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The year 2021 has so far been that of Marwin Hitz.

It's going well for him.

On January 10th, Joséphine Marie was born, the third child of the Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper.

In addition to his personal luck, there was also professional success: on January 30, the 33-year-old Swiss made the BVB starting line-up - and since then he has stayed between the posts.

Then, a few weeks later, he extended his expiring contract until 2023. So the Hitz family has planning security.

Since last weekend at the latest, the change of power in goal has taken place at BVB.

On Tuesday, when the second leg in the round of 16 against Sevilla FC is due (9 p.m., in the WELT live ticker), there will be no more discussions about who will be in goal.

At first it looked as if Hitz was just supposed to be the placeholder for Roman Bürki, but the pecking order has now changed for the two Swiss keepers.

The 30-year-old Bürki, who has been with the club since 2015 and has been number one since then, has long since healed his shoulder injury.

Extra praise for Hitz from Terzic: "Plays because he's good"

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Bürki would have been able to play again last Tuesday, when Dortmund played in the DFB Cup in Mönchengladbach (1-0), and on Saturday at 2: 4 in Munich - but still only sat on the bench.

BVB coach Edin Terzic continued to build on the 33-year-old Hitz.

He will probably do the same against Sevilla, in what is perhaps the most important game of the year.

Dahoud is now a regular too

"Marwin Hitz has a good rhythm and deserves to play," Terzic said recently.

Although the coach avoided wanting to commit himself permanently, he is convinced of the current distribution of roles.

“We want to create a performance culture, we want to reward good performance.

We will always keep that open, ”he explained.

The decisive factor is “that both goalkeepers are healthy again.

Both of them know where they stand and we can decide that week after week. "

Terzic has sparked a new dynamic in the three months in which he is head coach at BVB: He has changed the style of play and - at least in part - also the hierarchies within the squad.

The leading players are the old ones: Mats Hummels, Emre Can and Marco Reus set the direction on the pitch.

This was also the case under Lucien Favre.

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But it is also noticeable that Mahmoud Dahoud, who was more of a stopgap under Favre, has played his way into the team over the past few weeks.

The goalkeeper change is another piece of the puzzle in the effort to create a new dynamic - even if the idea of ​​making Hitz number one is not new.

Terzic has the support of the club

Favre had already made the attempt - however, he had communicated it unhappily and thus also caused confusion within the club.

In October, he took an injury from Bürki as an opportunity to let Hitz play.

Even after Bürki's recovery, Favre Hitz left the goal at the Champions League opener at Lazio Rome.

Edin Terzic has established a new hierarchy at BVB

Source: AFP / INA FASSBENDER

When asked if Hitz was now permanently number one, Favre evaded.

Then he switched back, put Bürki up again - but avoided making a clear commitment to him.

This particularly annoyed Michael Zorc.

"Roman has been our number one in the last few years and from my point of view there are not many reasons to change anything," said the sports director.

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This time it's different.

Terzic can be sure of the support in the club.

At BVB they are dissatisfied with Bürki's development: Stable phases in which he saved many points for the team with his strong reflexes and strengths in one-on-one, were followed again and again in which he made mistakes, especially after balls were inactive undermined.

Nonetheless, Zorc Bürki was the main support for a long time.

BVB wave additional millions

Last June, his contract, which ran until 2021, was prematurely extended by two years to 2023.

This should take the pressure off him.

But Bürki did not stabilize in the current season either.

The way back to the team can only lead through poor performance from Hitz, with whom Bürki maintains a friendly relationship.

How things will continue in the Dortmund gate in the coming season is open.

There are indications that BVB is looking for a new goalkeeper.

Peter Gulacsi from RB Leipzig and André Onana from Ajax Amsterdam are traded.

How much leeway the Dortmund team has when it comes to restructuring the team depends on whether they can qualify for the Champions League again - and whether the club can generate additional income through further successes.

In the DFB Cup, there could even be a real chance for the title if BVB were to take the Holstein Kiel hurdle in the semi-finals.

In the Champions League, after the 3-2 first leg win in Seville, there are also good chances of making it to the quarter-finals.

For this alone, the club could collect an extra 10.5 million euros.