Was injured for a bit, is on the bench right now and actually needs to step it to return into the starting XI.
Weakest starter by quite some distance this season.
Borussia Dortmund 15/16
- Thread starter Balu
- Start date
Was injured for a bit, is on the bench right now and actually needs to step it to return into the starting XI.
Weakest starter by quite some distance this season.
Weigl is fecking amazing. The way he won the ball and instantly found the right pass to initiate the move that led to the goal, great stuff. And to think he is only 19 years old.
More amazing he cost €2.5M and six games later he´s probably worth €25M. Football.
Actually he looks very good going forward. Defending it has been Odds, Ingolstadt and Odds again. He hasn´t shown anything there yet.
one can see weigl and gündogan keeping eye-contact, constantly, while setting up every single attack from the depth of the pitch. it's amazing.
Well yeah but that was what's surprising me. Usually if you have a CB he will do an okay FB defensively but most of the time doesn't contribute much forward but he seems to be the other way around for some reason.
Weigl seems to be a very attentive lad anyways. He always seems to be very aware of what the other players around him are doing. He really seems to have a great game awareness, that's priceless for a midfielder.
roman you had two jobs.
Eh, Ginter was hardly challenged defensively so far as RB, so we actually don´t know how he does in that aspect. He certainly has the necessary skill set with good positional awareness and strong tackling abilities. Ginter´s problem for us had not much to do with his skills, but his mental strength. He always seemed like a boy at a men´s club.
Because of that I think this position suits him well at the moment. The defensive responsibility is less there than in the center, because mistakes are mostly less punishing and devastating on the wing. He simply seems less burdened at the moment.
So Odds has in both legs scored with every shot they brought on goal? 
So Odds has in both legs scored with every shot they brought on goal?
48-7 shots over both legs so far. Meaning Dortmund would have scored 31 or 32 if they had the same effiency as Odd.
Kicker reporting Kampl might be headed to Leverkusen for €11M- Dortmund must be playing so well that a player, who has contributed nothing to it has increased his market value by €4M. Brilliant deal for Dortmund if true. Guess Kuba would stay in that case.
Is there actually a general Euro League on here? I´m mean it´s nice that so many people chose to watch us tonight, but isn´t Southampton playing as well? You would think that at least some would watch that over a game of us when the fixture was already decided...
I'm watching Saints and they're absolutely dogshite. Some of these players they've bought are genuinely awful. Romeu is turd and Martina is worse than Tony V at right back. They'll be in midtable/fighting relegation this season methinks.
I don't think there is a thread open for the qualification round. Probably as soon as the group stage starts though.
We will actually sell him with a small deficit, but Kampl did not really fit Tuchel´s idea of playing. He lacks too much in terms of decision making for that work and was definitively a Klopp transfer.
There is actually a lot of chatter that Tuchel would like to add a left footed offensive midfielder in this transfer window. The name of a certain Belgian gets dropped a lot
, as unrealistic as such a transfer would be.Saints out before the group stage just like West Ham. Another English team letting the Premier League down.
We will actually sell him with a small deficit, but Kampl did not really fit Tuchel´s idea of playing. He lacks too much in terms of decision making for that work and was definitively a Klopp transfer.
There is actually a lot of chatter that Tuchel would like to add a left footed offensive midfielder in this transfer window. The name of a certain Belgian gets dropped a lot
That won't happen as long as there aren't at least one new attacker coming in and at it doesn't look likely.
#freeadnan
#SellusReus
It won´t happen no matter what happens the next few days, it is senseless paper talk and nothing more.
United will never sell Januzaj to us, certainly not for a price we would deem in any way reasonable.
A loan deal without a clause would not make sense for any party in this deal either.
We are simply too big to develop players for the elite, Januzaj would not get much more game time with us than with United and United itself plans with him and the things he can add to their play.
My favourite signing right now would be Kostic, who wants to leave Stuttgart and would fit the profile of what Tuchel wants extremely well.
good lord that would be a fantastic signing, kostic is oozing class imho.
7 matches, 8 goals, 6 assists.
Not bad.
most of those against second to third tier opponents, I know..
Not bad.
most of those against second to third tier opponents, I know..
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Well, its certainly comforting seeing your offense firing on all cylinders when the teams star player has not even hit personal top form, yet.
Imagining the current four starters all at their peak strength is just
It's been a joy watching Dortmund so far this season they seem to have put last season behind them and the atmosphere at the Signal Iduna Park is simply fantastic as always .
after yesterdays's move of kevin kampl to leverkusen, we've now seen 20-year-old LW/LB talent jeremy dudziak signing with 2nd-bundesliga team st. pauli from hamburg. a clause that would allow dortmund to buy him back has been included though.
tuchel continues forming the squad towards his vision. seems like the acquisition of LB park joo-ho from tuchel's former club mainz is a done deal, too.
btw, is park in any way versatile, or a genuine left-back?
tuchel continues forming the squad towards his vision. seems like the acquisition of LB park joo-ho from tuchel's former club mainz is a done deal, too.
btw, is park in any way versatile, or a genuine left-back?
