Borussia Dortmund
Who is Borussia Dortmund?
Borussia Dortmund is one of the biggest teams in Germany and is domestically the third most successful clubs in the country. They also won Europe’s most prestigious competition, the Champions League, in 1998, when it beat Juventus in the final.
The club won its last top flight German title, known as the Bundesliga, in 2012, which was their second in a row under the guidance of then manager Jurgen Klopp.
It contests a local derby with Schalke 04 - a game known as the Revierderby - while Dortmund’s rivalry with Germany’s most successful club, FC Bayern Munich, is known as Der Klassiker.
The club’s home ground, Signal Iduna Park, regularly boasts the highest average attendances in the world thanks to its 81,000 capacity. The 24,454 capacity south stand is known as the “Yellow Wall”, in reference to the club colours of yellow and black.
Playing Style
Borussia Dortmund is in a transitional period, but the club is generally known for swift counter-attacking football and still shows the occasional signs of the style imparted onto it by former manager Klopp, now at Liverpool.
Following the departure of manager Petr Bosz, who favoured an all-out attacking style, earlier this season, German coach Peter Stöger came in to steady the ship and has returned the club to its more familiar counter-attacking play.
Dortmund have a history of coaches who fit in with the clubs ethos of high-speed attacking play, which is something likely to be on show in the International Champions Cup.
Key Players
Christian Pulisic’s attributes lend themselves ideally to high tempo, counter-attacking football, and he is a key player in this Dortmund side. He also has the dribbling skill to break down deep defences and is a valuable asset to this side regardless of how they set up.
Marco Reus, meanwhile, provides excellent support for his fellow attackers, and combines direct attacking play with creativity to cause opposition defences numerous problems.
Attacking midfielder Mario Götze scored Germany’s only goal in the 2014 World Cup final, while Julian Weigl is a promising young holding midfielder who is ably supported by fellow young star Mahmoud Dahoud in the centre of the park.
Presenting Sponsor
Official Sponsors
International
Champions Cup