Kehl to succeed Zorc as Dortmund sporting director

Kehl made 362 appearances for Dortmund as a player and lifted the Bundesliga title in 2001/02, 2010/11 and 2011/12, having played a significant role in one of the club's most successful periods.

The 41-year-old also won the DFB Cup in 2012 and represented Germany 31 times, scoring twice for his country.

Now, Kehl will begin preparations to step into the formidable shoes of Zorc after signing a new contract as the famed sporting director's successor until 30 June 2025.

"I have felt very closely connected to this great club for almost 20 years now and am proud to be given the opportunity to shape the sporting future of Borussia Dortmund in a position of responsibility starting from 2022," said Kehl.

"As a sporting director, creating the conditions for BVB to continue being successful in the future is both a challenge and an obligation for me."

Zorc has been responsible for bringing some of the biggest names in Dortmund's history to the club and has spent the best part of 43 years at the Signal Iduna Park since joining the youth academy at 15.

He featured 463 times in black and yellow himself, and its under Zorc's tenure that the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Shinji Kagawa, and more recently Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho have all arrived in Dortmund.

"The working relationship between Sebastian Kehl and myself has been shaped by great trust from day one," added Zorc.

"Sebastian has become gradually involved in all the relevant fields of a sporting director. I greatly value his work. The fact that the management has now decided to make him my successor in the summer of 2022 is, in my view, a sensible and logical decision. I'm already looking forward to working together in my final year as BVB's sporting director."