Can Dortmund Cope Without Hummels, Gundogan and Mkhitaryan?
Borussia Dortmund are without a doubt one of the best clubs not only in Germany but in the whole world.
In the 90s, Dortmund possessed few of the greats of German football such as Stefan Reuter, Matthias Sammer and Andreas Möller. They did not stop there, Borussia have since not only signed many world class players but have also produced them, Marco Reus and Mario Götze are the most notable examples. Yet, the North Rhine-Westphalia club failed to really dominate in the domestic and European competitions. Before Jurgen Klopp’s arrival, Borussia Dortmund have not won a major trophy since the 2001-02 Bundesliga title, and even after Klopp’s 2011-12 league triumph, Dortmund have only played second fiddle to the perhaps more known Bayern Munich.
Of course, excluding Dortmund’s 2014-15 league slip up when they finished in miserable 7th position, the 8 time German champions have consistently finished 2nd in the league; behind Bayern Munich every time.
Why can’t Dortmund get to the top? Why are they consistently Germany’s second top club?
The club is well-off, the fan-base is loyal, the club is popular, the stadium is huge, what can the problem be? The main problem Borussia Dortmund have in the modern era is that they tend to sell their star players. It happened before with Sahin, Kagawa, Gotze, Lewandowski, and continued this summer with captain Mats Hummels, midfielder Ilkay Gundogan and attacker Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
In the wake of these departures, Borussia Dortmund have brought in 8 players this summer. Do these acquisitions have what it takes to not only replace the key men that left but also to spring Dortmund into a dominant force?
BORUSSIA DORTMUND SIGNINGS SUMMER 2016
MARC BARTRA
The 25-year-old centre-back was signed by Borussia Dortmund for £6.8m from FC Barcelona where he spent 14 years but during which he only played in 59 first-team league games. Bartra is not the tallest of centre-backs, standing at only 6 feet but he often wins aerial duels, however he may be caught out by pacey strikers like we’ve seen in the 2014 Copa Del Rey Final where Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale embarrassed the Spanish defender by completely outpacing him. What Marc lacks in height and pace, he makes up in passing and tackling; brought up in the Barca style, Marc knows when and how to pick out a pass and is very useful in passing out from the back. Last season, even though he only started 4 La Liga games, Marc averaged 0.8 tackles, 1.1 interceptions and 0.6 blocks a game. Compared to Hummels’ 2 tackles, 2.5 interceptions and 0.2 blocks a game it may seem weak but bear in mind that Bartra has played in 17 less games than the former Dortmund captain.
RAPHAEL GUERREIRO
Merely 3 years ago, Andre Schurrle was one of Germany’s biggest talents and was quickly snapped up by Chelsea, however since then the 25-year-old has not always shown his best side, nonetheless he got a new opportunity after sealing a £25.5m move from Wolfsburg to Borussia Dortmund to try and replace United-bound Mkhitaryan. Schurrle is lightning quick, is a very good finisher and has some exquisite shots and has scored 10 times last season for Wolfsburg. Can he replicate his 2012-13 performances?
MARIO GOTZE
The prodigal son returns. After leaving Borussia Dortmund in 2013, Mario Gotze returns to the club he started his career with after 3 seasons with rivals Bayern Munich where not everything worked out as he had hoped. The 24-year-old’s Bayern career was shadowed by injuries and only started 11 league games in the 2015-16 season. New Bayern Munich manager Carlo Ancelotti admitted earlier in the summer transfer window that there may not be space for Gotze in his plans and with Dortmund’s namely departures it was match made in heaven. Old friends re-united, can Borussia Dortmund’s form me reignited?