Are they in the same mess that Leeds Utd and SS Lazio are in??? Give it to me straight. Be honest, please. Will they be able to pull out of this nose-dive?
BVB are in serious financial trouble (the board doesn't know jack about business and football) and have to cut costs massively. But we still have some assets to sell like the name of our beloved stadium (4-5 Mio Euro per year) and of course players like Rosicky, Ewerthon and Koller. I don't think that BVB will relegate. Neither by sports aspects nor by financial aspects. It is "just" that some players will be sold and that younger, cheaper (Bosman transfer) will be contracted. We surely have to say bye-bye to titles for the next years, but we surely will still have some talent on the pitch.
So is BVB more in the the same boat as SS Lazio than say Leeds Utd? Leeds Utd got relegated and SS Lazio is still in the Serie A.
I don't know the exact circumstances of Lazio, but I guess it is similiar. Maybe not that heavy problems at BVB. We can still pay our players.
WestLB (bank) to help BVB buy back the stadium According to Bild (yeah, not the best source but sometimes the first to know) WestLB bank, owned by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, is willing to buy the Westfalenstadium from the current owners (Molsiris) for 110 Mio Euro. That would give BVB some financial relief as that would save us about 16 Mio Euro a year. Instead leasing it back from Molsiris we would be hirer with owning up to 10% of the stadium. We would still pay rent to WestLB but that would be significantly lower. Plus a 52 Mio Euro bank deposit that was needed for the Molsiris deal would be available for Borussia. Money much needed right now. -> Good news, that could secure us next season's license! Manoj
So its a good deal? Why do I get the feeling that WestLB will pull a fast one and keep jacking up rent prices if the deal does in fact go through?
Keith's Response: I can't agree with that. They know what BVB means to the rest of the region outside of Gelsenkirchen and wouldn't think of double-crossing BVB.
Keith's Response: Trust me. The best thing for this bank is for BVB to become successful again. There are no sinister intentions here. I think this loan is going to happen. I also think it's why Gerd Niebaum finally officially stepped down today. He now has nothing to do (Officially!) with the day-to-day operations of the club.
I agree. Only problem could be that we have elections in North-Rhine Westphalia this year. If the SPD administration gives BVB a new loan through a publicly owned bank, the opposition would jump on it and take advantage. I guess the next 2 weeks will show the way.
I saw the FiFa Fever documentary on Borussia Dortmund . I hope that they can recover from this disaster .I don't know much about Teutonic Fussebal but I know it would be a severe blow to German futbol if they dissapeard like Fiorentina did a few years back. It would be terrible for the fans !
Oops! sorry there is a couple of documentary programs that come on GolTV(futbol mundial & fifa fever) that delve into the deeper issues of clubs & players. the one isaw it on was futbol mundial. they talked about how the management had made some bad dicissions and had squanderd away large amounts of cash before and after Champions league '99 . and how selling out the home stadium was the worst finnancial mistake they've made bucause it's costing the club $17-18 million per year to play in thier own stadium!!!!!incredible And that ALL the Players had agreed to a 20% salery reduction!!
First, sorry I've been away from this board for a while. I haven't had much time for soccer recently. I think that since BVB investors brought in the firm from Munich to help reduce costs(correct me if I'm wrong), and there is the stadium deal coming, and they will be selling some players (most likely), BVB will not pull a Leeds United or Fiorentina. They will most likely stay up in the Bundesliga, and while they get their financial house in order, will use their youth system more as well as obtain Bosman players. It's not all doom and gloom. BVB have a solid nucleus of young players, mixed with some experienced players, and they have the best stadium attendence in Europe. I suspect that they will be a solid, competitive team, if not contenders, for the foreseeable future. And, BTW, BVB have been playing much, much better after the winter break. It appears that Metzelder coming back is solidifying the back line, and Koller has been on fire.
Keith's Response: I believe BVB is turning it around on the pitch and in the boardroom. I still believe we are in for some "lean" years, but now, more than ever, I'm convinced we will be just fine.
I am totally unaware of what's causing the problems at BVB, but they are one of my favorite teams...and I have to wonder how any team that fills an 80,000 seat stadium every game could be anything but filthy rich?
Stupid managment. If you constantly spend more money than you have, then you'll be bancrupt one day. Simpel as that.
do you really think the selling of players is going to bring in enough money? The other clubs know that they are desperate and they ultimately don't have a lot to sell. Rosicksy has been ineffective for nigh on two years now and Koller, despite playing extremely well and being one of my favorite players, isn't exactly the youngest. I note a whole lot of unfounded optimism on this thread. Things are very bad in Dortmund. After saying for several months that things aren't so bad, the mgmt came clean today and said that in fact things are real bad, not to mention the fact that everything is out of the hands of the club and in the hands of the creditors now. Perhaps they will stick around and continue to throw good money after bad, but don't get your hopes up about the government stepping in to help out. Brussels is already not a big fan of the German Landesbanken, and I would expect them to step in to put a stop to any politically motivated loans. Remember: the Kirch crisis was allowed to get much bigger than it could have been due to the Landesbanken loans. My last point - if Dortmund is allowed to keep its license, then the DFB is a sham. And being that it is under a lot of pressure due to the current betting scandal I expect them to be hard-nosed in this affair.
The stock has been plummeting, and the club needs a serious debt reorganization plan. Borussia Dortmund Shares Plunge as Club Says It Can't Pay Bills Looks like a firesale is in the cards, with Rosicky, Koller, and Metzelder on the way out.
So I guess your last point* is void. * ("My last point - if Dortmund is allowed to keep its license, then the DFB is a sham. And being that it is under a lot of pressure due to the current betting scandal I expect them to be hard-nosed in this affair.")
not completely. The league is also under pressure to do the right thing. All involved are looking to minimize the damage of the betting scandal. The Tagesthemen is taking my side as I type.
At least partly or you just can't seperate DFB and DFL. Whatever, as long as we have that loyal fans and that tradition there will always be a future. Even if we relegate to fourth league. Some years and we are back, any doubts?