2015–16 Borussia Dortmund Season
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The 2015–16
Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...
season was the 105th season (and 106th overall year) in the
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club's history and 40th consecutive and 49th overall season in the top flight of
German football Association football, Football (or "soccer") is the most popular sport in Germany. The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund, link=no or ) is the sport's national governing body, with 6.6 million members (roughly eight ...
, the
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
, having been promoted from the
2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...
in
1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
. In addition to the domestic league, Borussia Dortmund also participated in this season's editions of the
domestic cup A domestic cup (also known as association cup or national cup) is a type of sports tournament, particularly common in association football. This tournament type is notable for its participation by professional and amateur teams from many levels of ...
, the
DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...
, and the second-tier continental cup, the
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
. This was the 43rd season for the club in the
Westfalenstadion Westfalenstadion (, ) is a Association football, football stadium in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, which is the home of Borussia Dortmund. Officially called Signal Iduna Park for sponsorship reasons and BVB Stadion Dortmund in UEFA ...
, located in
Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The stadium had a capacity of 81,359 for
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
matches, and a capacity of 65,851 for continental matches. The season covered a period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016. The season was the first since 2000–01 without
Sebastian Kehl Sebastian Walter Kehl (; born 13 February 1980) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is currently the Sporting Director of Borussia Dortmund. He amassed Bundesliga totals of 314 games and 24 goals o ...
, who retired after the 2014–15 season.


Season overview


Background

Dortmund finished the previous season in seventh place in the
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
, one of its worst finishes in recent years. It won the DFL-Supercup in the previous season, but was unable to qualify for this season. Dortmund also progressed to the round of 16 in the
2014–15 UEFA Champions League The 2014–15 UEFA Champions League was the 60th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 23rd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was pl ...
before being knocked out by
Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
. This season, Dortmund only qualified for the
2015–16 UEFA Europa League The 2015–16 UEFA Europa League was the 45th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the seventh season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The 2016 UEFA Europa League Final w ...
, the second-tier continental cup. They entered the competition in the third qualifying round. If they advance from this round, they must also get through the play-off round before qualifying for the group stage. Last season, Dortmund ended up as runners-up of the
DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...
after losing to
VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...
. Dortmund will begin the season with new coach
Thomas Tuchel Thomas Tuchel (; born 29 August 1973) is a German professional football manager and former player who last managed Premier League club Chelsea. Born in Krumbach, Tuchel retired at age 25 after a chronic knee cartilage injury; in 2000, he b ...
, who replaced
Jürgen Klopp Jürgen Norbert Klopp (; born 16 June 1967) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Liverpool. He is widely regarded as one of the best managers in the world. Klopp spent most of his playing c ...
.


Pre-season

The pre-season began with training starting on 29 June 2015. The first pre-season friendly was on 3 July against VfL Rhede. The next day, the season opening event took place with another friendly match against "Team Gold". After this, Dortmund went on a tour of Asia from 5–11 July. They played in two friendlies against
Kawasaki Frontale is a Japanese professional football club based in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium, in Nakahara W ...
in Japan on 7 July and Johor Darul Ta'zim (Southern Tigers) in Malaysia on 9 July. They then returned to Germany to face
VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seas ...
on 17 July before heading to
Bad Ragaz Bad Ragaz is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Sarganserland in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It is the home of a famous natural spring and is a popular spa and health resort destination. History Bad Ragaz is fi ...
in Switzerland for a training camp. This took place from 19–26 July. They faced
FC Luzern Fussball-Club Luzern (), or simply abbreviated to FCL, is a Swiss sports club based in Lucerne (german: Luzern). It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Super League, the top tier of the Swiss football league syste ...
on 21 July and Juventus on 25 July, the team who knocked them out of the previous edition of the Champions League. After the Swiss training camp, they returned to Germany.


July–August

Competitive matches began on 30 July with the first leg of the
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
third qualifying round. The draw for who they will face took place on 17 July. Dortmund were drawn to Austria side
Wolfsberger AC Wolfsberger AC, commonly referred to as Wolfsberg or simply WAC, is an Austrian association football club from Wolfsberg, Carinthia, who currently play in the Austrian Bundesliga. Between the 2007–08 and 2011–12 seasons, Wolfsberger AC enter ...
. The second leg will take place on 6 August. Round 1 of the
DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...
will take place on 7–10 August, where Dortmund will face
Chemnitzer FC Chemnitzer Fußballclub e.V. is a German association football club based in Chemnitz, Saxony. The club competes in Regionalliga Nordost, the fourth tier of German football. The roots of the club go back to its establishment as Chemnitzer BC 193 ...
away. Matchday 1 of the Bundesliga will then take place from 14–16 August. If Dortmund advances to the play-off round, they will play the first leg on 20 August and the second leg on 27 August. The draw would be talking place on 7 August. In their first Bundesliga game, Dortmund convincingly beat
Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...
4–0 with goals from
Marco Reus Marco Reus (; born 31 May 1989) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward. He captains Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and plays for the Germany national team. Reus spent his youth career at Borussia ...
,
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Pierre-Emerick Emiliano François Aubameyang (born 18 June 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Chelsea. He is renowned for his pace, finishing, and off-ball movement. Born in France, he is a former ...
and two from
Henrikh Mkhitaryan Henrikh Mkhitaryan ( hy, Հենրիխ Մխիթարյան, ; born 21 January 1989) is an Armenian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for club Inter Milan. Mkhitaryan won four Armenian Premier League titles wi ...
, allowing them to temporarily claim position second in the league, behind rivals Bayern Munich on goal difference.


Players

Players and squad numbers last updated on 28 September 2015.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under
FIFA eligibility rules As the governing body of association football, FIFA is responsible for maintaining and implementing the rules that determine whether an association football player is eligible to represent a particular country in officially recognised internation ...
. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


Transfers


In

Total spending: €20 million


Out


Statistics


Appearances and goals

, - ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Goalkeepers , - ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Defenders , - ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Midfielders , - ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Forwards , - ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Players transferred out during the season


Goalscorers

This includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal. Last updated on 22 March 2016 Europa League excludes goal in Europa League Qualification


Disciplinary record


Technical staff


Pre-season and friendlies


Competitions


Bundesliga


League table


Results summary


Results by round


Matches


DFB-Pokal


UEFA Europa League


Third qualifying round


Play-off round


Group stage


Knockout phase


=Round of 32

=


=Round of 16

=


=Quarter-finals

=


Summary


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2015-16 Borussia Dortmund season Borussia Dortmund seasons
Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...
Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...