He can play also DM, but probably not the kind we need in Tuchel´s system (single anchor). I don´t expect him to play anything different than LB.
so is he any good? i mean he must be certain to be schmelzer's back-up and no more for the moment, as the latter has been showing remarkable form lately. i for one can't really recall having seen much of park though, tbh.
also what does that mean for lil' erik? he's so far been hampered by his injury, and seems to be losing out in the alreadly ongoing race for minutes on the pitch, which is also due to ginter's quick turn into a genuine RB option, if not even tuchel's first choice over either piszczek or durm. the left side now seems to be set up with the pairing of schmelzer and park.
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Well, Tuchel rates him highly and knows him very well. He was starting LB for Mainz basically every time he was fit in the last two seasons and is a overall very solid player. He also signs his probably last big contract with us and should be alright with being back up. One of the best choices for his role we could have found in the Bundesliga IMO.
As for Erik Durm, I´m pretty certain he is seen as RB by Tuchel, because as far as I know he has never played fullbacks in official matches with opposite dominant feet. We should also not go overboard regarding Ginter as of right now. He has now shown that he can contribute quite a bit going forward, but needs to be challenged defensively more to really make a judgement about his ability to start there. In theory he should have all the tools for that, but you never know. If anything I could see Piscu as the big loser here, because he simply not on his old level before the injuries and has fallen off quite a lot compared to the rest of the starting XI.
I have barely watched German football in 2015 (when it used to be my favourite to watch, after the PL & La Liga), but from the little I have watched, I am liking the look of Tuchel's BVB side. Great football being played, and the speed at which Reus, Miki & Auba (the latter two of which have never really convinced me, prior to recently) go forward with is frightening. It's the most gung-ho, no ****s given football i've seen from a top club since us in 06/07.
Is there a resident BVB fan that can tell me how Kuba is doing? I loved watching him around 2012, when he was excellent, but he is now gradually going off the radar. I know some people expected him to leave BVB, but now that Kampl is gone, is he likely to stay? I'm curious to see what any BVB fans think of him - is he still seen as a potentially important player? What are the expectations of him this year?
Is there a resident BVB fan that can tell me how Kuba is doing? I loved watching him around 2012, when he was excellent, but he is now gradually going off the radar. I know some people expected him to leave BVB, but now that Kampl is gone, is he likely to stay? I'm curious to see what any BVB fans think of him - is he still seen as a potentially important player? What are the expectations of him this year?
Watched Dortmnd vs Hertha tonight, Tuchel really has the side reinvigorated and this kid Weigl plays like a seasoned pro as opposed to a 19 year old.
Maybe I am just seeing things but it seems like Gundogan has regained some of his engine that made him special. @Sphaero
Maybe I am just seeing things but it seems like Gundogan has regained some of his engine that made him special. @Sphaero
So, when Klopp stepped down, who would have thought that Hummels and Reus would stay, Gündogan and Aubamayang would extend their contracts, no key player would leave and on top of that they'd sign Januzaj? Oh and sit top of the table after 3 games?
That's some crazy turn-around after sitting bottom of the table at the beginning of the year and losing their iconic longterm manager.
That's some crazy turn-around after sitting bottom of the table at the beginning of the year and losing their iconic longterm manager.
dortmund's midfield department, at the end of the summer transfer window 2015:
sven bender
gonzalo castro
ilkay gündogan
jonas hofmann
adnan januzaj
shinji kagawa
moritz leitner
henrik mkhitaryan
marco reus
nuri sahin
julian weigl
that's just obscene.
sven bender
gonzalo castro
ilkay gündogan
jonas hofmann
adnan januzaj
shinji kagawa
moritz leitner
henrik mkhitaryan
marco reus
nuri sahin
julian weigl
that's just obscene.
In what way?
Their first choice attacking midfield, Mkhitaryan, Kagawa, Reus, looks really strong (at least with Mkhitaryan's and Kagawa's current form - Reus I believe is still isn't at his best yet), but behind that they fall off rather sharply.
Castro couldn't replicate his Leverkusen form yet, Hofmann (kind of a Müller light, since he looks quite average but seems to be able to compensate for it with football intelligence) is a good and very efficient sub imho, but individually not good enough to be a long term replacement, Januzaj is still your typical youngster with the lack of consistency that comes with it and he also has to adjust to a new league and coach, Tuchel might be the right guy to get immediate results from him, but to me it seems just as likely that Januzaj will be behind Hofmann.
At #8 it looks somewhat similar. Gündogan is looking better and better again, behind that they have Castro, who hasn't impressed yet and then comes who? Sahin isn't dynamic enough to be a great player here. Reus and Mkhitaryan could probably play that position, but then they'd be missing in their normal position.
