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Borussia Dortmund squad depth analysis and 2021/22 preview

By Benjamin McFadyean

Borussia Dortmund will look to compete for the Bundesliga title this season. (Photo by Joosep Martinson/Getty Images,)
Borussia Dortmund will look to compete for the Bundesliga title this season. (Photo by Joosep Martinson/Getty Images,) /
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Marco Rose will want to lead Borussia Dortmund to success this season (Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)
Marco Rose will want to lead Borussia Dortmund to success this season (Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images) /

The Coach

Marco Rose joins Borussia Dortmund from Borussia Mönchengladbach, having led them to the knockout stages of the Champions League last season. But they had a major drop off in performances after the announcement of Rose’s move to BVB, and finished the season in a disappointing eighth place. Rose, like Jürgen Klopp, favours an intense style of high-pressing football with an emphasis on quick tempo play attacking play.

He is tactically flexible and tends to use a variety of formations, including the diamond, the 4-2-3-1, the 4-3-3 and the 3-4-3. But no matter what the formation or tactical system, Rose will always take a similar attack-minded approach to games.

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There are many similarities between Rose’s two former clubs, with both engaging in a form of attacking football that meant them regularly attempting to break lines with penetrative passes and quick one-twos. In terms of the defence, Mönchengladbach normally defended in a 4-2-3-1 so they could easily switch to a higher pressing situation triggered by sideways passes to the flank and back-passes to the centre-backs and goalkeeper.

In all of their low blocks, they would deny the opposition access into the centre by making the spaces smaller in between the lines with aggressive deeper midfielders and centre-backs willing to push up to regain possession and instigate a break.

What also makes Rose so attractive as a coach for Dortmund is his history of developing talented young footballers within an enthralling tactical framework. Rose looks like a fit in terms of style of play. And his teams play the kind of football BVB fans grew accustomed to during Klopp’s time at the club.

The Leipzig-born coach has the talent to achieve that style of play with BVB. In a February interview with football magazine Kicker, Rose said, “We want to be very active without the ball, sprint a lot. We want to win high balls and have short ways to the goal. We don’t want to play high and wide, but fast, dynamic and actively”.

Assistant coach Rene Maric, who also moves to BVB, summed up the challenge of implementing Rose’s system, “any team that wants to implement the tactics requires a great degree of athleticism as well as a high level of game intelligence”.

Marco Rose is Borussia Dortmund’s sixth coach in as many years since Jürgen Klopp’s departure in 2015. Although the club has weathered the changes well, qualifying for Europe in all seasons since Klopp’s departure in 2015, silverware has been sparse with just two DFB-Pokal wins in 2017 and 2021.

Next. Borussia Dortmund’s All-Time Best XI. dark

Overall with Rose, BVB may just have found the head coach to restore their title fortunes. But he will need to be given time and further players in defence to lead the club to become a genuine title contender.