Thomas Tuchel’s revolutionised Borussia Dortmund squad sit in first spot on the Bundesliga ladder following a thundering 4-0 win over FC Ingolstadt.
Dortmund kept their cool after a dominant but wasteful first-half away in Ingolstadt, breaking the deadlock shortly after restart and comfortably seeing off their Bavarian opposition from thereon. A look at the table and, more crucially their form, leaves the new coach, supporters and team overjoyed.
The motor of success – last year’s letdowns return to form
A player’s individual form and whether to credit or blame the coach in charge for such most of the time is a flimsy discussion to have. Is it reasonable to hold Juergen Klopp responsible for the fact that leaders and creatives like Mats Hummels, Ilkay Guendogan or Henrikh Mkhitaryan all grappled with subpar performances last year? Probably not. And yet it will not have escaped anyone’s notice that whatever new coach Thomas Tuchel has done with his boys has worked wonders.
Take Marcel Schmelzer’s complete transformation since Tuchel picked up the sceptre, after looking worryingly beaten-down and intimidated for most parts of last season. Guendogan finally seems to have returned to his stride of 2013, before a back injury began to beleaguer him for what must be an excruciatingly long period for a professional athlete. The Germany international opted for some tantalysing runs against Ingolstadt that reminded everyone of the ingenious player he used to be before injury hit. Hummels too is radiating confidence and determination; the new skipper’s body language is at last in step with his job on the park. And then there is the case of Mkhitaryan, which does not need further digressions thanks to countless sport columns having heaped praise on him for weeks now.
Matthias Ginter takes his chance
21-year-old Matthias Ginter, who was part of the World Cup winning Germany side in Brazil, was perhaps a little surprisingly called up to fill the right-back void as the first choice players (Erik Durm and Lukasz Piszczek) are still recovering from injury. It is safe to say that Ginter, who is traditionally wired to play in more central roles on the pitch, seized the moment and put in a performance that at any rate earned him another shot in the upcoming Europa League match. Since his arrival in Dortmund a year ago, the potential talent has never been been subject to debate. Nevertheless, he struggled to get a foot in the door, partly due to uninspired performances when given the chance but largely simply by reason of what occured that year. Somewhat like much the scorned Ciro Immobile, Ginter has been a victim of the Dortmund downward spiral, and Klopp’s tunnel vision when things turned ugly.
Back in the present, Ginter scored a beautiful opener against Ingolstadt, boasting the kind of level-headedness in front of goal that BVB’s attackers are still lacking. He outran and outmuscled his opponents, kept his head up and generally demonstrated he could be relied on at any time. The youngster could be on the verge of his breakthrough at the Westfalenstadion.
This early, BVB are a frighteningly well-oiled machine
The 2015-16 season is still in its infancy, and most Bundesliga sides are taking baby steps to get to their desired capacities in a sustained manner.
Then there is Dortmund. What looked to be a painful chore (the Europa League qualification rounds) at first appears to have given them a sizeable head start as compared with their domestic oppotision. Tuchel and the team clicked months ago, now everything is seemingly falling into place on the pitch. BVB kept a lid on Ingolstadt for 90 minutes, while they also should have scored many more goals. It was a display reminiscent of the Gladbach dismantling in terms of their attacking power.
Players and fans alike must not get carried away too fast, however, it is legitimate to theorise which Bundesliga side right now looks strong enough to trouble Munich at the top. Matchday 3 sees Hertha Berlin travel to Westfalenstadion on Sunday and it is hard to imagine Dortmund squandering the chance to make it three in-a-row.
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