There was something quite surreal about Borussia Dortmund dropping to the bottom of the league.
Especially considering most journalists, this writer included, had tipped Jürgen Klopp's men to push Bayern Munich all the way for the Bundesliga championship. After 14 games, that championship looks destined for Munich barring a monumental meltdown on Säbener Straße.
But the rapid decline of Dortmund has added an intriguing narrative to the season. BVB’s demise hasn't been caused by one particular failing, however; the varying factors across the season have acted together to create a problematic situation.
The warning signs had been there since Dortmund's second title in successive seasons in 2012 and a handful of factors have catapulted the teams into entirely different worlds.
CHANGING THE GAME
Bayern's 1-0 win against Bayer Leverkusen at the weekend was the perfect example of the champions' ability to adapt in order to get a positive result. Leverkusen flooded the Bayern defence with aggressive attacks and several players sprinting to support on the break, while possessing a strangle hold on the game in midfield.
Pep Guardiola reacted at the interval – introducing back-up midfielder Sebastian Rode. While the former Eintracht Frankfurt player was far from sensational or influential in the winning goal, he snapped away in the centre of the pitch and reacted sharply to respond to any potential Leverkusen counters.
It is little surprise then that Leverkusen had no shots on goal in the second-half – the first time that has happened in the league since stats were first recorded in 1992.
In the clash with Borussia Dortmund last month, Guardiola introduced Franck Ribery with his side trailing Klopp's men and the French winger dragged Dortmund's tiring central defenders out of position to change the game like the flick of a switch.
In contrast, Dortmund haven't been able to drastically change the momentum of a match in the same manner. Whether this is down to their lack of reliable depth, a reluctance to shift strategy, or even the capabilities of their head coach, is up for debate. But all have three have played their part.
In that same game against Bayern, Klopp – without key players Nuri Sahin and Ilkay Gundogan – pondered over changes but watched his team run out of gas, particularly in defence, as Bayern were galvanised by the fresh awareness and skill of Ribery.
Across the season so far, Klopp's second and third string have flattered to deceive. Take Adrian Ramos and Ciro Immobile for example. The pair have managed only four league goals between them. Not enough to fill the void left by Robert Lewandowski's departure.
DREADFUL INJURY CRISIS
Another problem for Klopp has been the extent of BVB’s injury problems, a permanent issue for his side this season.
There could be credence in the criticism that this is a strategic problem. Klopp wants his team to play full-blooded, aggressive, pressing football in every game and their style has taken its toll on its exponents.
In actual fact Dortmund have barely got close to the intensity of previous teams under Klopp. The statistics are damning: less interceptions, tackles won and fewer shots on target than their championship winning sides are but three crucial areas on the decline.
Ever since the departure of Oliver Bartlett, the club's fitness coach who has been a close ally of Roger Schmidt in Salzburg and Leverkusen, Dortmund's injury table mounts as high as a four-year-old’s Christmas list.
Of course, the likes of Mats Hummels and Marcel Schmelzer sustaining injuries on international duty last season and Marco Reus damaging ankle ligaments twice for the German national team, can’t be considered strategic mistakes.
With the added strain of the Champions League to contend with, Dortmund have rarely had the pick of a full squad. They only managed to field the same back-four as the Champions League final on Friday against Hoffenheim – 72 games after that European disappointment at the hands of their old foe.
And even then, the goalkeeper was different.
Generally speaking, Guardiola hasn't had to deal with such fitness concerns. At times, the Spanish coach has been without certain individuals, sometimes even multiple key players, but Dortmund's wounds seemed incomprehensible.
In the excellent 'Pep Confidential' book by Martin Pernaru, Guardiola emphasises the need for recovery training and injury-prevention methods. It would be interesting to know how that compares with Dortmund's setup.
STRUGGLING TO EVOLVE
It's said in business that reaching the top is one thing, but to stay at the summit and keep ahead of the pack, you must evolve and be even greater.
This season, there's been something stale about Borussia Dortmund.
Some of Dortmund's football in the back-to-back Championship-winning seasons was scintillating. It was innovative and culturally very different to the systems and strategies used throughout German football in recent years.
Dortmund's intense pressing held firm over two seasons with Klopp managing to make some slight tweaks that helped to sustain the team’s success. The likes of Jakub Blaszczykowski and Lukasz Piszczek combined to outstanding effect, but have since struggled to recapture that partnership.
From the sale of Shinji Kagawa, then Mario Götze, and the arrival of the hit-and-miss Henrikh Mkhitaryan as the creative hub of the team, Dortmund's philosophy has been lost somewhere along the line.
Recent signings could have followed a particular strategy that Klopp had drawn up to change the team once more. The loss of Lewandowski would almost certainly have forced that rethink in the summer.
But too many new faces haven't hit the ground running and some are still struggling to deliver on a consistent basis in their second season in Germany. The difference in Munich couldn't be starker when you consider the move from Jupp Heynckes' Champions League-winning team to the almost regular alterations made under Guardiola as he seeks to find the perfect balance in his team that is striving for not just domestic, but global domination.
It seems that if Dortmund are to find a way of not just catching Bayern, but overtaking them, then Klopp and sporting director Michael Zorc need to get brainstorming.
And quickly.
