Race For The Title
Returning for its fourth and final episode, Inside Borussia Dortmund bows out on a high, depicting the final push for the Bundesliga title that went all the way to the final game of the season. With plenty of heartbreak, team dynamics and fly on the wall cameras, this footballing documentary rounds out its quartet of episodes in style. As we approach the end of the season, episode 4 of Inside Borussia Dortmund begins with Dortmund hungry to right the wrongs of their 5-0 defeat in Munich and push to win the Bundesliga. Following their humiliating loss, the team go into the game against Mainz shaky and, after going 2-0 up, almost blow their lead against a team they should be beating easily. Thanks to goalkeeping heroics, the team manage to hang on, thanks in part to a miraculous triple save. As the episode, and season, progresses we take a trip down memory lane again before showing the true team solidarity as Borussia Dortmund rack up another win and Paco is given a chance to get back to shooting ways thanks to an unselfish gesture to allow him to take a deciding penalty. From here, we then see the controversial match against Schalke, a team struggling to stay in the Bundesliga. The game has a lot of hype around it and once again we’re greeted with player narration to show this. When Sancho is hit in the eye by a lighter, thrown on the pitch by someone in the crowd, the entire team are beside themselves as the referee gives a controversial penalty moments later, prompting Lucien Favre to call it a huge scandal and a disgrace. Unfortunately this proves to be the catalyst that turns the tide of the match and sees them go 3-1 down and have 2 men sent off. The game, of course, ending 4-2 to Schalke. With Bayern failing to capitalize on Borussia Dortmund’s implosion, everything is left wide open going into the final game of the season. The end of the series, and episode, sees a lovely cut between both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund’s matches in an exciting end to close out this footballing documentary. Of course, Bayern go on to win the title but a valiant effort nonetheless from Dortmund is rewarded by a very brief glimpse of them winning the 2019 Supercup. Inside Borussia Dortmund has been an interesting, and oftentimes questionably paced documentary series. With jumps between past and present and a profound lack of excitement going into matches thanks to player narration, this four part documentary fails hit the same heights All Or Nothing: Manchester City managed to achieve so effortlessly last year. While the show does have some redeeming features, and seeing the behind the scenes footage of the players is certainly interesting, the show lacks the edge needed to make this as endearing as it perhaps could be. Still, the final episode is certainly one of the best here and as we leave the series, could we see Borussia Dortmund going on to win the league title this year in the Bundesliga? Only time will tell of course but for now, the 2019 season ends with a lot of what-if’s hanging over Dortmund’s season to build upon.
