Dortmund overwhelms opponents with an all-work, all-the-time style demanded by combustible manager Juergen Klopp; think Oregon’s spread offense applied to association football. The team’s frenetic pace had some fans worried early on that their players would burn out, but Klopp so far has successfully rotated his squad, and managed to get his team to close games out. It helps that his team is the second-youngest in the entire league.
Subotic is the engine that powers Dortmund. Like his countryman Nemanja Vidic does for Manchester United, Subotic steers traffic, cleans up messes, and springs the attack. More impressive is that, like Darrelle Revis of the New York Jets, Subotic has made his section of the field into an island, deftly turning back attacks and neutralizing forward runners. Case in point: last weekend in Dortmund’s 3-1 hammering of Frankfurt, Subotic saved the game with a pinpoint tackle to foil a breakway.
Dortmund also has experience to go with its youth: Roman Weidenfeller, 30, is what passes for the grand old man on the team, and his calm play in the net has been critical. A former youth star himself on the German U-17s, Weidenfeller struggled under the weight of expectations and fell out of the German national team picture five years ago. The 'keeper was involved a nasty racial incident with Gerald Asamoah when the St. Pauli striker was with Schalke four seasons ago, and the fallout left major scars. Today, Weidenfeller is mentor and backstop, and his career is back on track to the point that he is again considered a target for Premier League teams.
To be sure, Dortmund has surely been helped by the stumbles of perennial powers Bayern Munich, and the tailing off of feel-good story Mainz, who jumped out to an early lead but has been unable to maintain its form. Hannover, home to Americans Steve Cherundolo and DaMarcus Beasley, has been mounting a recent challenge but does not appear to have the depth for the long haul.
But Dortmund is playing perhaps the most exciting and compelling club football in Germany at the present. The Bundesliga is theirs to lose.
Jamie Trecker is a senior writer for FoxSoccer.com covering the UEFA Champions League and European football.
