Season certification 2009/2010 Pt. 2.2 - midfield
With the last match in Freiburg, BVB finished a successful season 2009/2010. We reached a rank before clubs like Stuttgart, Hamburger SV or Championship winner Wolfsburg and therefore qualified for Europe. Of course, this is the result of the team as a whole and a great success. However, there were players who were more responsible for this great season than others. There were players in which nobody believed they will come up that big and others, who did not turn out to be as good as expected. But there are also different opinions on the same players, which can be seen in our certification. Three editors judged over each player and said what they think about their performance over the season.
Tamas Hajnal
-mrg: Tamas Hajnal played a more or less disappointing season. Before his injury, he didn't play convincing and therefore, he lost his place in the line-up against Mohamed Zidan, who turned out to play really good on this position. After his recovery, there was no place in the line-up for Hajnal and Kloppo's experiments were not really successful. Even after Zidan's injury, Hajnal could not convince me on his default position. This is why I give him a 4.
kha: If there is a loser of this season, then it is the little Hungarian. Last season, he was an undisputed part of the first eleven. This season, he suffered from the change of the system which ironically had to happen because of his injury. After his recovery, he never got back in the team and even during his matches as substitution, he could not really convince. Marks a 4.
Arne: No, it really wasn't the season of Tamas Hajnal. He got injured during the middle of the first half of the season and it took him until a big part of the second half until he could manage to be a part of the starting line-up. The system of the diamond was changed to 4-2-3-1 in which there was no place for Hajnal. As one of the defenders, he was overlighted by Sahin, Bender and Kehl and in the offensive midfield, Mohamed Zidan took control. And this was only consequent, because Hajnal could not convince in one of his matches. For next season, it is to expect that the transfers of Kagawa and Lewandowski will make it impossible for Hajnal to beat the competition since one thing is perfectly clear: Tamas Hajnal has to improve on a high level to get back in the starting line-up. As far as last season goes, it is a 4,5 from me.
Kevin Großkreutz
MalteS: He came, saw and conquered... really. His technical shortfalls were equalized by his pure will and he ran many kilometers per match. In Hoppenheim, he ran astonishing 13.5 kilometer. Since then, he became part of the starting line-up against all expectations and he did his job not always perfect, but at most times solid. In his debut match for the national team against Malta, he again convinced the spectators. We may be interested in the further development of the man from Eving. For his first season for our Borussia, he gets a 3.
kha: He was the winner of the season. Coming as a substitute from Ahlen, nobody would have expected that he will become a starting player. His biggest match was in Cologne where he shot the important 3-2 during injury time and since then, you could not think about our left side without him. During the second half of the season, he even improved so that his good matches and his five goals were enough to be nominated for the national team (although it was only a friendly). Mark 2.
DvB: I was really astonished by our coach, because Kloppo showed how to help a player getting from second division to the first league. Nobody but Klopp expected that Kevin will play more than 50 minutes this season. His short time matches at the beginning of the season, one could see that he was perhaps a little bit too motivated. In Leverkusen, Großkreutz played his first half and convinced. He improved his gameplay and from some point on, he was part of the line-up. And against Nuremberg, he scored for the first time and from then on, he not only shot the 4-0 in minute 89 but really important ones, the goal in Cologne just seconds before the final whistle being the most important one. At the end of the season, Kevin got his crowning, his first match for the national team against Malta. Kevin became in one season what others become in two or three years, to become a good Bundesliga player. Even though he shows bad matches from time to time, he gets 1,5 from me.
Markus Feulner
-mrg: At the beginning of the season, another man came from Mainz to Dortmund, Markus Feulner. He came with 15 goals and 20 assists basically collected in the second division. Unfortunately, he could not gain another statistical point this season. Numbers speak everything, since Feulner was brought in at eight out of nine matches and was substituted once in the league, with two more subs in the cup and two matches for BVB II. Feulner was not really convincing at any time and therefore, he could not advertise himself as a part of the starting line-up. If he wants to become happy in Dortmund, there have to be more. This season, it's only a 4.
web: Markus Feulner was welcomed in Dortmund. An allrounder in the midfield, good at tacklings and in the offense. With seven goals and 16 assists, he was the best player of division two in 2008/09 and he knew Kloppo from his time in Mainz. Unfortunately, he proved that the step from the second to the first league is too much for some players. Feulner never found his place in the first team and when he got the opportunity to show something, he didn't. After a bad first half of the season, he was injured and only got some short time appearances at the end of the season. Even in two matches in league 3, he could not really show his qualities. It was a disappointing season for all sides, but he said he want to attack again this season. Hopefully, he will then get a better mark than 5.
Arne: Basically, the question of the season was why Markus Feulner was bought? He was on the pitch for 149 minutes during nine matches. To compare, in league three, he only needed two matches to get more time on the pitch. Really disappointing even for him, since he was back on the bench or the tribune even though there were personal problems in the midfield. There was hardly anything to certificate.
Sven Bender
Sascha: There were some people who already say him as a candidate for BVB II. Those people would not have expected that the turned out to be a really good bargain for our club. He was there, when Kehl, Tinga and Feulner were injured and showed some good matches beside Sahin during the middle of the season. The arrangement of place and role was nearly perfect. He let Sahin go for his offensive maneuvers but was close enough to be his back-up. Unfortunately, he had to deal with several injuries. Kehl is the skipper on his position, but if Bender develops consequently, he has the potential to step in his footsteps. His tackle timing is really good but because of his age, there is some kind of missing will to turn the page of a game. But it is already enough for a good 3.
MalteS: The next surprise of the season. He came in exchange with Antonio Rukavina as a good future talent, but he showed his potential faster than expected. He presented himself really competent and detached. Beside Sahin, he took the defensive part of the „double-six" and was the back-up of the more offensive Turkish, but showed his offensive potential from time to time as well. Compliments to Susi Zorc for this good exchange, mark 2,5.
Jakob: Last summer, a really unremarkable substitute came from 1860 Munich to Dortmund. This is what many people thought, but Jürgen Klopp had bigger plans. He trusted him and named him a part of the first eleven on day six. From this day on, Sven became more and more an important part of our defensive midfield beside Sahin and convinced by tactical understanding and a good overview. Adding really good passes to that, Sven was found as a good complement to Nuri and became more than a replacement for Sebastian Kehl. With Bender in front of our defense, they got a new rigidity. In November, he suffered from an injury and it was noticeable how important he was for the team. In March, he was injured again and this injury was followed by a little down-time, his matches werde under the niveau of the first ones. It is important to point out that he was a good part of our team, especially in part one of the season.
Translated by Vanni, 02.08.2010
