Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund appoints Ole Book as sporting director of second division club Elversberg

Borussia Dortmund have made the move to the German second division to appoint a new sporting director who has won plaudits for his impactful transfers on a limited budget.

Ole Book comes over from Elversberg, a team from a city with approximately 13,000 inhabitants. That is less than a sixth of the capacity of Dortmund’s stadium.

He replaces Sebastian Kehl, who had been sporting director since 2022, including for Dortmund’s participation in the 2024 Champions League final. He left Dortmund nine points ahead of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich and with uncertainty over the future of key defender Nico Schlotterbeck, who still has a year left on his contract.

“In our conversations we quickly noticed that Ole has an extremely strong hunger for success, high ambitions and enormous team spirit,” Dortmund management spokesman Carsten Cramer said in a statement.

«This is in line with our values ​​and what we want to embody at Borussia Dortmund. The task now is to shape the future of our club in a bold and successful way. That is what drives us.»

Despite his humble origins, Elversberg rose from the regional fourth tier to the second division during Book’s eight years in sporting leadership roles and almost won promotion to the Bundesliga last season before losing a play-off. It is currently second in the table.

Notable signings included striker Younes Ebnoutalib, who joined from a fourth-tier club in early 2025 and scored 12 times in 17 second division appearances before being sold to Eintracht Frankfurt in January 2026.

On Monday, Dortmund also said that midfielder Felix Nmecha will be absent for «several weeks» due to a knee injury, which will also prevent him from attending Germany’s upcoming friendlies against Switzerland and Ghana ahead of the World Cup.

Published on March 23, 2026