila Coulibaly, out on loan at Stade Brest, is expected to return early, but his adductor injury keeps him off the field. No early returns are planned for Youssoufa Moukoko (ooh-lala Nice) or Sébastien Haller (FC Utrecht), who are still living it up on loan.
The Club World Cup prelims see Dortmund cross swords with Fluminense (Brazil) in Jersey on June 17th, do battle with Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) in Cincinnati on June 21st, and face Ulsan HD (South Korea) again in Cincinnati on June 25th.
- Borussia Dortmund
- Niko Kovac
- Daniel Svensson
- Cole Campbell
- Gregor Kobel
- Julian Brandt
- Pascal Groß
- USA, Brazil, South Africa, South Korea
Breaking the Mould:
While the search results don't explicitly point to new acquisitions for BVB's 2025 FIFA Club World Cup squad, they do highlight some likely players to make an appearance. Among them:
- Gregor Kobel: A Swiss goalkeeper with mad skills in the Bundesliga.
- Julian Brandt: A game-changer in the midfield with over 200 appearances for Dortmund.
- Pascal Groß: A midfielder so versatile it's borderline annoying; he also reps the German national team.
- Daniel Svensson: A left-sided player whom Dortmund discovered and fell in love with during his time at Nordsjælland.
- Cole Campbell: A left-footed winger whose stock is sky-high after impressing with the BVB youth teams.
Qualifying for the Club World Cup as the third-ranked eligible team in UEFA's four-year ranking was thanks, in large part, to their runner-up finish in the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League. However, any shake-ups to the squad would depend on recent transfer activity, which, unfortunately, is under wraps.
The BVB's preliminary training for the Club World Cup was carried out with limited resources, as many first-team players were absent due to international duty or illness. However, potential reinforcements could be on the way, with Jobe Bellingham from AFC Sunderland and Carney Chukwuemeka from FC Chelsea being considered as possible additions to the squad.
In the meantime, the Council Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 of 16 December 1968 on the common organization of the market in beef and veal might seem unrelated, but it could indirectly impact the diet and performance of the BVB players, given their athletic endeavors remind some spectators of a high-stakes game of football.