The #6 is probably where their depth is the best. Weigl looks like a perfect fit and Sahin already impressed in a somewhat similar role. Only the Turk has been injured for ages now and afaik is making little progress.
Bender is simply too limited for the football Dortmund want to play now. I think he's a huge liability for their build up and I don't seem him starting any remotely important matches as long as they stick to their system/style and either Sahin or Weigl is available.
Leitner is just a sad story, looking more and more certainly like a wasted talent. Afaik Dortmund wanted to get rid of him this window, but for whatever reason a transfer didn't happen. Unless he undergoes some miraculous development I don't think he will play a lot of minutes (if any).
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Let´s be honest, this has more to do with our quality there in the starting offense than anything else. A lot of clubs with way more financial power than us have rarely more than one option who can replace the starters without a big drop in quality. I think we are more than prepared there as long as not two starters there pick up serious injuries.
Another point, which Tuchel clearly made when explaining the offloading of players in general was that he wanted to give academy players a higher chance to make it in the first team. This is also in tune with what CEO Watzke said today, that the focus on youth work and scouting is the best way to counteract the flood of money in England. It is also a logical statement to make if you have so much potential in the academy at the moment as we have. The class of 98 is quite frankly the most talented I have ever seen in our academy which is a blessing after a long drought there (with only few exceptions). At least half a dozen of them have the potential to have a realistic chance to make it into the squad of the first team in the future. They are currently training with the remainder of the first team during the International break under Tuchel so he should be able to take a good look at them. I would not be terribly surprised to see a teenager on the bench at the end of the season.
Speaking of offensive midfielders, our primary target of the summer Yarmolenko appearantly turned us, Everton and Liverpool down to join Barcelona in the Winter. If this is true then all I can say is well done to staying in the Ukraine for so long to hone his skills and then make the huge jump towards the team with the strongest frontline in the world, which have signed La Liga proven Arda Turan on the same position and promoted two highly rated offensive youngster from La Masia.
fair enough, and i second the notion that castro has, so far, been the most underwhelming addition and remains a piece of work, quite surprisingly - though i didn't really mean the players' current availability, form and fitness, but rather the assembled midfield department as a whole. what i see is an abundance of highly versatile players, so the depth of the squad lies, first and foremost, in its seemingly endless variability in formational and tactical tweaks, and to a lesser extent in its overall number of players. as to how much of a dangerous approach this can possibly turn out to be depends as well on unpredictable, external factors - from unforced injuries to lengthy bans or whatever - so i can see where the doubts on the squad's depth are coming from.
btw, i may not have been the only one too optimistic when it comes to the ongoing drama that is nuri sahin's prolongued (non-)recovery, which - if true for the time being - leaves us indeed very light on such a crucial position, with a 19-year-old, yet amazingly composed newcomer in julian weigl as our only genuine, tuchel-approved #6 - but then again: if we're complaining about sven bender and castro/gündogan as our 3rd and 4th options, plus another 5th and 6th option in two young german internationals who go by matthias ginter and moritz leitner - as useless and out of form as we may tend to think of the latter - then that squad looks obscenely good to me, as i can also do the same for every single midfield position:
#6: weigl, [sahin?], bender, castro, gündogan, ginter, park
CM: gündogan, castro, leitner, weigl, (kagawa, mkhi, januzaj)
AM: kagawa, reus, januzaj, mkhitaryan, castro, gündogan, leitner
RAM: reus/mkhitaryan, hofmann, (aubameyang, castro, leitner, piszczek, durm)
LAM: mkhitaryan/reus, januzaj, hofmann (ramos, castro, leitner, durm)
of course we'd probably be losing quite a bit of our current momentum if we had to miss out on two or more regulars of our so-far-shining offensive line, though i for one can't but feel like it'd need the absence of at least three or rather four midfield-rotation contenders to really get me worried about most of our matches - say if we were to miss out on two out of weigl/sahin/gündogan/castro AND two out of mkhitaryan/kagawa/reus/auba - though even in that case we could as well switch to a more stable formation than the usual 4141/442, like a 4231/442, thus allowing us to field a somewhat proper, decent first XI and scrape points - which is, by the way, exactly what tuchel excelled at during his time as manager of mainz, where he used to work with a similarly thin, though decidedly less talented squad which he was able to push beyond their suggested limits, and continuously so.
plus, and god beware, if in fact half of our midfield department were to be ruled out, we may even have to temporarily bench some of our upcoming youngsters like maruoka, gyau, passlack or burnic
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Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan are scoring for fun at the moment. Exciting football. Probably my second favourite club after United.
Poor Januzaj has only had 31 minutes so far, though. :/
There's only been one competitive game he could have played in though?
True that. Forgot he arrived after their first three games.
He is coming from United to a team where lightning quick attacking combinations are encouraged. Will take some adapting until he gets used to the pace and can make those intuitive decisions regarding runs and passes.
I thought Januzaj looked pretty good when he came on. He was brought on encouragingly early too. Kagawa and Ginter were both superb.