Borussia Dortmund 2018/19 Player Awards
Best Signing
To kick off the awards, we begin with the players that wore our colors for the first time this season. By August 2018, Borussia Dortmund had acquired eight new players: Marwin Hitz (GK), Eric Oelschlägel (GK), Marius Wolf (DEF), Abdou Diallo (DEF), Achraf Hakimi (DEF), Axel Witsel (MID), Thomas Delaney (MID), and Paco Alcácer (FW). This set of new players arrived for Lucien Favre’s first season in charge and a handful of them would be crucial for his new project. But only one of them would stand out from the rest since the first competitive match of the campaign… Axel Witsel.
The Belgian star arrived from Chinese side Tianjin Quanjian with a lot of speculation of whether his time on the Chinese football would render him as “ineffective” for the high-paced and more competitive Bundesliga. Witsel lost no time at all and proved everybody he meant serious business. Borussia Dortmund’s first taste of competitive football for the 2018/2019 campaign was against the DFB-Pokal against second-tier club, Greuther Fürth. Dortmund trailed since the 77th minute when Fürth scored the opener. It all seemed lost for the Black and Yellows up until the last gasps of the match, when Marco Reus lobbed a ball for Witsel to put it past the opponent keeper and sending the match to extra-time.
The very first dramatic moment occurred on the very first match of the season and it was Axel Witsel who saved us from a premature Cup exit. His goal gave every Dortmund fan the right sensations and was a sign of better things to come.
Axel Witsel continued to put in wonderful performances across all competitions for Dortmund. He (alongside Thomas Delaney) was the perfect answer to the previous season’s midfield woes. Not only did he manage to bring stability to the team’s defensive efforts, but he could dictate Dortmund’s tempo with his tactical awareness and strong presence.
Perhaps the best example of how astute Witsel lays on the first match against Bayern Munich. Witsel constantly placed himself on the gap between central defenders Manuel Akanji and Dan-Axel Zagadou to thwart Bayern’s passing game on that area. His good coverage of the defenders’ back allowed him to make vital interceptions and tackles. To make things even better, Witsel played a brilliant pass to Paco Alcácer before he scored the winner.
His undeniable importance for the team meant he ended the season with a total of 43 appearances, 6 goals, and 1 assist across all competitions. WhoScored.com placed him on the list of best pass accuracy by midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for the 2018/2019 campaign with an impressive 93.1%. A well deserved award for the best signing of the season.
Witsel was the engine who ran the show from the middle of the park, allowing those in front of him to cause havoc to opposition defenses. Borussia Dortmund certainly would not have been able to challenge Bayern without him in the team.