10 Borussia Dortmund Players Ranked in the GGFN Top 100 2020

Get German Football News released a list of the top 100 players in German Football for 2020 yesterday, and just like any other list of its kind, there were some controversial selections. Luckily for BVB fans, there’s no need for pitchforks and torches, as Dortmund players have fared relatively well in the GGFN rankings. Unsurprisingly, Robert Lewandowski topped the list, followed by Joshua Kimmich, but there a total of 10 Black and Yellows made the list, with 6 of them cracking the top 25.

Those players and their rankings are:

59. Emre Can

37. Julian Brandt

28. Axel Witsel

26. Gio Reyna

23. Thorgan Hazard

21. Marco Reus

19. Raphael Guerreiro

11. Mats Hummels

4. Erling Haaland

3. Jadon Sancho

GGFN were a bit kind to a few Dortmund players here, with Marco Reus, who missed a large portion of the year through injury, still being listed as a top 25 player in German football for 2020. Ranking Witsel and Brandt above players who played a more prominent role in their team’s success, such as Matthias Ginter, Breel Embolo, Angelino, Rafal Gikiewicz, and Kingsley Coman, also seems to be slightly generous. This is not to say that Brandt and Witsel aren’t better than the aforementioned players on their day; it’s just that they certainly didn’t show it at times during 2020.

That said, there are certainly a few gripes to be had with the list from a Dortmund perspective. Manuel Akanji’s exclusion from the top 100 is disappointing considering the success he’s had during this season’s Hinrunde. As Mike Solak’s recent article shows, Akanji’s passing has taken significant strides recently, with the Swiss center back finishing the year as the 5th best progressive passer in the Bundesliga for 2020/21. Despite a few frustrating turnovers here and there, his recent uptick in form and consistency warranted at least a spot towards the back end of the top 100.

Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images

Guerreiro’s placement at 19 also seems slightly low given his fantastic offensive production and improved defensive stability. Guerreiro’s 0.79 Goals + Assists per 90 (G+A/90) this season has been spectacular, and his performances in the second half of last season were also pretty impressive, contributing 0.39 G+A/90 after the lockdown. I think Guerreiro’s 2020 warranted at least a top 10 placement, but it seems fitting that he remains one of the most underrated players in the Dortmund squad.

The last and probably most obvious gripe with the Dortmund players on this list is Sancho’s placement above Haaland. Sancho’s struggles to start this season have been well documented, and despite having had an excellent start to 2020, he shouldn’t be placed above Haaland, who has been a consistent goal machine. This is less an indictment of Sancho’s consistency and more a testament to just how good Haaland has been over the course of the year.

Despite my disagreements with some of the rankings, Get German Football News did a pretty excellent job with this list. They clearly put a lot of thought and effort into this list, and it’s obviously an impossible task to put a top 100 players list together that everyone agrees with. I would highly recommend you check it out here if you haven’t already.