Peter Bosz has opened up about his spell as Borussia Dortmund manager. In a masterclass for Omroep Brabant, he explains why the German giants sacked him so quickly.
At the start of December, Bosz delivered the masterclass at Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, and it has been available on the regional broadcaster's website since Thursday. Someone in the audience asked whether he had ever compromised on his vision when dealing with a top player who would not do what the manager wanted.
He says he did exactly that at Borussia Dortmund, and regretted it afterwards. The coach 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. "That was when Sokratis Papastathopoulos, a Greek centre-back, the goalkeeper and the defensive midfielder went and 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 actually began to fall apart. I should have stepped in there. I should not have entered into talks with them, I should have kicked them out straight away. With what I know now, that is what I should have done."
Apart from Papastathopoulos, Bosz does not name anyone else, but he may be referring to goalkeeper Roman Bürki and Nuri Sahin, who played against Real Madrid and were regular starters at the time.
In December 2017, Dortmund eventually sacked Bosz after he won only one of his final 13 matches. He also explains how Louis van Gaal asked him over dinner exactly what had gone wrong at Dortmund.
Problems with Aubameyang
"Aubameyang was my first-choice striker. The technical director had indicated when I arrived 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 for the transfer and he himself could earn €24 million net per year there. Then I understand that he cannot be kept."
But the move collapsed in the end. "Aubameyang was angry about that, especially because the technical director said a week later that nobody else would leave the squad. Not long afterwards, Ousmane Dembélé was sold to Barcelona for €140 million. Aubameyang was angry and came into the dressing room one 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 arriving late. Then at one point I had a press conference and he had a French YouTube channel come by, which he was still hugely busy with the day before the match. That was the last straw for me. So I did not start him that weekend."
Van Gaal wanted to know what happened next. "'And then?' he asked. I told him I had not taken Aubameyang with me for the away match at Stuttgart. 'And then?' Van Gaal asked again. A day later I arranged a meeting with the entire squad there, because everyone had an opinion on it. And a day later Aubameyang trained with us again."
"Van Gaal then said: 'Mistake!!!! You should have sent him away.' I was completely shocked and pointed out that Aubameyang left for Arsenal the following winter for about €60 million. So I can't send him away, can I? Do you know what response I got from Van Gaal then? 'No, and then you were sent away.' That is true as well", Bosz concludes with a laugh.