Borussia Dortmund player power rankings

2 of 6

An injured derailed Schmelzer's start for Borussia Dortmund. Now, he is featured more, but form will need to be reached for him to be ranked higher.

DORTMUND, GERMANY – NOVEMBER 04: Oemer Toprak, Marcel Schmelzer and Gonzalo Castro (L-R) of Dortmund react during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Muenchen at Signal Iduna Park on November 4, 2017 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images) /

18. Gonzalo Castro

Castro’s having a poor season for Borussia Dortmund. And yet to almost every Dortmund fan’s frustration, he continues to get picked, week in week out. Castro is obviously slowing down the play and making mistakes from time to time. His open goal miss against Bayern truly summed up his season so far.

17. Omer Toprak

Toprak has been a sub par performer all season. There was a decent amount of hype for the defender when he was signed from Leverkusen, but it would seem he is still struggling at Dortmund. BVB has featured him frequently, so there is a chance for improvement down the road. But his lackluster performances suggest that he needs to step up.

16. Jeremy Toljan

Toljan has not been given a lot of game time since his arrival at the club. And when he has played, he has failed to impress Peter Bosz. The Dutchman prefers Marc Bartra (a centre-back, who has also been awful at right-back) over him, which suggests that Toljan has a lot of work to do before he can cement his place in the team. Toljan still has great potential though, and he can still turn out to be the long-term replacement for Lukas Piszczek.

15. Marcel Schmelzer

Schmelzer suffered an early injury and has only recently returned to the team. And when he has played, the club captain has looked like a shadow of his former self. Schmelzer was toyed with by Arjen Robben in Dortmund’s last game against Bayern. And once Raphael Guerreiro gets fully fit, his place in the team could be under serious threat.

14. Mahmoud Dahoud

Dahoud has been left out in recent games by Peter Bosz for no apparent reason. The 21-year old has great potential and his lack of game time has surprised Dortmund fans. The box to box midfielder has already managed 3 assists in 6 Bundesliga appearances. Dahoud can have a great impact in Bosz’ system, and hopefully he gets a better chance to prove himself after the international break.

Next: What to expect from Borussia Dortmund after the international break

13. Julian Weigl

Weigl only returned to the first team in September after breaking his leg last season. It’s a little obvious that he hasn’t had the same performances he did under former coach Thomas Tuchel. He has been used judiciously by Peter Bosz so far. And when he has played, he has been used in a completely different role. Weigl is one of the club’s most important players. He has already been linked with some of Europe’s biggest clubs. And with the midfield Dortmund have, he should be the first name on the team sheet.

12. Lukasz Piszczek

Just like Schmelzer, it seems that Piszczek has lost a step this season. He is still the club’s first choice right-back, although he is currently out after suffering an injury during the last international break. Despite some shaky performances recently, Dortmund fans will be hoping that he returns from injury soon because their situation at right-back is a mess.

11. Roman Burki

Burki made a phenomenal start to the season, keeping five clean sheets in a row in the league. But since then, he has conceded in every game, bar the DFB-Pokal tie against third division side Magdeburg. His sloppy errors in the Champions League led to calls for him to be replaced in January. Recently, Burki is making strong saves, but not often enough. Burki has let in 24 goals in the last 18 games. This needs to change as Burki is starting to become less dependable between the post.

Home/Borussia Dortmund News