By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- After their best ever start to a Bundesliga season with 16 points and a goal difference of 19-1 after six games, 2012 German champions Borussia Dortmund is now ready to challenge 2017 Champions League winner Real Madrid Tuesday evening.
While the fans of the "yellow and blacks" are dreaming of capturing the German title again after five consecutive Bayern Munich wins, the club from the west of the country has to answer the question whether they are also robust enough to be successful on the international stage.
Currently, Dortmund is dominating the football headlines as Bayern have to deal with several problems like their coach's future, tactics, and team spirit. Now with the Dutch coach Peter Bosz at the helm, Dortmund last weekend thrashed Borussia Moenchengladbach 6-1 in the league.
They, however, are under pressure in the Champions League after having lost the first Group H game against Tottenham Hotspur (3-1).
"We play football, we're fresh, but a team like Real is in a different league to Moenchengladbach," Bosz commented.
He, however, is happy with the team's progress after adapting to the new tactical system and the success of new signing Andrei Yarmolenko.
"It's great to see how the team is performing, not only for the fans but for me too as their coach," Bosz said.
When starting his tenure in Dortmund, Bosz thought it would take three months to get used ot the new system. Now the club's leaders like CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke and the Managing Director of Sport, Michael Zorc admit, things are working out much quicker than expected.
The team has not only adapted to Bosz' system of advanced pressing and fast transition football but feels comfortable with the coach's rotation. While Bosz reshuffles his line-up in nearly every game, the team's efficiency does not seem to be affected.
The team's cornerstones like Mario Goetze, Nuri Sahin, Christian Pulisic, Yarmolenko, Shinji Kagawa, Julian Weigl, newcomer Jeremy Toljan, Mo Dahoud, Dan-Axel Zagadou and Marc Bartra alternate between starting eleven, substitute's bench and recovery.
They can approach their next Champions League encounter with Real with confidence. Borussia were unbeaten at home in their six matches in last season's campaign when Thomas Tuchel was in charge. Dortmund drew 2-2 twice with Madrid. In the 2012/2013 semifinal, Dortmund beat the Spanish giants 4-3 on aggregate.
Many pundits expect that Dortmund's star striker Aubameyang highly motivated against the club of his dreams. For months, the Gabon forward was expected to leave Dortmund but negotiations with AC Milan, Paris St Germain and the Chinese club of Tianjin Quanjian came to nothing.
Aubameyang spoke about his hopes of joining Real Madrid after he had promised his grandfather to one day wear the famous shirt. Now the 28-year-old has said he is no longer hoping for a move to the club form Spain's capital. "I won't speak about Real anymore. They don't want me," Aubameyang told a French radio station.
Aubameyang promised to concentrate fully on his role at Borussia and fulfill his contract that runs to 2020. The striker seems to be happy at his present club. To date he has scored 12 goals in nine games in various competitions this season.
"I had an agreement with Dortmund allowing me to go if everybody was happy with the deal. It didn't work out. But I'm not unhappy. I feel at home in Dortmund and will help the team to win titles," Aubameyang stressed.
Aubameyang will be vital if Dortmund's fans can continue to dream of winning the German Championship in 2018 and overcoming Real Madrid in this week's group match to help them to survive the Champions League group stage.
