Borussia Dortmund started its trip to the USA with change candidate Shinji Kagawa. Only four players are missing from the BVB squad with special leave, Manuel Akanji and Andre Schürrle. All news and rumours about the BVB can be found here.
On Monday, BVB will travel surprisingly to the USA with Shinji Kagawa and Maximilian Philipp, who will play two test matches against Seattle Sounders and FC Liverpool until Saturday.
There are rumours about Philipp about an exit to VfL Wolfsburg. According to Ruhrnachrichten, however, the negotiations are still too vague.
Kagawa, whose farewell from Dortmund was already considered safe, took part like Philipp in the first test match against Schweinberg (10:0) and is now flying to the USA. Andre Schürrle will not be there. He is still free and in search of an association.
Also missing are Achraf Hakimi (special holiday because of Africa Cup), Mahmoud Dahoud, Jacob Bruun Larsen (both with special holiday because of U21-EM) and Sergio Gomez (U19-EM).
Manuel Akanji also stays in Dortmund for the time being due to muscular problems. It is currently unclear whether he will travel later.
In the USA, Lucien Favre’s team are expecting two test matches.
BVB is particularly looking forward to seeing Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp again.
Borussia’s trip to the USA is tightly timed. In addition to the two test matches, several dates are scheduled for six days. As the kicker reports, a visit to the company headquarters of Amazon is also on the agenda. In mid-August, the streaming service will broadcast a four-hour documentary about the past season and the history of the BVB.
Despite the busy schedule, Carsten Cramer, Managing Director for Marketing, Sales and Digitization, considers the trip important: “It helps us to further advance our internationalization and consolidate the basis in the USA that we were able to successfully lay through our two visits in the previous year.
According to the kicker, Borussia Dortmund’s trip to the USA will bring about five million euros into the coffers.
BVB has obviously put a special focus on speed in its transfers this summer. “Speed is becoming more and more important in football, because it is the only way to score against well-assorted opponents. You need speed – in the one-on-one, in the switching game, in the deep runs,” sports director Michael Zorc is quoted by kicker.
“Nobody will have faster outer defenders than us,” added Managing Director Hans-Joachim Watzke.
Due to the reinforcement of the squad and the offensively communicated goal of the championship, Kehl feels a “great euphoria” at BVB. “The goals that we have set ourselves and that we deal with offensively inspire people,” said Kehl. But at the end of the season the players will also have to be measured, said the former midfielder of Borussia.
