For the first time, Borussia Dortmund are entering a team in the DFL’s Virtual Bundesliga (VBL). The Black & Yellows will play their first fixture against VfL Bochum on Saturday.

Since the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) became an official competition of the German Football League (DFL) in 2022, entering a team into the competition is now one of the licence requirements for all Bundesliga clubs. When the 2023/24 season kicks off on 18/19 November, 35 of the 36 Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 clubs will be competing; only Union Berlin have not entered a team. But despite these changes, the philosophy underpinning eFootball remains the same. At BVB, starting in 2019/20, this has always centred around entertainment and interaction with the community. Now a competitive aspect is being added through participation in formal competitions. To put it simply: Dortmund are adding another string to their bow.

“It was important to us to grow our eFootball programme in several stages. Starting with building acceptance, reach and interest as well as the goal of engaging gaming fans,” explains Alexander Mühl, director of marketing and digitalisation – going on to add: “Now that we have succeeded in doing this, we feel ready to compete in the VBL while remaining true to our philosophy.”

A support team with ten members

The extended setup includes two content creators, Erné Embeli and Luisa Bergmann, who are largely responsible for entertaining and interacting with the community in the stream; two coaches, Stefan and Alex; and a young talent, Eleonora. Erné is the face of BVB eFootball and has been a permanent fixture for three years. He has a very high reach and profile in the German gaming and streaming scene, is responsible for the realisation of content days and activation for partners – and is very popular with the pros from the real-life pitch. Luisa has already been a pioneer with the first female footballers in BVB’s history. As a content creator, she combines the topics of women’s football, EA, streaming and youth in a likeable and authentic way. She has her own format with “Luisa trifft” (Luisa meets). Head coach Stefan Gajduk has a lot of experience, is very well connected in the community, socially engaged and great in front of the camera. He is also an ardent BVB fan, some call him a walking BVB encyclopaedia. His co-star Alex Steinmetz was himself a top-four player in Germany and player-coach at VfL Bochum. He still plays at pro level, is closely involved in operations and is responsible for matchday preparation and opponent analyses. Eleonora Limkou, on the other hand, is the future. The 14-year-old from Menden currently plays in the U17s and is set to be a permanent member of the VBL squad in two to three years’ time.

Five eFootballers in the squad

The five eFootballers in the squad – the ones with the gamepad in their hands – are Dennis, Alihan, Roee, Bradley and Lucas. They all come from different backgrounds, but are now together in Dortmund colours. Borussia unites.

Lucas Geerken, named after Lucas Barrios, lives in Berlin, is considered one of the strongest talents in Germany at the age of 15 and serves up a good mix of sport, entertainment and content. His reach on social media, particularly TikTok and Twitch, is growing rapidly. Bradley Destoop, on the other hand, is the top-ranked Belgian on the scene and is known under his gamertag “Die Borussen”. Last season was his first at elite level. He has attracted attention at the BVB online tournament Blackyellow Clash, among others, and also speaks four languages: Dutch/Flemish, French, English and German.

The Local Hero is Dennis “Denninho” Malcherczyk. Born in the Dortmund area of Hörde, where he went to school and played football for VfL. A true Dortmunder – and a true Black & Yellow. One of those whose father took him: first to the cup final in Berlin in 2008, and then to the South Stand, Block 14, when he was six years old. “Borussia is my life,” says Dennis, “it’s a special connection.” He has been an eFootball player at BVB for three years now and over the past year has been training as an office management assistant. He has been working in various departments throughout Borussia Dortmund, most recently commercial partnerships. “It’s exciting because it’s a completely different world,” he says. 

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As a young boy, he dreamed the same dream as so many boys from the city: to one day play football for Borussia Dortmund. “When it became clear that this wasn’t going to work out, I pursued my second goal: to become an eFootballer, a Borussia Dortmund eFootballer.” This dream has certainly come true.

Dennis started playing FIFA when he was 13, despite being advised against it by a teacher, as he recalls. He played small tournaments – and quickly won them. He soon started winning prizes, 50 euros, and the pride of his parents. When the Weekend League was introduced with FIFA 17, Dennis started with a 17-23 record. By the end of the year, however, it was 38-2 – Dennis from Hörde had made it into the top 100 in Germany. This was the culmination of a lot of hard work.

eFootball is a bit like pro football: you might be a good player, but that doesn’t mean you’re good enough to play for Borussia Dortmund. It all comes down to the small but subtle differences. “A lot of people have the potential, but not everyone puts in the same amount of effort. If two eSports players are at an 80 percent level, the one who works harder will always come out on top,” says Dennis – and explains: “Putting in a lot of hours of gaming is the key to success, especially at the beginning, so you have to find out what works – and what doesn’t. In the end, however, it’s the mental aspect that counts most. Who keeps their cool when the pressure is on? Who can stay composed in front of goal when the score is 0-0 in the 90th minute? It’s like in real football: Messi has more success than a second division player.”

