Zonal Marking Team Focus: Borussia Dortmund

With a win this weekend, Borussia Dortmund will clinch their second consecutive title. Of course, victory over fourth-placed Borussia Monchengladbach should not be taken for granted. But then, Dortmund are now unbeaten in 25 games, an extremely impressive record in a league that is arguably more competitive than any other in Europe – there are few easy games.

Dortmund haven’t hit the heights of title rivals Bayern Munich, who have recorded 7-0 and 7-1 victories this season. There have been a couple of five-goal wins, but overall Dortmund have been ruthless, efficient and professional in the way they’ve conducted themselves this season. “When you have such a long unbeaten run, you cannot always thrash your opponents,” says coach Jurgen Klopp. “Only two or three sides in the world can do that, but nobody in Germany.”

It is always fascinating to see how a side adapts to being the team to beat. Compared to 2010/11, opponents have been more fearful and respectful when facing them, and have tended to defend deeper and play more cautiously. This could have been a problem for Dortmund – as Napoli have shown this season, if you play a counter-attacking game and opponents sit deep, it is difficult to break through.

Dortmund were not exclusively counter-attacking in the first place, but their game has matured. They are a more proactive side, with average possession improving from 52.5% in 2010/11 to 54% this campaign, and their pass completion rate rising from 75.5% to 77.9%. They are a more complete attacking unit, although it’s worth pointing out that while they have the fifth-highest possession figures in the league, they have only the eighth-highest pass completion rate in Bundesliga's Team Statistics.

Those are figures reminiscent of Athletic Bilbao (Team Focus here) – they don’t keep the ball that well, but see a lot of it. How does that work? Well, because possession also depends on how quickly you win the ball back once you’ve lost it, and Dortmund are absolutely superb at this. Their work rate and energy without the ball is remarkable, and they simply outrun and outfight their opponents. They make 27.1 tackles per game, more than anyone else in the Bundesliga, up from 25.4 per game last season. It is incredible that they are top of the league, yet also the most prolific tacklers – elsewhere in Europe that status is held by Sunderland, Chievo and Caen (all scrappy mid-table sides), or Gijon (in the relegation zone).

Their discipline should also be commended – despite making the most tackles, they concede the second-fewest fouls, and have by far the least cards in the league – 31 yellows in 31 matches.

Tactically, Klopp has changed relatively little from last season. He persists with a fairly standard 4-2-3-1, with the wide players charging up to support the forward, yet dropping back level with the holding midfielders without the ball, which can make Dortmund look 4-4-1-1 or even 4-4-2 when striker Robert Lewandowski drops back and helps defend.

There have been only two real changes from the 2010/11 side. The first was enforced – central midfielder Nuri Sahin, who won the Bundesliga Player of the Season, departed for Real Madrid. Dortmund replaced him with fellow Turkish-German Ilkay Gundogan from Nurnberg, but also by giving veteran Sebastien Kehl much more playing time – he’s played more games this campaign than his past two injury-hit campaigns combined.

The precise role Sahin played has not been replicated. He was Dortmund’s top passer per game (59.3), but also played the most key passes in the league (3.5 per game), demonstrating his dual role as a deep-lying midfielder setting the tempo, yet also the side’s creative hub. Gundogan’s figures are 43.0 and 1.0, while Kehl’s are 42 and 0.7 respectively. They are less dynamic players, but they’ve probably made Dortmund more solid.

Dortmund have compensated for Sahin’s absence from elsewhere – their top passers are now centre-back pairing Neven Subotic and Mats Hummels, while they’re more creative thanks to further improvement from Shinji Kagawa, who has contributed ten assists this season compared to one in 2010/11, helped by being available for selection more. Mario Gotze has also been extremely impressive.

The second change has been upfront. Lucas Barrios was the main man last season, but got injured in last summer’s Copa America (when already unfit, much to Dortmund’s dismay). When he returned, he found Robert Lewandowski in his position. Frankly, and slightly surprisingly, it’s been a huge improvement. Compare Barrios’ 2010/11 and Lewandowski’s 2011/12, as in the table above, and there is no debate about who contributes more. The Polish striker has scored more goals, has contributed more assists, shoots more, wins more aerial balls, contributes to build-up play more frequently and more reliably (69%-65% passing accuracy), and also beats opponents on the ground more often. His ascent into a genuinely top-class striker has been crucial.

One final factor is Klopp’s team selection. Although it’s clear to see his first-choice XI, he’s rotated more than last season. Throughout March, for example, he freshened things up by continually switching Sven Bender, Gundogan and Kehl in the centre of midfield. He’s named an unchanged side just four times, compared to nine occasions last season.

But Dortmund’s struggles with the Champions League were obvious – they finished bottom of Group F with only one win. Their three defeats all came before Christmas – for their league hopes, getting knocked out of Europe was vital. Klopp will have to address that next year, by expanding his squad.

Furthermore, some of these players will feature at Euro 2012, and therefore will get less rest. It won’t be a huge number in Poland and Ukraine, but Dortmund were helped by having only three players at World Cup 2010, and the squad has been extremely fresh ever since. Their experience with Barrios last summer shows the potential problems with international tournaments.

But that can be discussed later – now is the time for celebration.