In europe Borussia dortmund is considered as a traditional super power. They have won league titles and even champions league titles in the last 10 years. But due to the financial crisis and departure of their star players such as Rosicky led them to a very low point in recent history.
Marbella training camp, Spain.
Marco stood on the sideline, stretching his hamstrings while watching over the squad. The morale of the whole team is low. Although not to the point of negatively affecting them, a slight gloom was constantly on the atmosphere. Be it coaches or players they are under constant pressure.
He suddenly perked up as he heard a small commotion near the entrance. A tall figure walked across the pitch with the confidence of some one who owned the place, despite this being his first day.
It was none other than Mats Hummels, the 19 year old fresh addition to the squad.
Stark different from the atmosphere, he had none of the gloom of anxiety. Instead his eyes burned with a fire intensity, like he is going to conquer the whole squad.
"Arrogant bastard," Tinga, the brazilian, commented from the side in a joking tone. "He didn't even get here, but was already planning to take over the pitch."
Marco said nothing. Even though his words sounded offensive, this quirky midfielder was the social link between the whole squad, keeping the whole squad together, be it rookies or veterans. Marco was sure he was already planning on how to invite Hummels to the next brazilian BBQ party at his home.
And Marco also felt what he said was the truth. Hummels was not trying to be subtle at all. His posture was ramrod straight, shoulders square and chin up. His eyes moved systematically across the pitch analysing the setup, the players and the tactical board the coach has set up.
He is not nervous and definitely not trying to fit in.
Suddenly a whistle blew. It was Thomas Doll, inviting attention of the players. "Right, let's get started! Possession drills – red vs yellow. Everyone puts on your bibs according to the list and lines up. Make it quick."
Marco was on the red team's side, while the newly joined Hummels was Yellow team's center back.
This should be interesting.
* * *
The drill started simple, with the red team attacking and yellow defending.
Marco received the ball in the midfield. He is already familiar with most of his team mates and their play style except for a few new faces. So he can easily anticipate their habits.
With a few well timed pass combinations and quick dribbles, he is already on the left wing. He cut in sharply just above the defense line. This is also his most proficient skill- a solid 9.8/10.
the reason modern wingers tend to favour this skill was because of the tactical effectiveness. The cut in run just above the defense line puts the whole defense into an awkward spot. If they didnt push forward, it will give the winger an easy chance to shoot, and that too in a very good scoring angle.
But if they push forward, that will generate gaps and holes in the line, which can be exploited.
And Marco with his high proficiency in this skill move already reached an unimaginable level of skill with this move. It now resembles a particular 'flying dutchman', whose move can be anticipated from miles away, but is impossible to stop.
Now facing the move the veteran croatian defender Kovac cautiously stepped forward to intercept. He thought that he covered all possible plays from the attacker, but with a simple stepover feint and a disguised ball, he put the striker through to the goal. Or so it seemed. But at the last moment, before the striker could take a touch, the ball was cleared away by an outstretched leg!
Hummels stood up and directed a challenging gaze at Marco Reus. It was clearly an invitation to battle.
Marco calmly faced the gaze, silently accepting the challenge. He walked in for a corner and replayed the whole scene in his head.
'He anticipated my pass. It's either that he anticipated the move by reading the passing lane, or he studied my game thoroughly.
Five minutes later Marco tried the same move again. He skipped past the retreating defensive midfielder with a la croqueta, ready to thread a ball to the running right winger kuba. But from the corner of the eye he noticed that Hummels is already aware of his intent and is rushing to close the gap. But seeing the change Marco cancelled the move with a feint and ran into the space left behind by him.
And before the defender could cover the gap, Marco fired a low shot into the near corner. But unfortunately the keeper managed to block the shot with an outstretched leg, reducing the chance to a corner.
Thomas Doll clapped from the sideline, appreciating the attempt."Nice play there Marco, keep it up."
this moment was just a small episode of the session, but the silent war between two young talents was just getting started...
the game went on. Twenty minutes later as Petic drifted into the "zone 14" space between the midfielder and defense, Kovac began to step up instinctively to snap at his heels. It was an old-school way:man-mark the danger.
Hummels, even at 19, saw the pitch like a topographical map. He noticed Tinga was already tracking back, and if Kovac stepped up, he would leave a massive corridor behind him for sprinting Reus.
Already anticipating the move, he called out loudly.
"Robert! Stay!"
That shout was sharp. It wasn't a suggestion; it was a command. The training session momentarily felt like it hit a glitch in the matrix. The veteran defender slowed his stride, glancing back with a lool of genuine confusion that fully expressed his inner thoughts. "Who is this kid?"
At 33, Kovac was a battle-hardened veteran – a man who had won titles with Bayern and Juventus and earned nearly 80 caps for Croatia. He was a "silent assassin" type player: stern, efficient and not particularly chatty.
He was genuinely a very skilled and experienced veteran. And the scene appeared quite bizarre because who just commanded him was a rookie loaned from another club, who just joined the squad, and it is literally his first day in training camp, and this is his first training match.
Even Marco, who knew about his personality and character was surprised at the moment. He didn't expect the new guy to be this bold.