Borussia Dortmund star Maximilian Beier has been a utility player for the club under Niko Kovac, who has played him in multiple positions across the offensive vanguard and the midfield since taking charge of the club.
But lately, his experiments with deploying the German on the left, has polarized the supporters, who feel it has hampered his game, limiting his overall impact on the match.
Against Bodo on Wednesday, Kovac switched Beier and Daniel Svensson's positions, playing them on the opposite flanks instead of their usual positions on the right and left wing-backs respectively.
The result was an underwhelming display from Beier, who offered virtually nothing going forward, failing muster a single shot on target nor creating any meaningful chances.
Combine that with a 1-0 defeat, and fans were incensed with Kovac's tweak. Upon being questioned on his decision, he defended it by saying:
"Who are ‘many’ people? We need to keep things in perspective. We can’t turn a minority into a majority. It’s all too common these days. I’m the coach; I know what Maxi is capable of and I speak to him as well. "
Beier has had a good campaign with Dortmund before the international break, registering three assists and a goal, the winner against VfB Stuttgart right before the international break as the 23-year-old has demonstrated his value in the side.
Kovac dismissed his attacking struggles on the left by saying it's rather a collective problem right now:
"He’s already put in a lot of really good performances. And I thought he did well defensively; offensively, it was generally a bit of a struggle for us as a team. You can’t judge based on just one match."
He also lashed out at the assertion that a lot of fans are dissatisfied with Beier playing from the left, saying it's just a generalization.
"Maxi’s doing really well. He takes everything I tell him on board. If he had to, he’d go in goal straight away. So I’m not going to let that stand. That’s too simplistic for my liking, and I won’t let anyone tell me it’s the majority. I can say that too. The majority of people I speak to say ‘Niko brilliant’. So who’s right now? Right, next topic please."
Maximilian Beier was one of Dortmund's best player last season, scoring and assisting 10 goals each in all competitions, the only player in the squad to hit double figures on both counts.
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