Wolfsburg's Jakub "Kuba" Blaszczykowski is set for his first ever Bundesliga match against Borussia Dortmund, the club he represented from 2007 through to 2015.
Kuba, 30, had been one of the last survivors of the pre-Jurgen Klopp era when Thomas Tuchel took charge of Dortmund in the summer of 2015. However, the Poland international winger was sent on loan to Fiorentina and following a good European Championship for his country left BVB for Wolfsburg during the summer transfer window.
Three matches into his Wolfsburg career, Blaszczykowski has already worn the captain's armband in the goalless draw at Hoffenheim, where he played on the right wing instead of at right-back like in his previous performances for Die Wolfe.
"That's a position we also imagined for him," Dortmund coach Tuchel told his prematch news conference on Monday, adding that Blaszczykowski then decided to leave the club because he did not want to compete for a spot with fellow Poland international and friend Lukas Piszczek. "He opted for a move," Tuchel added.
However, earlier on Monday, Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke told the club's official TV channel that BVB will remain "forever thankful" for what Blaszczykowski, a key player when winning back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012, did for them, but "can't rescind the performance principle because of that."
Both Tuchel and Watzke were forced to react after BVB fans on Dortmund's Sudtribune complained about the way Blaszczykowski, a fan favourite, was shown out of the door at Borussia this summer.
"Lost your tact amid the internationalisation mania? Thank you Kuba and Neven," a banner -- also referring to the treatment of centre-back Neven Subotic -- on Europe's biggest standing terrace read prior to the 6-0 win against Darmstadt on Saturday.