The new coach has arrived! "I'm proud to have the opportunity to work for such a big club," said Peter Bosz at his unveiling. Thomas Tuchel's successor was lavish in his praise, declaring: "The Yellow Wall is legendary."

The 53-year-old Dutchman would not be coaxed into making any major announcements, however. He was friendly and polite, while remaining pleasantly reserved, as he fielded questions. "I want to be successful and play good football," he said, adding: "We've yet to discuss the real objectives."

There was also a new man in charge of the U23s, who brought in Jan Siewert to replace Daniel Farke as the Regionalliga side's new boss. The 34-year-old's previous post had been as coach of the VfL Bochum U19s, while simultaneously serving as Bochum head coach Gertjan Verbeek's assistant.

The U17s missed out on the opportunity to reach the German B Junior Championship final for the fourth time in a row. They gave it their best shot, battling passionately despite being a man down, but it was not enough as favourites SV Werder Bremen comfortably won the semi-final return leg 3-0 following a 1-1 draw the first time around. It was all but over as a contest after five minutes when the referee deemed Niclas Knoop to have committed a professional foul on Leon Sitz and gave the BVB centre-back his marching orders. Youth Coordinator Lars Ricken said: "My compliments to the team, who really pushed themselves to their limits in both games."

The tradition of visiting memorials in Poland was continued over the summer break, when the Fan Department organised a trip to Lublin as well as another to Auschwitz. In Lublin, 32 participants followed "in the footsteps of Dortmund's Jews", visiting various memorials and former extermination camps in Eastern Poland. In Auschwitz, as well as visiting the main camp, Birkenau and Monowitz, the 40 Black & Yellows also took part in various workshops in which they worked on coming to terms with history and the fates suffered by so many individuals.

Dortmund has the best pitch, with an independent jury crowning Signal Iduna Park as "Pitch of the Year". It is the fourth time BVB have taken home the award. (br)