Bundesliga football gets under way this weekend and Borussia Dortmund look poised to bounce back in style. After dispatching Chemnitz last weekend in the first round of the DFB-cup, the black and yellows boast an (almost) flawless preseason record that undoubtedly has restored their confidence and self-belief. Add new coach Thomas Tuchel to the mix, and BVB are just as unpredictable as they are a force to be reckoned with.
Transfers
Off-season 2015 has brought about the most disruptive summer break at the Westfalenstadion in at least seven years. The most obvious aspect of the near-complete revamp have been the decisions made on players exiting and arriving. Ciro Immobile has fled on loan, Mitch Langerak asked for permission to leave for VfB Stuttgart, Milos Jojic was sold to Cologne and long time skipper Sebastian Kehl has retired. It is rumoured that either Moritz Leitner or Kevin Grosskreutz will soon follow suit. In came young Swiss goalkeeper Roman Buerki, midfielders Gonzalo Castro and Julian Weigl, plus returning loanee Jonas Hofmann.
Manager
Arguably the most far-reaching change, however, occured on the bench, in that coach Thomas Tuchel and his team have taken the reigns at Dortmund, starting to tweak their signature brand of football. Changes are visible already, with BVB shifting away from Juergen Klopp’s flat-out counter-pressing system to a more possession-based approach, which builds on quick passes and dominance.
But who will Tuchel trust to execute it best when it counts?
The team of 2015/16
Goalkeeper – Roman Weidenfeller vs Roman Buerki
New signing Buerki has quickly adapted to the surroundings of Dortmund and staked a claim regarding the number one position in goal. In fact, the odds seem in favour of the 24-year-old, who enjoyed a good performance against Chemnitz this weekend and played his part in keeping the East Germans from scoring. It seems clear that he has been brought in to eventually succeed Weidenfeller, but evidence starts to stack up that the swap will take place rather sooner than later. One way or another, a quality goalkeeper will get the call on Saturday and Dortmund find themselves in a desirable position here, with the two fighting for the spot and pushing each other to their maximum abilities.
Defence – Marcel Schmelzer, Mats Hummels, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Lukas Piszczek
Challengers – Neven Subotic, Matthias Ginter, Jeremy Dudziak, Erik Durm
Schmelzer and Piszczek so far have been given the most game time on the wings, while Hummels and Sokratis have featured as centre-halfs in the early official matches.
It therefore appears these four will constitute Tuchel’s back four when the league kicks-off, which is not to say that it will be impossible for the challengers to break into that defensive line. Both defence and midfield departments are dripping with quality and exemplify the incredible depth this year’s Dortmund side has to show. Subotic has been a central pillar for years and is likely to give Sokratis a run for his money once back to his best game. Youngster Durm, just as Ginter and Dudziak, has all the necessary toold needed to become the regular right or left-back. Take into account that versatile players like Sven Bender can help out in defence if necessary, and it is without a question a stellar defensive line for Dortmund, one that is rich in quality and looks promising for years to come.
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Midfield
Defensive-midfield – Ilkay Guendogan, Julian Weigl
Attacking-midfield – Marco Reus, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Jonas Hofmann
Challengers – Shinji Kagawa, Kevin Kampl, Gonzalo Castro, Sven Bender, Nuri Sahin, Oliver Kirch, Jakub Blasczcykowski, Moritz Leitner, Kevin Grosskreutz
Talk about depth – Borussia’s midfield in plain terms looks unparalleled. And that is in respect of both quantity and quality. The players that have made the biggest waves thus far are Guendogan, next to surprise signing Weigl, who is still fairly inexperienced but quickly won over the coach thanks to a more fluent and (to some) intelligent style of play than the likes of Bender. In front of the pair Tuchel deploys three versatile attacking-midfielders, who are fast-paced, skilled and able to rotate among each other at will in order to cause confusion in the opponent’s half.
At this point the three players are shaping up to be Reus, Mkhitaryan and Hofmann. Mkhitaryan and Reus are regulars that were to be expected in the line-up, which cannot be said about Hofmann. The returnee from Mainz is on the verge of edging out expensive competition like Kagawa or Kampl, mostly due to the more straightforward play he brings to the table. Tuchel seems to greatly value that trait. Yet it is somewhat outlandish to picture Hofmann become a regular throughout the season in the face of star players like Kagawa, Blasczczykowski, Kampl and new signing Castro, all itching to claim a spot in the starting XI.
Striker – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Challengers – Adrian Ramos, Marvin Duksch
The spearhead of BVB’s attacking looks to be the only position on the pitch that is pretty much undisputed for now. Aubameyang, who recently committed to Borussia Dortmund until 2020, will go into the season with a sizeable head start and be the go-to striker in the near future. His pace is unmatched in the Bundesliga (and probably all of Europe) and he continues to deliver the goals on a consistent basis. On top of it all he exhibits great chemistry with Reus and Mkhitaryan. Ramos is going to have a hard time trying to push him off the first choice mantle.
The bottom line is that BVB fans are guaranteed one exciting season. It is not far fetched to argue that Dortmund has the legs and expertise to return to old strength. What that exactly means though, only time can tell.
Tuchel has explicated repeatedly that he wants the players to be able to showcase their quality on the pitch. If it comes off, Dortmund will be able to challenge for the title in all three competitions.
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