Electric Dortmund perfectly poised to resume title charge
The German Bundesliga restarts this weekend following its’ month long winter break. The 2018/19 season has raised many eyebrows because there is a competitive title race for the first time in a long while.
Borussia Dortmund were the Herbsmeister(winter champions) for the first time in 7 years last month, and stand perfectly poised to break Bayern München’s monopoly of the league title which began in 2013.
Dortmund coach Lucien Favre has done a remarkable job in the 7 months he’s been at the helm, re-energizing and reorganizing BVB to play their best football since their glory days under Jürgen Klopp.
The Swiss tactician typically lines his side up in a 4–2–3–1 formation based around an offensively-focused style of play.
1. The Defence
Dortmund are a team who play out from the back, both Zagadou and Akanji are competent passers of the ball and usually excel at bringing the ball forward with a pass between the lines or the occasional dribble.
Furthermore, one of the two midfield pivots will drop deep and join the defensive line to create extra passing options. Dortmund are patient and prioritize short passing when they have possession of the ball in their own half.
2. The Midfield
Dortmund’s usual double midfield pivot of Delaney and Witsel tend to sit quite deep, primarily occupying the space between the opponent’s midfield and defensive lines.
On the ball, their job is to shuttle the ball as quickly as possible from the defenders to the forwards. Off the ball, they prioritize blocking their opponents’ passing lanes to help the team achieve an effective counter press.
3. The Attack
This is where the black and yellows truly shine, they have a wide array of players with plenty of pace and creativity to choose from. On the flanks, players like Pulisic, Sancho, Wolf and Bruun Larsen confound the opposition with skillful dribbling and dynamic runs off the ball.
Up front, Phillipp usually starts but Dortmund’s trump card is Paco Alcácer who is currently joint-top scorer in the league with 12 goals, most of which have been scored as a substitute.
Most of Dortmund’s chance creation is concentrated in the wide or half spaces in their opponents defensive third where they primarily employ overloads that break their opponents defensive lines time and time again.
4. The Captain
Marco Reus, who actually made his career breakthrough under Lucien Favre back at Borussia Mönchengladbach has been the X-factor in BVB’s title charge this season.
The versatile German is the heart of the team, leading by example with his direct dribbling and ceaseless supporting runs off the ball. Moreover, he has managed to avoid major injury so far this season, a rarity in his career.
At 29 years old Reus is at the peak of his powers, exemplified by his 11 goals and 8 assists so far in the league.
Bayern München beat Hoffenheim 3–1 on Friday to lay down the gauntlet for the second half of the season and cut the gap between them and Dortmund to just 3 points, albeit with BVB having a game in hand.
With the highest average stadium attendance in Europe, Dortmund can certainly count on the backing of their fans to help them finish what they started last August.
