Peter Bosz has opened up about his time as Borussia Dortmund manager. In a masterclass for Omroep Brabant, he explains why the German giants sacked him so quickly.
The masterclass took place at the start of December at Muziekgebouw Eindhoven and has been available on the regional broadcaster's website since Thursday. Someone in the audience asked Bosz whether he had ever had to compromise on his vision when working with a top player who would not do what the manager wanted.
At Borussia Dortmund, Bosz says he did exactly that and later regretted it. He made an excellent start in Germany, winning BVB's first five league matches and opening up a five-point lead over Bayern Munich at the top.
Then came a Champions League game against Real Madrid, which Dortmund lost 3-1 at home. "Then Sokratis Papastathopoulos, a Greek central defender, the goalkeeper and the defensive midfielder sat down together and said: 'That manager is completely mad. We're pushing up far too much. Just look, we've conceded three goals,'" Bosz says.
"They made sure the team really started to fall apart. I should have stepped in there. I should not have entered into discussions with them, I should have kicked them out straight away. With what I know now, that is what I should have done."
Other than Papastathopoulos, Bosz does not mention any more names, but he is possibly referring to goalkeeper Roman Bürki and Nuri Sahin, who both played against Real Madrid and were regular starters at the time.
Dortmund eventually sacked Bosz in December 2017 after he won only one of his last 13 matches. He also explains how Louis van Gaal, over dinner, wanted to know exactly what had gone wrong at Dortmund.
Problems with Aubameyang
"Aubameyang was my first-choice striker. When I arrived, the technical director indicated that there would be no changes to the squad, but that Aubameyang would still leave for China," Bosz told Van Gaal. "Dortmund would receive 87 million euros for the transfer and he himself could earn 24 million euros net per year there. Then I understand that you cannot keep him."
In the end, the move collapsed. "Aubameyang was angry about that, especially because a week later the technical director said that nobody else would leave the squad. Not much later, Ousmane Dembélé was sold to Barcelona for 140 million euros. Aubameyang was angry and came into the dressing room a minute late every day."
Bosz then says he took Aubameyang aside. "He said it had nothing to do with me personally, but was because of the club. Aubameyang kept on being late. Then at one point I had a press conference and he had a French YouTube channel come over, which he was still hugely busy with the day before the match. That was the final straw for me. So I did not start him that weekend."
Van Gaal wanted to know what happened next. "'And then?', he asked. I said that I had not taken Aubameyang with me for the away game at Stuttgart. 'And then?' Van Gaal asked again. A day later I arranged a meeting with the whole squad present, because everyone had an opinion on it. And a day later Aubameyang trained with the squad again."
"Van Gaal then said: 'Mistake!!!! You should have sent him away.' I was completely stunned and pointed out that Aubameyang left for Arsenal for around sixty million euros that winter. So I can't send him away, can I? Do you know what reaction I got from Van Gaal then? 'No, and then you were sent away.' That's true as well," Bosz concludes with a laugh.