It might be tough news for Borussia Dortmund fans around the world to take, but the 2013 Champions League finalists will disappear from football's international radar for a long time.
After the 2011 and 2012 German champions failed to stop Juventus in the Round of 16 on Wednesday, a complete restart seems necessary to reanimate the club that once was audacious enough to try to challenge giants Bayern Munich, who are now the last German team among the last eight of the Champions League, reports Xinhua.
For now Dortmund is not only far from being a competitive side at the international stage but in the domestic league too where they are languishing in 10th and well away from qualifying for Europe next year. What was obvious against deadly effective Juventus that they are away from glorious Champions League moments of 2013.
They now give the impression of being a slow truck not powerful enough for football's fast lanes. Losing 0-3 (1-2 first leg) to Juventus was no less than a humiliation.
Looking at Bundesliga, Dortmund does not have to think about Europe's best clubs as they have been overtaken by VfL Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke 04 and Borussia Moenchengladbach not to speak of Bayern Munich.
Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp will have to make fundamental changes in his squad and admit to having done a bad job when spending over 50 million euros before this season on players like Ciro Immobile, Adrian Ramos, Matthias Ginter and Kevin Kampl.
Looking at the last two years, Dortmund have spent over 118 million euros. The effect of the shopping tour is disillusioning. Ten years after the club was nearly bankrupt, another big challenge is waiting for them that once stood for attractive fast attacking football and an overwhelming amount of greed.
It wouldn't be a surprise if players like Immobile, Hendrik Mkhitaryan, Ramos, and Ilkay Guendogan leave the club this summer. Dortmund won't be too disappointed about Immobile and Ramos but Guendogan leaving would hurt them deeply.
The midfielder with Turkish roots has until now refused to extend his contract despite a six million euros per season offer. 'BVB' hopes to keep Guendogan to partner striker Marco Reus and midfielder Nuri Sahin, who was sidelined against Juventus due to injury.
Against Juventus, Klopp started with a 4-2-3-1 formation which he quickly had to change into a more offensive 4-4-2 after the Italian club took lead in the third minute. Mkhitaryan was a total disappointment again and Immobile, who played for Juventus from 2008 to 2010, had to watch the game from the bench.
But Juventus' 37-year-old goalkeeping legend Gianluigi Buffon hardly had anything to do all evening. After two 0-0 draws in Bundesliga against Hamburg SV and newly-promoted FC Cologne, the defeat against Juventus is another hard fact to face.
Now, sinking into insignificance is something one would not associate with Borussia Dortmund and it will be exciting to see how the club will manage the crisis. To find the way back to happier times will take a while.
Now new doubts regarding Klopp will rise as the 47-year old's coaching style has been very intense ever since he took over the club in 2008. After nearly seven years, some assume Klopp has to face the biggest challenge of his career.
"Now we have to concentrate on the league games and the German Cup. At the moment we are very disappointed. We seemed to be back on track but this game was a painful setback," said 2014 World Cup-winner Mats Hummels.
Hummels meant that team and coach might have felt they were on a comeback trail but now they have to concentrate on their league games and the German Cup. While both are important, they are a far cry from Europe's biggest stage. Dortmund, at the moment, are a team without ideas and esprit.
To reach the Champions League quarterfinals was nothing Dortmund deserved. To get to the Round of 16 was the best the club, which is still looking to return to former glories, could do.
"It's a fact, we have no right to be part of the Champions League this season," said Klopp.
