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Borussia Dortmund: Highs and lows from the title-winning 2010/11 season

By Adam Bakr

DORTMUND, GERMANY - MAY 14: Players of Dortmund celebrate with the trophy after the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt at Signal Iduna Park on May 14, 2011 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images)
DORTMUND, GERMANY - MAY 14: Players of Dortmund celebrate with the trophy after the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt at Signal Iduna Park on May 14, 2011 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images) /
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Shinji Kagawa bejubelt sein Tor zum 1:0 fur den BVB Fussball 1. Bundesliga : Borussia Dortmund BVB – Hamburg HSV 2:0 12.11.2010 (Photo by sampics/Corbis via Getty Images)
Shinji Kagawa bejubelt sein Tor zum 1:0 fur den BVB Fussball 1. Bundesliga : Borussia Dortmund BVB – Hamburg HSV 2:0 12.11.2010 (Photo by sampics/Corbis via Getty Images) /

High: The breakout of Shinji Kagawa

The summer of 2010 saw Borussia Dortmund sign Shinji Kagawa from Cerezo Osaka for just 350,000 euros. Kagawa drew attention after finishing top scorer in the Japanese second division and had a very modest release clause in his contract, allowing him to make the cheap transfer to Europe.

Kagawa quickly found himself on the scoresheet for the Black and Yellows, scoring twice in Europa League qualifying against Qarabag. He would get his first Bundesliga goal in the third week of the season, scoring the second in Dortmund’s 2-0 win over Wolfsburg at home.

The following week was when Kagawa truly left his mark on the Dortmund faithful. Ahead of the Revierderby away to arch-rivals Schalke, Kagawa promised he would score twice. He did just that, beating Manuel Neuer with a well timed run to the back post and an outside of the box strike that would be one of his most memorable goals for the club.

Kagawa scored an impressive 8 goals in the first half of his debut season, before breaking his foot with Japan in the 2011 Asia Cup that put him out for a majority of the remaining fixtures. He was an instrumental part in Dortmund getting off to a hot start in the Hinrunde which put them on pace to win the league.

The Kagawa magic did not end with his injury, as the Japanese star built on his breakout season with an even better campaign in 2011-12, being a centerpiece in Borussia Dortmund’s double winning season.

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