Borussia Dortmund players apologised face-to-face with incensed fans after the 1-0 defeat at home to 10-man Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Wednesday night.
The embarrassing loss – their first-ever to Augsburg – left Jürgen Klopp’s side, who won the Bundesliga title in 2011 and 2012, rooted to the bottom of the league after 19 matches this season.
At the final whistle the goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller held out his palms and approached jeering supporters in an attempt to bring some calm. He was seen listening to an irate fan before scaling the perimeter fence in an attempt to speak to a particularly vocal group of supporters.
The central defender and club captain, Mats Hummels, also conversed through the fence with supporters who have seen their team lose 11 times this season. “If one is in this position after 19 games then it would be unacceptable not to have understanding of the fans’ reactions,” Hummels said.
The Dortmund manager, Klopp, said he did not blame supporters for being critical: “What should the people do? The fans are disappointed and angry. Some of them fear for the future of the club. This is fully understandable.
“We can be accused of anything tonight and it is all justified. Battling also means having the courage to take the right decision. We were missing that tonight. It hurts, no doubt. We are doing everything wrong at the moment. We are not making anything of our chances.”
Dortmund face 15th-placed Freiburg at the weekend as they prepare for a battle for survival in the second half of the season.
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