Following an intense pre-season, the Borussia Dortmund U23s are set to kick off their 2018/19 Regionalliga campaign this weekend. Coach Jan Siewert's new-look squad will travel to Bonner SC on Saturday afternoon for their season opener, which kicks off at 14:00 CET.

Borussia Dortmund have made 17 new signings − including the renewed loan of Evangelos Pavlidis − ahead of their Regionalliga curtain raiser at the Bonner Sportpark Nord. Their pre-season preparations began at the end of June and they played three friendlies − the first a narrow 2-1 defeat at the hands of third-division side VfL Osnabrück − before heading to South Tyrol for their training camp. The second of those friendlies came against Oberliga club ASC 09 Dortmund and gave an early indication of the attacking mentality the young Black & Yellows hope to carry forward into their new domestic campaign. Siewert's charges ran out 4-1 winners over their neighbours, who narrowly missed out on promotion to the Regionalliga last term. The third and final friendly before the training camp ended in a 1-1 draw against Westfalia Herne.

"Quickly established a good team structure"

A lot of hard work was done at the training camp, where Siewert placed the emphasis on team tactics in order to adapt the many new signings to the playing system as quickly as possible. The final pre-season friendly ended in a 2-1 victory over the Mainz 05 U23 side. Siewert said of the pre-season preparations: "We quickly established a good team structure and worked very well in terms of the content we covered. We feel very well prepared, it's time to get started!"

Their first competitive opponents, Bonner SC, only escaped the clutches of relegation on the final matchday of last season. The Black & Yellows will be looking to make a bright start to the season, especially as they face a lengthy break after the second round of games. Due to the participation of other Regionalliga teams in cup competitions, their match against RW Oberhausen cannot take place as planned.

Jan Siewert on his excitement for the new season: "Obviously there's a lot of excitement. The lads and the coaching staff are delighted it's now finally getting started. We've worked hard over the course of recent weeks and want to get a take a positive result from the first match on Saturday."

...on opponents Bonner SC: "There have been a few changes in Bonn since our meeting last season. They've brought in some good signings and are strong defensively. Bonn will try to give it their absolute all in their first home game, and we'll be no different in that respect."

...on the performance of his players who went to the USA with the senior squad: "During the whole trip, I was communicating with Lucien Favre and his coaching staff. The collaboration has been sensational since the first day. The feedback was very good, too. The way my lads performed there went down superbly, and that was rewarded with playing time. I'm proud that seven lads were able to make the trip. I observed the players myself and was extremely impressed."

Finally, a message for the fans: "Dear Borussia Dortmund fans. Your support last season was sensational. Your performance in the stands was really remarkable. I'm hoping for such an excellent showing in the match in Bonn on Saturday. I'm really looking forward to this season with you."
Timo Lammert