Borussia Dortmund defence setting the gold standard in the German Bundesliga
It’s an old football saying that while forwards win matches, defences win titles. This can most certainly be applied to the newly-crowned Bundesliga champions, Borussia Dortmund.
Without a shadow of a doubt, BVB were the best attacking team in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Germany-c2904 this season. One fact that is all too easy to overlook is that the Dortmund-based side has the best defensive record in the league. So far, Borussia Dortmund have conceded a miserly
19 goals in 32 Bundesliga games.
Youthful backline
Few predicted that the current Borussia Dortmund defence would turn out to be the best of the season, especially in the wake of a 2-0 defeat at home to Bayer Leverkusen in the opening game of the season. However, that game turned out to be the first and
last game in which BVB conceded more than a single goal. Since that defeat, Juergen Klopp’s team has kept 14 clean-sheets.
What makes this record even more remarkable is the fact that the backline is a youthful group of individuals who are far from being seasoned veterans. The last time Dortmund lifted the Bundesliga title in 2002, the team had experienced old hands in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Christian-c9045
Worns and Jurgen Kohler, who provided experience and consistency to the backline.
In the recently concluded season, 25-year-old Polish International http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Neven-Subotic-c27632 were arguably the best defenders in Germany this season and both are only 22-years-old.
Left-back http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Marcel-Schmelzer-c23530 was a modicum of consistency all season and he is just 23.
Young but not rookies
Hummels, Subotic and Schmelzer cannot be described as greenhorns. However, these three defenders have been playing together for three years and Piszczek fitted in seamlessly in the backline in his first season with the club. Moreover, Subotic was an integral
part of the Serbian national side that played in the World Cup in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/South-Africa-c757 last year. On the other hand, Hummels and Schmelzer were part of the German Under-21 side that lifted the European Championship in 2009.
Furthermore, all four defenders are a new generation of attack-minded defenders. This especially holds true for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mats-Hummels-c24767. The youngster showed his attacking instincts all season long. Borussia Dortmund legend, Jurgen Kohler, has been very impressed by
Hummels and Subotic and while talking to the media, the 1990 World Cup winner said:
"Mats Hummels is a really good footballer and his accurate passing and ability to open up the game are integral to Dortmund's strategy while his partner Neven Subotic stabilises the defence with his pace, his strength man-on-man and his ability in the air."
Eying a record
Out wide, left-back Schmelzer and right-back Piszczek, at the expense of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Dede-c10736, have established their cemented starting berths this season.
However, Dortmund’s excellent defensive record isn’t just down to the excellence of their back four. The dynamic pressing game played by the Yellow and Blacks has catered the defensive unit throughout the season. In the deep midfielding area, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sven-Bender-c34386
has been excellent in closing play while veteran goalkeeper, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roman-Weidenfeller-c31655 has been in the form of his life this season.
Another factor that has made Dortmund so hard to score against is the fact that their first-choice back four have been spared by injury woes – a factor that has dogged many other teams in Bundesliga this term. Though Dortmund have already wrapped up the
title, Juergen Klopp’s men are on the verge of setting yet another record.
In the 2006/07 season, Bayern Munich conceded only 22 goals as they won the Bundesliga crown. With just two games left, should Dortmund manage to stay as miserly as they have been all season, Borussia Dortmund have a great chance to set another milestone
that might not be bettered in years to come.
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