In 1997, Ricken decided the Champions League final for BVB with a dream goal against Juventus Turin. Now he has been preferred to Sebastian Kehl in the club’s realignment.
Soon an even more powerful man in BVB: Lars Ricken.
Imago
Who is Lars Ricken? For Borussia Dortmund fans, this question is quickly answered: an icon of the Ruhr area club. The former offensive player spent his football career with Borussia from the age of 14. The scene from May 1997 when Ricken was substituted on by his then coach Ottmar Hitzfeld in the Champions League final against Zinedine Zidane’s heavily favored Juventus Turin is unforgettable.
Ricken had only been on the field for a few seconds when Andreas Möller, the brilliant playmaker, sent him on his way to the opponent’s goal. And Ricken lofted the ball over Juventus keeper Angelo Peruzzi to make it 3-1. The outsider triumphed.
Ricken immortalized himself with this goal. He is now 47 years old, he is still at Borussia, and he will take on an important role in the club at the beginning of May, as was announced last week. Ricken is promoted to managing director of sports at BVB – and thus takes over part of the job previously filled by Hans-Joachim Watzke, the Dortmund CEO, who is not extending his contract, which expires in autumn 2025. Ricken will therefore watch the semi-final games in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain, the first of which will take place next Wednesday, in a new capacity.
Lars Ricken celebrated the 3-1 win against Juventus when Dortmund won the Champions League in 1997.
Sven Simon / Imago
Ricken’s successes with the BVB youth make Bayern look to Dortmund with envy
Ricken’s appointment is not only interesting because of his long BVB resume, but also because he was preferred to another well-known protagonist: sports director Sebastian Kehl, who was long considered the favorite for this position. Anyone who wants to can see this as a significant step on the way to renewing Dortmund’s leadership.
Watzke, the powerful man at Borussia, wants to set the course for his successor. The fact that Ricken will play a key role in this has more than just to do with his glorious career as a player and the close relationship with the club. Ricken has been responsible for Borussia’s youth work for a decade – and it has been successful to such an extent that rivals Bayern Munich are looking enviously towards Westfalenpark.
BVB’s U-17 and U-19 teams won seven championships, and the Bavarian record champions have just won a single title during this period. Lars Ricken, who was once socialized in Borussia’s youth ranks, has emerged as a passionate advocate of the idea of performance, including among young talent.
When he remembers this time in conversation today and draws comparisons to the present, Ricken speaks of different worlds: When Borussia was still training in Dortmund’s Hoeschpark, a comfortable training center with several football pitches, like the one that now exists in Dortmund-Brackel, seemed like one Illusion. “The fungus was still coming from the ceiling in the showers back then,” Ricken told the NZZ. Today, when it is easy to get the impression that every junior player has their own media advisor, the conditions back then seem downright cute. At that time, coach Hitzfeld still had to arrange interviews for the young star Ricken.
Lars Ricken (left) and Sebastian Kehl got along brilliantly on the field.
Imago
In a commercial he played the commercial critic
Ricken witnessed the transformation. And sometimes commented on them publicly. The year Borussia Dortmund won the Champions League, a commercial circulated that caused quite a stir: the young Ricken strolls through the empty Westfalenstadion in the evening and complains about what commercialism has done to football: “I see VIP Boxes where there used to be standing room. I see players who talk to the press more often than to their coach. I see clubs that buy expensive professionals instead of supporting young talent. I see guys in pinstripes and endless profiteering. And then I see what’s really important to me.”
If this short clip had not been released by the sponsor Nike, one could have seen it as a small manifesto against rampant commercialization – from someone who critically reflected on the events despite his youth. As it was, Ricken’s fundamental criticism of the decadence that had befallen BVB in particular (the club was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2005) did not seem exactly innocent. And if his magical goal against Juventus hadn’t had a moderating effect on the critics, this statement might have been resented for a little longer. Especially since the young attacker’s career did not take the desired course due to many injuries.
But perhaps this is precisely what made him ideal for his role as Borussia’s youth boss. Ricken has not only been able to closely observe the constant change and the demands it places on young players, he has experienced the effects first hand. It may also be because of people like Ricken that BVB has repeatedly managed to attract young, highly talented players to the club who could recommend themselves to clubs like Real Madrid or FC Barcelona – just think of Ousmane Dembélé or Jude Bellingham.
The work of the new sports director was therefore part of Dortmund’s business model, which is both a blessing and a curse. Anyone who offers a platform to the continent’s best talents may earn well from the transfers of sought-after young professionals – but with high fluctuation it is difficult to consolidate the sporting level.
The scout Sven Mislintat returns
In any case, Ricken’s appointment can be seen as an indication that the club is reflecting on its strengths in promoting talent. Another personality also suggests this: Sven Mislintat, who was responsible for many excellent signings as a scout for a long time, has returned to the club. He left Dortmund in 2017 in a dispute with then coach Thomas Tuchel, after previously working for BVB for nineteen years.
When it comes to spotting talent, Mislintat is said to have almost supernatural abilities. However, nowhere has he been as successful as in Dortmund. He only stayed at Arsenal for two years; his contract at VfB Stuttgart was terminated prematurely. In addition, his relationship with Sebastian Kehl is not exactly untroubled: Mislintat was once considered for the position of sports director, which Kehl currently holds.
It is questionable what Kehl’s future is at Borussia, as Ricken was preferred to him as managing director. In fact, Kehl’s area of competence is significantly limited by the commitments of Ricken and Mislintat.