New Borussia Dortmund president determined to 'nurture' Bundesliga side's traditions

The BVB ranks as one of the globe's largets sports clubs, with over 168,000 members, and Lunow is determined to maintain the Bundesliga side's high standards, while also ambitiously pushing for even greater success on the pitch.

Lunow did, however, emphasise the importance of ensuring that ambition doesn't undermine the club's social and fiscal responsibilities.

"We must value and nurture our tradition," said Lunow, as quoted by the official BVB website.

"We all want Borussia Dortmund to be financially successful in order to increase our chances of sporting success, but there are red lines that must not be crossed in the process.

"The sporting or economic development of Borussia Dortmund must not come at the expense of our values or our identity."

The 69-year-old also went on to talk about Dortmund's wider social responsibilities in terms of upholding the right values as an institution.

"You fall in love with a club as a child, and that love lasts a lifetime," he added.

"This is the reason for football's great appeal - across all social classes.

"However, this results in a great obligation for us, for Borussia Dortmund, to assume social responsibility in order to work towards upholding values such as human rights, tolerance, diversity, inclusion, democracy and sustainability."