Start with local players and/or BVB fans 

Participating in the VBL for the first time is another milestone for Dennis on his Dortmund journey. “It means the competitive aspect has become more significant, which is what I had always hoped for. We still have two strong content creators in Erné and Luisa. But the other five of us can now concentrate more on playing and competing at a professional level.”

The fourth of the five eFootballers is Alihan Kösecik; current Dortmund city champion in 1v1 and 2v2 as well as a successful participant in the Blackyellow Clash and Signal Iduna Cup. “When I’m not playing on the console, I like to do sports.” Or to the technical university, where the youngster from Castrop-Rauxel is also studying economics. In order to juggle everything, he gets up at 8 a.m. and pays attention to his fitness and diet. “Because only those who are physically fit won’t get a headache on the console.”

That’s something Ali had to learn. “I realised that when I was playing, that my body wasn’t feeling great. Since I changed my diet, started eating better and doing sport, I feel good and strong. My brain can perform better over a longer period of time.”

He didn’t have this same awareness in his younger days. As a schoolboy, he took part in small tournaments, with 20 euros prize money. “That was a lot of money for a schoolboy.” Ali won it, spent it the next day at school, won it again, spent it again. He thought it could have gone on like that. “I thought I could finance my life that way.” Today he knows that he can do a lot more than just that. Encouragement from others has had a big role to play in his development. Last but not least, being selected by BVB’s scouting department has also given his confidence a big boost: “Now I’m no longer afraid of going up against the big names.”

The hobby gamer, who was told that eSports would never work out, has become a pro. He may lack some experience, but he has great potential. And he is ready for anything: he played for three days straight after the release of EA Sports FC 24. What preseason is to a professional footballer, the release of a test version is to an eFootballer. On the basis of this hard graft, Ali is looking ahead to the season with confidence: “We can achieve great things in the VBL. We have a strong squad.”

Roee Feldman to captain the side

The strongest player in the squad, on paper at least, is Roee Feldman. He only started playing FIFA when he was 16. Now he is 21, a current European champion, one of the best in the world – and modest: “The important thing is that we have everyone here: Dennis, Ali, Bradley and Lucas. We’ll need them all to compete at a high level.”

Roee himself is not from Dortmund. He moved to the city to join BVB. He came all alone: without his parents, without his little brother Ron, who is a hugely promising player on the real-life pitch, without a girlfriend and without a dog. Why? “Because you can’t say no when a world-class club like Borussia Dortmund come calling.” Above all, Roee admires the BVB fans. “They support their club no matter what. I saw the pictures from the last matchday when the team narrowly failed to win the title – it was really impressive. Through all their sadness, they showed their love for the club and the players. Incredible!”

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Roee, who has been one of the world’s top players over the last five years and has a large number of followers, is “happy to now be a part of Borussia Dortmund”. The journey to get here was a long one, involving several phone calls and a visit to Dortmund and the stadium. That may seem like a small detail, but it was an important factor. “You only understand the power of the Yellow Wall when you’ve experienced it yourself in the stadium.” It seems the South Stand is not just a draw for footballers, but also for eFootballers.

“We don’t feel any pressure from the club or the coaches, but we do feel the pressure we put on ourselves. It’s positive. We know that we represent a big club, so we know what is expected of us,” says Roee, who will lead the team as captain. He then explains: “Our first goal is to finish in the top eight in our division and qualify for the final round. That’s what we’re here for.”

The VBL will be contested for the first time in the FIFA successor EA Sports FC 24, which was released in September. The game is played in Ultimate Team mode, which allows teams to be made up of players from all Bundesliga clubs. The final weekend will take place on 23/24 March 2024, when a new German champion will be crowned: title holders Leipzig won the championship trophy for the second time in a row in May 2023. Captain Roee would like to change that: “I can’t wait to represent Borussia Dortmund in the VBL. And I hope that one day we’ll come out at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK – with the Virtual Bundesliga trophy in tow.” Game on.

Text: Nils Hotze
Photos: Hendrik Deckers 

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