Marco Reus: Analyzing the Borussia Dortmund captain’s importance to the team

Offensive magic and injury struggles in previous seasons

Marco Reus began his senior career with die Schwarzgelben when he moved from Borussia Mönchengladbach in the summer of 2012. He had however been a Borussen since he was six years old. Reus made his way up through the BVB youth academy until 2005, when he left on a free transfer for Rot Weiss Ahlen. Gladbach bought the young attacker in 2009, and he began to really make a name for himself there, scoring 41 goals and adding 28 assists in a total of 109 games for die Fohlen before he made his return to the Black and Yellows.

Reus had an almost instant impact for Borussia Dortmund, helping the team advance all the way to the UEFA Champions League final in his first season. In his first two seasons with the club, Reus had 42 goals and 35 assists – a truly incredible tally of 0.91 goals plus assists per ninety minutes played.

Unfortunately, Reus would hit a real rough patch after his impressive opening run for BVB. Injuries would cause him to miss a combined 113 games over the next six seasons. This included Reus missing nearly the entire 2017/2018 season with an ACL tear.

Despite all that missed time, Reus still contributed 83 goals and 33 assists across all competitions during those six years. Most players struggle to even get on the pitch when missing so much time due to not being in form, but not Reus. He still found a way to be one of most crucial offensive contributors for the Black and Yellows.

These past two seasons, Reus has found himself in rather superb fitness and form, missing only six games and playing nearly 7000 minutes for the club. Even until this most recent injury scare, it seemed like Reus had finally kicked the injury bucket to the curb entirely, but he has not been so lucky.