Bundesliga season preview: Borussia Dortmund
With not long until the 2016/17 Bundesliga season gets under way in earnest, it is high time to put each club's upcoming campaign under the microscope. Accordingly, bundesliga.com's previews will provide you with all you need to know ahead of the big kick-off on 26 August…
Big question
Next up are Borussia Dortmund…
Borussia Dortmund's points haul of 78 last term would have been enough to deliver the title to the SIGNAL IDUNA PARK in all but four of the 53 Bundesliga seasons to date.
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Thomas Tuchel proved a resounding success after succeeding Die Schwarzgelben's most successful coach, Jürgen Klopp, at the start of 2015/16.
The revolving transfer door has been spinning faster than ever at Dortmund this summer, meanwhile, with captain Mats Hummels and assist-master Henrikh Mkhitaryan amongst those leaving, with FIFA World Cup winners Mario Götze and Andre Schürrle leading the pack who have joined BVB - the former returning emotionally for a second stint at the team with whom he won back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012.
With Tuchel's friend and one-time mentor Pep Guardiola leaving FC Bayern München, the big question surrounding BVB is whether the new-look squad can gel quickly enough to challenge and perhaps overhaul the champions in 2016/17.
Götze remains one of the most talented attacking midfielders in the game, and has a point to prove at his first club having been rather under-utilised in Bavaria. He is joined by Schürrle, who after a tepid start last season managed nine goals in 14 Rückrunde games for VfL Wolfsburg.
That the signings of former FC Barcelona centre-back Marc Bartra, UEFA EURO 2016-winning left-back Raphael Guerreiro and teenage talents Ousmane Dembele and Emre Mor have had to fight so hard for column inches speaks to the quality of the Ruhr district giants' transfer business.
Still only 42, the former 1. FSV Mainz 05 coach has instigated some revolutionary training techniques, such as making his defenders train with tennis balls in their hands so that they shed the habit of clutching an attacker's shirt when it comes to game time.
Happy to tinker his team mid-game in order to gain an advantage over his opponents, Tuchel is also in the fortunate position of having a number of players who are equally adept at playing a number of roles.
The top-scoring African in the history of the Bundesliga, the Gabon international combines blistering pace with ever-improving technique and an eye for goal.
Scorer of 25 goals in the Bundesliga last term, second only to FC Bayern München's Robert Lewandowski, Aubameyang will be hopeful of at least emulating that figure given the midfield talent just behind him.
Pre-season form
Most recent first: WLDLWW
Key dates
Dortmund get their 2016/17 campaign underway at home to Tuchel's former club Mainz and will be the first club to play at RB Leipzig's Red Bull Arena in the Bundesliga the following week. The first Revierderby of the season will be at home to FC Schalke 04 on Matchday 9, with the Klassiker against Bayern two weeks later.
Home ground
The biggest stadium in Germany, the SIGNAL IDUNA PARK became the first arena in history to enjoy an average attendance of over 80,000 in 2015/16.