When Marco Reus arrived at Borussia Dortmund eight years ago things at the club were quite different than the way they are now.
The team had just won the double and in so doing prevented Bayern from winning the league titles in a row. Despite selling key player Shinji Kagawa to Manchester United that summer the addition of Reus was seen as the next step to ensuring the team continues to be successful in the Bundesliga for the years to come.
Reus’ signing was important because of three reasons. First, he was one of the most sought after talents at the time after his impressive display at Borussia Mönchengladbach under current Dortmund manager Lucien Favre. Secondly, he chose BVB over Bayern which is something you don’t see very often but the third reason explains why- he is a childhood BVB fan. The Black and Yellows did not only sign a talented player but also a guy who truly identifies with the club.
It didn’t take long before Reus settled in and started showing why Jürgen Klopp has added the versatile attacking player to his successful squad. In his first season, Reus reached the UCL Final but lost narrowly to Bayern. Even though his performances for Dortmund over the next years were consistently impressive he was time and again sidelined with injuries.
Reus also saw the club’s best players leave for pastures new. Mario Götze, Robert Lewandowski, Mats Hummels ( all of whom left for Bayern), İlkay Gündoğan, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were some of the big names that left Signal Iduna Park while Reus remained loyal to the club he loves.
As such it comes as no surprise that a club who continuously loses its best players every summer hasn’t been able to stop the dominant Bavarians since 2012. The Black and Yellows had their best chances of a league title squandered with poor management and mentality in the last two seasons. And it will seem just another year of so many promises and yet little reward when the new season resumes in a couple of months’ time.
The 31-year-old has indeed won the DFB Pokal in 2017 but the league is what he dreams of. “My main aim is to win the championship with BVB” were the words he told to former player Patrick Owomoyela on the club’s YouTube channel.
BVB have added experienced Belgian right-back Thomas Meunier from PSG and highly rated English midfielder Jude Bellingham. However, the possible departure of key man Jadon Sancho will be a set back for BVB’s title ambitions, and finding the right replacement may not be easy.
Marco Reus is still a key player for Borussia Dortmund. In 2019/20 season he managed to score 11 goals and provide 6 assists in 19 games in the Bundesliga. In total, he has 91 goals for the team he adores. Any type of title challenge against the might Bayern will be spearheaded by the lovable captain but time is against him.
