Marco Reus: A footballing genius of Germany

7 years ago a young, thin player joined Dortmund, and would soon become the face of the club. He would exemplify the meaning of loyalty and the meaning of true love towards his club. This player was Marco Reus. Regardless to say, Dortmund was something which Marco always wanted to play since his childhood.

He started his career in Rot Weiss Ahlen football club and interestingly was first rejected by Dortmund due to his build. After that he was picked up by another Borussia, namely Borussia Mönchengladbach. In 2012, he joined Borussia Dortmund and took his club to the finals of the Champions League. Reus’ career has been hampered by a lot of injuries, but despite that he is the highest paid player in Dortmund. BVB has never thought of selling him as well. Let’s dig deeper into what could be the reason behind this beautiful relationship.

Dortmund – Reus : Synonym of each other

Reus always wanted to play for Dortmund. It was his boyhood dream to play for Dortmund and when the opportunity came, he grabbed it with both hands. Reus made an immediate impact when joining Dortmund in 2012. Back then Reus started in 40 games and scored a total of 18 goals, of which 14 were in the Bundesliga and 4 in the Champions League. Reus’ goals were for a winning cause in 9 matches. He had 15 assists with 11 being in Bundesliga action and 4 in the Champions League. He was injured for only 2 games.

“Reus signing was a bargain”

Klopp in 2012 on the signing of Marco Reus from Borussia Mönchengladbach

Reus career in Dortmund has been plagued with injuries. Up until 2018-2019 season Reus has never played his season injury free. Despite him being injured for a majority of his time in Dortmund, he has always had a great impact whenever he has played. Take an example of the 2016-2017 season. That season Reus played his least number of games (17) and minutes (1,118) yet he was still able to score 7 times, with 5 goals being in a winning cause. He had 4 assists that season as well.

“He had so many offers, but he chose to stay with Borussia Dortmund. That’s loyalty you don’t see often in the football world anymore”

Koke on Marco Reus

It is not just about his quality on the field. Reus has been instrumental for Dortmund off the field as well. His presence creates a big impact. In 20114-2015 and 2017-2018, when things were not going well for Dortmund, he extended his contract. At the backdrop of instances where players have left the club for better opportunities, he did not leave even when he had offers from top clubs in Europe, Reus showed his loyalty to the club. He showed his love for the club and for the fans at the time when there was a need of good news from somewhere.

Till now Reus has played 153 games for Dortmund in the Bundesliga and has scored 74 times, and has 45 assists to his name. Despite his injuries the staggering stats Reus has always put up justified his presence in the team. After being black and yellow for around 6 years it is safe to say the name Marco Reus is synonymous with Dortmund

Favre Ball?

“Probably the best coach I’ve ever had”

Reus on Favre

There is something between Marco Reus and Favre that always brings the best out of Marco. This was evident when both of them were at BMG and even more apparent at BVB.

For Borussia Mönchengladbach, Reus mostly played at center and was injury free for the majority of the season. Under Favre he had started as an SS for 27 number of times, this rewarded him in the season of 2011-12 where he scored 18 goals and had 12 assists. It was the breakthrough season which pulled him to Borussia Dortmund.

“He was able to put his mark on every match, especially when he plays in his favorite position in the middle”

Lucien Favre on Reus performance in Borussia Mönchengladbach

In 2017 when Lucien Favre joined Borussia Dortmund, Reus and him knew what to expect from each other, and what are the possibilities for the club. Favre had already brought out the best in Reus before and making him the captain, has made it very easy for Favre to implement his mentality on the field.

“If Marco remains injury-free, he will be one of the most dominant players in the Bundesliga” – Klopp

He also changed his position from left wing in Dortmund to a central role of attacking midfielder where he has played 15 times and has been lethal with his positional play. This season Reus has scored 11 times and has 7 assists to his name. He is one of the few players who has ranks high in most number of sprints and distance covered. This partnership has been fruitful for not just the club but for Reus as well. Recently he was awarded the German player of the year for the performance he had in 2018.

What next for Reus

“It’s a change in attitude that comes with age and stems from my experiences in recent years. You also have to think about other important things in life, other than football”

Marco Reus on his journey after the injury

We all love to see Reus play football. And we would all love to see him play another world cup, something which he is targeting as well, which may well be his last one. But due to his injuries, he has started to realize that he has to be prepared for the life after football. Beyond his playing time, there is no doubt that he cannot come back to Dortmund in form of a coach or any role in the management. Dortmund prefers to have people who have the essence of Dortmund, people like Zorc, Kehl have been taken in because of that nature. Their additions have helped the club keep their core intact.

The club can leverage from his current role of a leader and of a person who is grooming the next generation of Dortmund players. One of the biggest example is of Sancho and of Alcacer . Both of them have credited Reus for his leadership and his support. Paco has gone ahead to say that his motivation to stay at Dortmund was Reus. Marco can always be a motivation for new players, his experience can be leveraged by the club to bring in new talented young players to Dortmund.

As the second half of 2018-2019 season begins, it will be a pleasure to again watch Dortmund play and be led by their captain marvel Marco Reus from the front to win another Bundesliga title. Something, which has been deserting Reus and this club for long enough.