Marco Reus has been waiting to win the title with Borussia Dortmund since 2012. Born in Dortmund, his career has been marked by injuries and setbacks. Winning the German championship would be the culmination of an unfinished job.
When Borussia Dortmund won the German championship for the last time, Marco Reus was also there. However, he played in the ranks of the opponent. That was, back in April 2012, Borussia Mönchengladbach. Reus suffered a 2-0 defeat with the “foals” on matchday 32, and BVB celebrated the title early.
The change of the Gladbach midfielder to the black and yellow was already certain at that time. And Reus may have thought that in the future he would certainly be able to celebrate the championship himself with Dortmund.
The flaw of the “unfinished”
But things turned out differently. Reus, now 33 years old, is still waiting for the first bowl with BVB. Since his move, only Bayern Munich has won the championship. On Saturday it could finally be time. Dortmund go into the season finale with a two-point lead over the record champions and have 1. FSV Mainz 05 as guests.
Reus enjoys legendary status in Dortmund. He was born in the city and wears the captain’s armband. He has scored 161 goals so far. He recently extended his contract by another year to 2024. But the blemish of the incomplete sticks to him a bit. Reus won the DFB Cup with Dortmund in 2017 and 2021 and made it into the Champions League final in 2013, which was lost to FC Bayern in London, but it wasn’t enough for the championship.
Sorted out as a teenager
They didn’t even want him at BVB. At the age of six, Reus switched from the Dortmund Postsportverein to the youth department of Borussia. But then at some point he was sorted out by one of his youth coaches. He is too small, too skinny and not physically strong enough for the Bundesliga.
In the summer of 2005 he therefore switched to LR Ahlen, which later changed its name to Rot Weiss Ahlen. With the club, Reus managed to get promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga and became interesting again for larger clubs. In 2009, Borussia Mönchengladbach secured the services of the blond boy.
In Moenchengladbach become a star
Reus started with the “foals”. In May 2011 he scored the important 1-1 for his team in the relegation second leg and thus made the league perfect. A year later he moved into the Champions League with the black-white-green Borussia under the then coach Lucien Favre as third in the table. Then came the move to Dortmund. Back home.
Reus is now the longest-serving player in the BVB squad. He experienced six different coaches, crossed the line six times as runner-up with his team, played together with greats like Sebastian Kehl, Robert Lewandowski, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Erling Haaland.
Repeated injuries and setbacks
Maybe, but just maybe, Dortmund would have been more successful in recent years if Reus hadn’t injured himself so often in his career. His medical record is long. Ankle injuries, muscle fiber tears, pubic inflammation, ligament tears, adductor problems, muscle injuries and a cruciate ligament tear – Reus has been through almost everything.
This also had an impact on his career in the national team. He missed the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where Germany won the title, and 2022 in Qatar. Reus was also absent from the 2016 and 2020 European Championships.
Watzke: “He can set a milestone”
Dortmund is looking forward to the title. Of course, this also applies to BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke. He would be particularly happy about a championship title for Marco Reus. “There is no question that he can set a milestone with it”said the manager of the club.
Reus will probably not start again against Mainz. Trainer Edin Terzic recently gave him the role of noble joker. But when Reus was in the squad, he always played this season. That will also be the case on Saturday. Be it to turn things around if things go badly. Or be it to hold the championship trophy up in the sky as a captain. This time Reus would be on the right side.