Opinion | Borussia Dortmund’s strong start to the season is good news for the Bundesliga 

Opinion | Borussia Dortmund’s strong start to the season is good news for the Bundesliga  Borussia Dortmund have won all four of their Bundesliga games thus far this season and sit at the top of the table going into the first international break of the 2026/27 Bundesliga campaign. In addition, the Black and Yellows have kept three clean sheets during the impressive run. It is a strong start to the season for Niko Kovac’s side, and if the team manages to keep this up, there could be an exciting title race.  Dortmund came close to winning the title in 2023. It was a home draw against Mainz on the final day of the 2022/23 Bundesliga season that prevented Edin Terzic’s side from lifting the trophy that season. That moment also marked the last time there was a genuine title race in the Bundesliga.  The following season, Bayer Leverkusen had to put on an invincible season to win the title as Bayern struggled to replicate their usual form. Dortmund may not be able to go unbeaten all season, but a good run of form coupled with a stutter from Bayern is needed in order to lift the Meisterschale for the first time since the 2011/12 season. Dortmund’s strong start to the season can be attributed to how well they handled business in the transfer market. Under new sporting director Nils Ole Book, the Black and Yellows targeted young and exciting players who have already made a significant impact. The club added Konstantinos Karetsas, Giannis Konstantelias, Joey Veerman, Joane Gadou, and also Ethan Nwaneri on loan from Arsenal. All these signings – without exception – have contributed to Dortmund’s strong start to the season and, thus far, have proved wise investments.   The club managed to add young, talented players who can improve the side both in the short and long term. Konstantelias suffered an ACL injury during the first Bundesliga match against Hamburg , which was a big blow to the club. However, the management responded well by immediately bringing in Nwaneri from Arsenal.   What makes this year’s Borussia Dortmund different? Squad building has been an issue in recent years at Dortmund. Many of the players signed under Sebastian Kehl failed to live up to expectations, and there were targets the club wasn’t able to acquire. In his first transfer window since joining from Elversberg, Book seems to have delivered a far more rigorous and effective transfer window than his predecessor ever could during his four years (eight windows) in charge.  A strong Dortmund team is good news for the league. After all, it is the rivalry between Bayern Munich and BVB that brought so much attention to the Bundesliga in the early 2010s. With Jürgen Klopp at the helm, Dortmund managed to win the league back-to-back in 2011 and 2012, also winning the Pokal in the latter year by beating the Bavarians 5-2.  In 2013, the two sides faced each other in the Champions League final at Wembley after overcoming Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona. The final itself was a great spectacle decided by a memorable goal from Arjen Robben in the closing minutes of the game.  Those years attracted many fans to the Bundesliga. In recent years the title race has been a one-sided affair. This has made it harder for many neutral spectators to become invested in the league. Of course, the Bundesliga is much more than just the title race, and there are interesting stories throughout the league, but Bayern’s dominance has always been a stick to beat the league with. Bayer Leverkusen’s invincible season put a stop to 11 consecutive league titles for Bayern, but under Vincent Kompany, the record champions dominated and won the Bundesliga in the last two seasons. Kompany’s team also recaptured the Pokal last year for the first time in six seasons. Dortmund’s brilliant start may still not be enough Bayern’s start to this season is also a strong one. Despite being held to a goalless draw by newly promoted Schalke, they managed to win the rest of the games in convincing fashion by putting five past Stuttgart and scoring seven times against Union Berlin.  It remains far early to say BVB’s great start to the season will continue, or, even if it does, whether or not if it will be enough to halt the dominance of this Bayern side. But everything seems to be going well at the Signal Iduna Park at the moment. There are still doubts about Kovac’s style of play and whether his side will be able to turn up in the big games. But if Dortmund continue this brilliant start and we can have an exciting title race on our hands, which is always a welcome sight. Dortmund have not won their initial four Bundesliga fixtures since the 2015/16 campaign. They also haven’t topped the Bundesliga table since that fateful final matchday in May 2023. Signs that something different could be brewing are definitely apparent. GGFN | Brook Genene