Last weekend saw Borussia Dortmund crowned Bundesliga champions with a 2-0 home win over Nurnberg leaving them eight points clear of Bayer Leverkusen with just two games of the 2010/2011 season remaining.
From the back four through midfield and up front, Dortmund have a strong spine of key performers whose contributions have proved pivotal to the club’s success this term. Here, we analyse the Star Players in each position:
Mats Hummels Average Rating 6.99
Hummels has been sensational for coach Jurgen Klopp’s side, forming an almost impenetrable central defensive partnership with Neven Subotic at the heart of the back four. Dortmund have been beaten only four times and conceded just 19 league goals so far this season; given that Mainz 05 have the second-best defence this season -with 37 goals against- it’s an indication of just how difficult the champions have been to break down.
Hummels and Subotic stats show many similarities (the pair’s Clearances, Tackles and Pass Completion are almost identical) but there are two or three areas where the newly-capped German international really stands out. Hummels averages 2.9 Interceptions per game to Subotic’s 2.0, suggesting a greater reading of the game than his defensive partner and in the air Hummels excels again, winning a fantastic 67% of Aerial Duels to Subotic’s 61%.
Then there’s his impressive eye for goal; with 30 Goal Attempts this season, Hummels has bagged 5 goals and 1 assist in his 30 league appearances, whereas Subotic has found the net just once. For such an imposing figure -he stands 6 foot 3- he has picked up just 2 yellow cards this season, a testament to his temperament. With every passing game, Bayern Munich must rue the day they allowed this former youth player to escape their clutches.
Nuri Sahin Average Rating 7.67
The Turkish playmaker pulls the strings from deep in the club’s 4-2-3-1 formation and has attracted the attention of many clubs with a series of stand-out performances. Sahin has walked away with the Man of the Match award in 7 of his 30 league appearances, scoring 6 times and assisting 8 goals before succumbing to a recent knee injury that has subsequently ended his campaign.
Per game, he leads the way for Key Passes (3.47) by some distance, has the fourth highest number of Shots (1.6) thanks, in part, to set-piece duties, manages 3 Accurate Crosses and 6 Accurate Longballs, showing just how key he is to most things creative for Dortmund. No surprise, then, to see him the club’s Most Fouled (1.9) player, as opponents seek to cut out his supply to the forward line.
It’s not just the attacking side of Sahin’s game that has impressed, however; stats show he’s not one to shirk defensive responsibilities, either. Per game, he has the second-highest Tackles for Dortmund, with 3.8 and is third-top for Interceptions, with 2.2, beating the likes of Subotic hands down in both categories.
Lucas Barrios Average Rating 7.1
The lone front man. With 14 goals and an average of 2.7 Shots per game, Barrios is far and away the main forward threat for Dortmund, with his stats earning him a place in the top five Bundesliga attackers for both these categories. In 27 appearances, the Paraguayan has scored 22% of his team’s goals, picking up 2 Man of the Match awards along the way.
There are a couple of areas he could definitely improve upon, though; despite his height -6 foot 2- Barrios seems to slightly struggle in the air, winning just 44% of Aerial Duels and he has a tendency to get caught offside on a regular basis (1.5 times per game) though as he’s playing on the shoulder of the last defender, that second stat is perhaps more understandable.
The only Dortmund player to reach a double figure goal tally thus far, a fact that’s perhaps down to poor finishing from others. An illustration of this is Barrios has averaged 0.83 Key Passes per game, yet picked up just 2 assists over the season.
