The 59-year-old lifelong Borussia Dortmund supporter, who is especially recognised for his book “Tor! The Story of German Football" which has been translated into several languages, feels that Borussia Dortmund made a grave error when they decided to part company with manager Edin Terzic after he asked the club "to terminate his contract with immediate effect".
However, Hesse also feels that the club has made a string of errors which has thrown them into turmoil only a season after they came close to winning the Champions League.
“The most direct cause for the current crisis is that the club drove away a coach last summer who had managed to get above-average results from an average squad”, says Hesse.
“However, there is almost universal agreement that the real problem is that nobody knows anymore who is running the club and making the decisions. Finally, it seems to me that at some point a few years ago the club decided that the time-tested approach – sign young players, give them playing time at the highest level, sell them at a profit – was no longer enough because it didn’t win titles."
"The new approach – sign established players and pay them a lot of money – has not only alienated many fans from the team but is clearly not working, mainly because top-level established players tend to sign for other clubs.”
After the club sacked Nuri Sahin following a very disappointing season which has left the club in 11th position in the Bundesliga and 14th spot in the Champions League standing, the club has appointed Mike Tullberg as interim coach. Hesse, however, says that Tullberg is unlikely to be chosen as a permanent solution for the current open position as head coach.
Tullberg took charge of his first game as Borussia Dortmund's caretaker boss at the weekend, when last year's Champions League finalists drew 2-2 with Werder Bremen despite having Nico Schlotterbeck sent off after 21 minutes of the game.
After the game, Dortmund managing director, Lars Ricken, announced that Tullberg would remain in charge for Wednesday's Champions League clash with Shakhtar Donetsk. According to German media, Tullberg will also be in the dugout for Saturday’s fixture against Heidenheim but then he is expected to return to his role as Under-19 coach for the club.
Hesse says he would be very surprised if Tullberg will be offered a permanent contract as head coach.
“The chances are very slim. Public opinion – and, I guess, many voices within the club – would prefer an experienced coach to yet another homegrown newcomer”, says Hesse.
“Nuri Sahin did have some experience from his time in Turkey (Antalyaspor, 2020-2021), but he was widely regarded as a novice manager – and in my opinion too young for the job. I think the hope right now is that Mike will steady the ship to give the board some more time to find the right man."
Tullberg got his national breakthrough with Danish Superliga club AGF Aarhus when he scored a goal against Danish giants Brøndby IF which was named Danish goal of the year in 2007. Tullberg ended a career haunted by injuries in 2011 and in 2019 was employed by Borussia Dortmund as manager of the club's reserve team from the 2019–20 season.
He was later promoted to become manager of the U19 team and has been praised in Germany for being a significant factor in Dortmund's ability to groom young talents into established first-team players. Hesse, however, doubts if Tullberg would be the right choice if he was given a permanent chance.
“I can’t say anything substantial about his qualities as a coach because he’s never worked with a senior team before. He’s obviously very enthusiastic and this rubs off on his players. Personally, I had hoped Roger Schmidt would be open to talks, but from what I hear he’s decided to stay out of football for the next months”.
Borussia Dortmund will be in action again when they face Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday.