To get Dortmund back on track, Terzic must first fix the club's troubled attacking line

Just about every forward player at Dortmund is wrestling with big problems on or off the pitch ahead of the second half of the season.

Germany’s World Cup was over before it had even got started and as such the unyielding glare of the German media quickly turned its attention back to domestic football a little earlier than some clubs may have liked. 

Stuttgart would have undoubtedly hoped one or two more journalists were still out in Qatar for Bruno Labbadia’s farcical first press conference, but there’s no doubt that most of the bad Bundesliga press has revolved around Borussia Dortmund and their numerous problems in recent weeks. 

Stefan Bienkowski @SBienkowski

Quite remarkable just how quickly Stuttgart's season has just become a complete dumpster fire. One terrible decision after another.

DW Sports @dw_sports

Bruno Labbadia, Stuttgart's newly appointed coach, has drawn criticism on social media for remarks about two Black players in his squad. When asked about Manuel Neuer's ski injury, he replied that he associated those players "more with the sun." https://t.co/lT9GsqfsQm

As we discussed on last week’s podcast, Dortmund ordered their misfiring Germany internationals back to winter training ahead of schedule, after the rest of the nation had witnessed first hand the regular calamity that the Westfalenstadion faithful have had to endure for much of the season at the hands of Nico Schlotterbeck and Niklas Süle’s woeful double act. But, unfortunately for Edin Terzic, his problems don’t end in defence. 

Indeed, as Dortmund prepare for their January training camp in Marbella, the novice head coach will likely spend far more time worrying about his misfiring attacking line. Which, for a number of separate reasons, seems certain to make or break the club’s second half of the season.