Borussia Dortmund vs Aston Villa
Before Aston Villa fans head to one of the most exciting seasons they’ve had in decades, they first must finish their pre-season obligations. Their last stop? In Germany, where they face Borussia Dortmund in a much-anticipated Club Friendly affair that features two European clubs at the top of their game.
After the contest, Villa’s next fixture will be against West Ham in the Premier League, whilst Die Borussen faces Phonix Lubeck in DFB-Pokal before opening their 2024/25 Bundesliga season against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Talking Points
Unai Emery’s busy summer
Fresh off Aston Villa’s most successful season in a long while, the Spanish manager made it clear that their achievements last year wouldn’t be the end of it. Unai Emery had won continental silverware in Spain with Sevilla, and he is hell-bent on winning one with the Villans.
His current dream, however, is a tad different from when he was enjoying his time in Seville. It was the Europa League back then. As of now, his eyes are set on the Champions League trophy—an honour the club last won in 1892.
Plenty may, and will, call him delusional. But his side did finish in the league’s top four last season, above the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Spurs—that’s half of the Premier League’s ‘Big 6.’
So, how, you may ask, do Aston Villa intend on improving on what seemed to be their ceiling?
The answer? An aggressive summer transfer approach.
As of writing, Unai Emery had already shipped out 12 players since July, with Douglas Luiz being the most notable exit. The Brazil international, shipped to Juventus for a whopping fee of €51 million.
Well, they had to let the midfielder go, no matter what brilliant season he had. They needed to fund their summer spending.
So far, the Villans have signed Amadou Onana from Everton for €59 million—their biggest signing so far. Chelsea’s Ian Maatsen was also bought in for a fee worth €44 million.
Emery also added Cameron Archer and Jaden Philogene from Sheffield United and Hull City. The former, having his buy-back clause activated after the Blades were relegated, was bought in for €16 million. The latter, transferred for roughly the same price.
After allowing Luiz to head to Juventus, Emery, too, did some shopping with the Old Lady on his own, with Samuel-Iling Junior and Enzo Barrenechea arriving from Juve for €14 million and €8 million, respectively.
Ross Barkley makes his return to Villa Park as well—the former Everton standout revived his career at Luton Town last year and hopes to contribute to Villa’s challenging year ahead.
Trusting the process in Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund reached the Champions League’s final last year. And what a campaign they had! Sure, they lost to Real Madrid, but there’s no shame in losing to arguably the greatest European side of all time.
Heading into next season, the team had made huge signings to bolster their Bundesliga campaign, which was a far cry from their European endeavours.
Serhou Guirassy, Waldemar Anton, Yan Couto and Pascal Gross are some of the big names coming into Signal Iduna Park, whilst club legend Marco Reus has finally said his goodbyes after a remarkable stint.
Despite the optimism, Sahin still knows Dortmund are far from what he’s hoping for. In one of their pre-season outings in Asia, Dortmund were thrashed by Thai club Pathum United (4-0) in what was a massive upset in the SBOTOP Club Friendly 2024 odds.
According to Club Friendly 2024 news, the young manager didn’t take the loss lightly despite it being a friendly affair. However, when tempers cooled off, he explained that the club must understand that everything is a step-by-step process.
“… This is a lesson for us now as well, a new coach, some new players, some departures, some arrivals, it’s all a process, even with a bad result from time to time, like we had in Thailand,” he said in a Bundesliga interview.
History
Both clubs have yet to meet in the past, but they’re not strangers to facing clubs from their respective countries.
Aston Villa have a current record of six wins and three losses against German opposition, whilst Dortmund have had far more matches with English clubs, posing a record of 18 wins, seven draws and 17 defeats.
It will be an exciting contest, for sure. And my pick goes to Die Borussen!
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