Every season there are teams who surprise everyone. Either by punching above their weight, by their tactical creativity or their brilliant season so far. The team I will cover today is German side Borussia Dortmund.They are top of the Bundesliga, played 18 won 15, drawn 1 and lost two and are currently 12 points ahead of their nearest rivals. These facts in themselves should show Dortmunds quality. Why I like them is not because where they are but how they've got there.
Finishing fifth in the Bundesliga last season was considered an excellent finish and nobody expected them to do anything other than fall out of the top 6 after an uneventful summer with regards to transfers. The "Black and Yellows" have surpassed all expectations this season with their explosive start to the season.
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| Jurgen Klopp celebrates with young star Nuri Sahin |
Under relatively young manager Jurgen Klopp not have they only played their attractive attacking brand of football from last season. they have now added defensive solidarity to their assets this season. They remind me of Barcelona with their high defensive line, with this the ensure the game is played in the opponents half and the opponents have large amounts of space to cover on counter-attacks. But its all well and good playing with a high line but this needs to be implemented with pressing, this sides passing described by respected German football journalist Raphael Honigstein who said "Borussia under Jürgen Klopp are to space what Takeru Kobayashi is to hot dogs: they eat it up until the opposition is blue on the face and going down with cramps." So far this season they have conceded 11 goals in 18 games.
The thing is any team with a group of players with a high work rate can implement these tactics but what makes this seasons side special is their creativity and attacking play. When they attack they do it with reckless abandon with both full backs storm forward to add width to their attacks. With the energetic holding midfielder Sven Bender covering midfielder Nuri Sahin and playmaker Shinji Kagawa have license to get get forward. Sahin has been attracting attention from major European clubs with his technical ability and creativity and Kagawa has been described as the "Jewel in Borussia Dortmunds crown". The 21 year old Japanese star has played 17 games scoring 8 goals so far in his first season in Europe. Whats amazing about him is he was signed for €350,000 (£294,000) from the J-League new boys Cereza Osaka.
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| Shinji Kagawa (left) celebrates with Mario Gotze (right) |
To support Kagawa in his role as the playmaker they have youngster Kevin Großkreutz on the right and wunderkid Mario Gotze on the left hand side. Großkreutz is a full international for Germany and has scored 6 goals in 18 appearances so far this season. Gotze is the one who has really caught everyones attention, following an excellent performance against rivals Bayer Leverkusen he was described as "the first ever Bundesliga footballer substituted for being too good in a game." Yes that's how good he was in it. When describing his performance further against Leverkusen in the Guardian Honigstein said "Götze, buoyed by his team's dominance, played himself into a kind of dream-like state where every flick and turn was coming off."
Playing in front if this attacking duo is Paraguayan centre forward Lucas Barrios who has scored 8 goals in 16 league appearances. He is known for his work rate as much as his goal scoring records which compliments the pressing style the Klopp likes his team to play and has recently been linked with a move to Real Madrid.
This side has been receiving plaudits from the German media as well as their opponents for their style of play. I feel they don't receive attention from around Europe because they aren't in the Champions League. But in Germany one media outlet has said that "as a group, especially, they seem to possess a might and inner light that could take them into the European top level." Lets hope this is the case, as it would be really be a real pleasure to see a side as progressive as Jurgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund playing at the highest level.
