Lothar Matthäus criticises Borussia Dortmund's squad planning

Lothar Matthäus has criticised the Borussia Dortmund squad planning, with too many attacking players and not enough defensive players in the team.

Borussia Dortmund endured a difficult first half of the season and find themsleves in fifth place in the Bundesliga standings ahead of the league's return this weekend. And Lothar Matthäus believes that one of the club's biggest issues is the way the squad has been set up.

The 1990 FIFA World Cup and Ballon d'Or award winner feels that too much importance is placed on attacking players, and not enough on those in defence. In an interview with SportBILD, Matthäus said: "At BVB, too much focus was placed on offensive players at the expense of the defense. I see that as Dortmund's major weakness and the reason for the mediocre first half of the Bundesliga season. Six defensive players for four positions is not enough, especially considering that Hummels and Süle both can't play through a full season."

Borussia Dortmund's lack of defensive depth was a big issue in the first half of the season. Although the hope at the club will be that the signing of left-back Ian Maatsen on loan from Chelsea will somewhat rectify that.

Despite Borussia Dortmund's struggles, Matthäus is confident that they can finish the season in fourth place. Nevertheless, he has brought up Hansi Flick as a potential candidate for head coach if Edin Terzic is unable to turn things around. "If you talk about Nagelsmann as a BVB candidate, you also have to consider Hansi Flick. He won six titles with Bayern in one season, and another championship the following year. If you know Hansi's standards, both in sporting and financial terms, there aren't many clubs in the Bundesliga that can be considered."