FanView: Borussia Dortmund's Breathtaking Start to the Season is Thanks to 'the Bosz'

One would assume that the Bundesliga over recent seasons has become somewhat of a one-horse race since the 2012/13 season, which Bayern Munich won that year and the four seasons that proceeded. 

Borussia Dortmund were the last team to break the stranglehold that the Bavarian giants had on their domestic league, with victories in the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons, under the charismatic Jurgen Klopp. 

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Now, with Peter Bosz at the helm, with the manager-less Bayern Munich juggernaut faltering this season, it's Borussia Dortmund once again who look like serious contenders in challenging for the German title this season, hoping to do so in flamboyant fashion.

Arriving from Ajax this summer, it wasn't the same trodden path that previous managers Klopp and Thomas Tuchel followed, managing Mainz 05 before taking charge at the Westfalenstadion.

Peter Bosz's experience lies primarily in Dutch football, managing the likes of De Graafschap, Heracles and Vitesse Arnhem, along with a brief nineteen-game stint managing Maccabi Tel Aviv.

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His big break however came with Ajax in his one and only season managing the Amsterdam side in 2016/17, leading them to the 2017 UEFA Europa League Final in Stockholm, losing 2-0 to Manchester United. 

Despite finishing 2nd in the Eredivise behind PSV Eindhoven, Bosz heavily promoted the use of young players. The likes of Kasper Dolberg, Amin Younes, Matthijs de Ligt, Davison Sanchez and Hakim Ziyech all received rave reviews for adopting a fast, aggressive style of football; synonymous with Borussia Dortmund over recent seasons. 

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It wasn't an easy start this summer for Bosz however, losing Ousmane Dembele, Matthias Ginter, Emre Mor and Sven Bender, amid reports of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang wanting to leave. Fortunately for Bosz and Dortmund, the latter stayed and Bosz could conduct his transfer business. 

The likes of Maximilian Philip, Andriy Yarmolenko and Jadon Sancho joined a front-line boasting both Marco Reus and young prospect Christian Pulisic. Defensive reinforcements came in the shape of experienced centre-back Omer Toprak and exciting full-backs Jeremy Toljan and Dan-Axel Zagadou, with Mahmoud Dahoud an acquisition to bolster is central-midfield.  

It's clear Bosz's methods would go down well with Dortmund fans and players alike. Using a combination of Klopp and Pep Guardiola's ideals, Bosz takes the best of both to implement onto his team. Heavily influenced by the famous Gegenpressing, Bosz likes high pressing in attacking areas, closing players in twos and threes while the rest of the team push forward as one to nullify their opponents space to play, to win the ball back as close to the opponents goal as possible. 

The Guardiola aspect comes with domination of possession, but efficient use, taking no more than two to three seconds to move the ball between the thirds at pace, with purpose. 

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Full-backs operate high up the pitch, allowing wingers to play inside the penalty area much more frequently and chip in with goals. Even Julian Weigl, a holding midfielder, will play further up the field to aid not only the pressing, but also to play more dangerous passes to the likes of Pulisic and Aubameyang more frequently. 

Despite a number of key first team members missing due to injury, domestically the injuries haven't halted the progress of his Dortmund side, currently sitting top going into the international break, winning six and drawing their other game in the league. More impressively however, they sit top in both the goals for column (21) and goals against column (2) with the second goal coming in their last game prior to the international fixtures.

The 6-1 demolition of Borussia Mönchengladbach in late September was the perfect illustration of how far they have come already under the tutelage of Bosz. Compare that to the same stage last year, Tuchel's side had four wins, a draw and two defeats, scoring seventeen, conceding seven and sitting in 5th.

It hasn't been quite as smooth sailing in Europe however, suffering back-to-back 3-1 defeats to Tottenham and Real Madrid in their Champions League group, highlighting the work in progress Dortmund are under Bosz at the minute. The Yellow Wall will be hoping fortunes change as they look to transfer their scintillating league form across to European fixtures, to a level that saw them grace the 2013 Champions League final at Wembley. 

Dortmund's most recent game came in the form of a gritty 2-1 victory against Augsburg, although post-match Bosz described his latest victory as 'the worst match since I've been the coach of Dortmund'. A damning reflection of his team despite picking up another three points, Bosz clearly knows what he wants from his team and won't accept lapses in performance, in victory or defeat.

It is this pursuit of perfection that Bosz strives for, being quoted on the Bundesliga official website, stating: "Our philosophies are similar in the sense that we want to play attacking football for the fans. Of course, we want to win, but we also want to entertain and inspire the supporters.

"We remember those who entertain us and I truly believe the two worlds of the attractive and the successful can come together.'

Peter Bosz and his team face last season's surprise package in the shape of RB Leipzig this Saturday, hoping to pick up yet another victory, doing so in the enviable style that has become associated with them this season.