After more than 20 years, Dortmund's president steps down
After an illustrious career, 75-year-old President Dr. Reinhard Rauball will no longer lead the club starting in November of 2022.
Dr. Reinhard Rauball has been the president of Borussia Dortmund on three seperate occasions. He served from 1979 to 1982, where he became the youngest president of a Bundesliga club at just 32-years-old. He retook the office from 1984 to 1986 and finally from 2004 until the present.
The early 2000s were a dangerous time at Dortmund, who fell more than €100 million in debt. Things were so bad that they were even forced to take a loan from arch-rivals Bayern Munich. Dr. Rauball was brought back to steer the club through the crisis and has successfully led Dortmund ever since. In just a couple of months, he's officially stepping down from the role.
Dr. Rauball stated that, "At every minute of my term in office, I have been proud to be president of this great club. For 23 years, I filled this office with a lot of passion. Borussia Dortmund with all the departments and facets of our association has always been a formative part of my life, it is still and always will be. It fills me with great pleasure that I had the honor three times to serve as president of my Borussia."
In large part thanks to Dr Rauball, Dortmund have become one the largest clubs in the country with over 160,000 members. Dr. Rauball's deputy, Dr. Reinhold Lunow, is likely to become the next president.