Hans Joachim Watzke: Dietmar Hamann completely wrong about Marco Reus criticism

Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans Joachim Watzke has hit out at Dietmar Hamann over his comments on Marco Reus.

Former Liverpool and Bayern Munich midfielder Dietmar Hamann said last week that Borussia Dortmund are stronger in the absence of Marco Reus while on media duty with Sky. The 47 year old also added that he did not understand why the Black and Yellows did not take the captain’s armband off Reus, saying, “you cannot have a captain who only plays half the games.”

Now Hans Joachim Watzke has had his say on the matter. And the Borussia Dortmund CEO has hit out at Hamann for his criticism of the Borussia Dortmund captain. Speaking to BILD, Watzke said: “Dietmar Hamann often provides very accurate analysis. But here he is completely wrong. How does he expect to be capable of assessing internal team processes? Marco is a very good captain.”

Watzke also referred to the fact that Reus only recently returned from a long injury break as the reason why he has been mostly used off the bench so far this season. “It is obvious that Marco still needs time to stabilize his performance after this long injury break. In any case, we know what we have in him.”

Reus, who has been at Borussia Dortmund since 2012, was made club captain in 2018 after Marcel Schmelzer made the decision to step down from the role. The 31 year old has always led from the front, and the team is always better with him on the pitch, even if Hamann might think otherwise.

Reus only recently returned after an eight month long injury lay-off, and has been used as a substitute in the majority of the games as he continues to work his way back to full fitness. The 31 year old has made eight appearances so far this season, and has two goals to his name, including a winner away to Hoffenheim.