Borussia Dortmund has a new captain and a new signing

Welcome to the Dortmund Dispatch.

Thanks for subscribing. I’ve been preoccupied with the Women’s World Cup for the last week and you can read some of my stuff on that tournament here, here and here.

In this Newsletter:

• Borussia Dortmund’s new captain

• What does Marcel Sabitzer’s arrival tell us about Dortmund’s transfer policy?

Borussia Dortmund has a new captain and it’s Emre Can

Until recently, it looked like Emre Can might not extend his contract and leave Borussia Dortmund. However, not only did he sign a new deal but is now club Captain.

Like a lot of defensive midfielders, it is easy to become nervous when watching Canplay. Borussia had one of the best defenses in the Bundesliga last season but in recent years there has been a lack of balance in the team’s overall approach that can create pain points specifically for the poor sod who has to sit in front of the defense and mop up any spillages from their teammates, unsuccessful attacking forays.

That sod is usually Emre Can and understandably, under that kind of pressure, high-profile mistakes can be made. As a consequence, Can has, in some corners of Dortmund fandom, an unfair reputation for being sloppy.

Of the regular first-team players, only Niklas Sule completed more passes that Can and only Jude Bellingham made more tackles in the middle third of the field. For a player whose primary function is to break down attacks and recycle the ball, these are decent headline metrics to look at when assessing Can.

He is also combative. Dortmund’s new captain was booked 11 times last season and only Bellingham committed more fouls in the Dortmund squad. Focus on these stats and you can easily paint a picture of an unreliable player, especially if you put together a video featuring some of his livelier moments. Of course in many fans' eyes, these are admirable qualities and reasons for loving him. You can put me in that category.

Either way, CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke, Sporting Director Sebastien Kehl, and head coach Edin Terzic decided that Can was the right man to captain the club after having just inked a new contract that runs to 2026. According to the club website, the team was informed on Wednesday and announced in a pre-match press conference in San Diego where Dortmund are on a pre-season tour. Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel will be the vice-captain.

The reason for the appointment was that outgoing captain and club legend Marco Reus stepped down from the role. At 34 years old, Reus is probably seeing the end of his career well below the horizon, and perhaps stepping back from the captaincy is part of managing that process. It is worth emphasising that Can has some big boots to fill. Reus is more than just a great footballer. He is the local lad that eschewed the guaranteed silverware at Bayern to join his hometown team. He is a true Dortmund icon whose name will, in time if not already, will be held in the same breath as August Lenz, Adi Preißler, Wolfgang Paul, Lothar Emmerich, and the other legendary Borussens. By stepping back from the captaincy, Reus is allowing us to prepare for his inevitable retirement.

For much of last season, Mats Hummels deputised for Reus so it’s something of a surprise that the centre-half was not selected to replace him. However in Can they have a player who, at 29, is still young but given his vast experience playing in Germany, England, and Italy is more than ready to take on the burden of leadership.

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On Sabitzer and transfers

“One thing is clear: If you are a Borussia Dortmund player you have to strive for the highest. That’s the champions and the cup, of course. So I’m ready to fight for that.” - Marcel Sabitzer

When Bayern Munich signed Marcel Sabitzer in 2021 I wondered if they had seen this as more of an opportunity to weaken Leipzig’s squad than to strengthen their own. I assumed that the biggest driver behind the transfer was then coach, Julian Nagelsmann who was intimately aware of the midfielder’s qualities having just worked together at RB. However, the Austrian international was a something peripheral figure and shortly before his boss was fired, Sabitzer was loaned out to Manchester United. Again, he did not make too much of an impact at Old Trafford but did at least pick up a League Cup winner’s medal. Presumably, his prospects for first-team football do not look good for next season so Sabitzer has taken the decision to take a pay cut and join Borussia Dortmund.

On the surface, this is a smart move for all parties. Sabitzer gets to play regular first-team football for a Bundesliga club that, in principle at least, competes for trophies, Bayern get to offload a player they don’t need for a fee and Borussia has a high-quality professional capable of driving Dortmund’s post-Bellingham midfield.

There is a broader issue to take in about the club’s transfer policy. Once upon a time, I would have expected to see a promising 19-year-old from a Ligue 1 side being paraded in front of an eager press conference. Dortmund are supposed to be the club that persuades Europe’s best and brightest to come, play top-level domestic and European football, and be moved on to one of the top clubs for a substantial fee. So far, this summer that’s not happened (at 22 Felix Nmecha is young but he’s an experienced player by now so does not meet the criteria). Instead, they have opted for an established 29-year-old player with not much sell-on value but who should settle into the first team quicker so therefore comes with fewer risks.

This feels like a change in direction to me. Did the fact that Borussia came so close to winning the title that they are prioritising experienced and proven Bundesliga players in the hope that they can win the league this season? Or is Sebastian Kehl moving the recruitment model away from promising youngsters who just leave after a couple of years to focus on established talent? Perhaps they are having difficulty prizing promising youngsters away from their clubs because their perceived success at developing them has encouraged the selling club put up the price. Will multi-club ownership become an issue, making it harder to sign promising young talent from some clubs because that player is promised to their bigger, partner club?

On the other hand, there is plenty of potential in that Borussia squad, starting but not ending with Youssoufa Moukoko and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. It’s not like the club is suddenly made up of grizzled journeymen. However, it will be interesting to see if a new recruitment pattern is emerging.

That is, it will be interesting until the actual football starts and we can talk about more interesting stuff.

Thanks for reading. If you’re not really into transfers then you’ll find this great piece by my chum Chris Nee, on his Substack, a hoot.