Watzke's successor

Champions League hero becomes new Dortmund boss!

Lars Ricken (center) played for Dortmund from 1990 to 2019.(Bild: dpa/dpaweb/Tobias Heyer)

Lars Ricken has been promoted to sporting director of German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. As the club announced on Monday, the long-serving BVB professional will follow in the footsteps of Hans-Joachim Watzke.

At the beginning of the year, the 64-year-old announced that he would not be renewing his contract, which expires in 2025. This means that he will leave the management of Borussia Dortmund next year. Sports director Sebastian Kehl was actually considered the top candidate to succeed him, but the fact that it is Ricken after all may come as a surprise to some fans.

Three-time champion
Even though the 47-year-old has been close to the club for decades. Ricken already played for BVB in his youth and made the leap to the professionals in 1993, where he became a three-time champion and Champions League winner in 1997 - also thanks to his goal in the 3:1 final against Juventus Turin.

Lars Ricken (center) played in Dortmund from 1990 to 2019.(Bild: dpa/dpaweb/Tobias Heyer)

The former attacking pro had been Dortmund's youth team coordinator since 2014, but a new role awaits Ricken from May 1.

Together with Carsten Cramer (Marketing) and Thomas Treß (Finance), he will form the new managing director duo; Watzke will step down from the management board in the fall of next year, and with Ricken's signature, he will already be relieved of overall responsibility for the sporting area.