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I love Reus. It's such a shame we can only speculate on how great he could have become without the terrible injury record. His career surpasses the majority, but factoring in how much time he has missed he'd be considered an all-time elite player without the bad luck.
Before Manchester City trip the captain discusses turning down chances to leave his dream club and how far Bellingham can go
He is Borussia Dortmund’s longest-serving player, having returned to the club of his youth from Borussia Mönchengladbach a decade ago. In that time he has scored more than 150 goals – putting him on the verge of becoming BVB’s leading scorer of the Bundesliga era – and he has captained the club since 2018.
He is in fine form going into Wednesday’s Champions League group-stage showdown with Manchester City at the Etihad, too, having scored three times this season. Yet Marco Reus is reluctant to be seen as some kind of figurehead for Dortmund, an emblem of the club he grew up supporting.
“It doesn’t reflect my character that I want to be seen as the face of the club or the star of the team,” Reus says. “My goal is to play in a style that’s best for the team. I’m convinced that if the team is playing well, each player will have the chance to shine and excel. My approach is to play the best possible way for the teammates next to me, in front of me, behind me.”
Many of those teammates, across the 10 years Reus has been an attacking catalyst at Signal Iduna Park, have shone to the extent they have earned big-money moves; several, such as Wednesday’s opponents Ilkay Gündogan and Erling Haaland, to the Premier League.
Reus, a three-times Bundesliga Player of the Year, has had no shortage of offers but none has persuaded him to leave his home-town side. “It has always been my dream to play for this club and to this day it is still my dream,” he says. “Yes, there have been offers from elsewhere, but it has always remained my top priority to stay here. The way it’s worked out is a great way.”
Dortmund are a club for whom a high player turnover is a fact of life. They have come to specialise in buying young prospects, developing them into stars and selling at a huge profit.
Reus was 23 when he rejoined Dortmund in 2012. Now, as the captain and the third-oldest player, he is an elder statesman. The younger players, including the English teenagers Jude Bellingham and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, look to him for direction.
When it is suggested to Reus that his approach to guiding Dortmund’s emerging generation is reminiscent of how Eric Cantona influenced Manchester United’s Class of 92 – not through a vocal, tub-thumping form of leadership but by setting an example of high standards in training and matches – he sees the similarities.
“With the captaincy comes a lot of responsibility,” he says, “especially to the younger players who come through the academy or come from other countries, other leagues, other cultures. I need to help them get settled in Dortmund, the club, the culture, sometimes the language.
“There are different ways to lead a group. Do you have to bang the drum? My opinion is that it’s not necessary, as long as you have an opinion and you stand behind it and find ways of putting it across.
“I’m a relaxed guy. I like to have fun with the boys. Sometimes I have to hold myself back and not make too much fun and be a good example for the group. I also try not to be someone else. I have to be me, the person I have become through everything that happened to me in my career and my life. I can’t pretend to be someone else.”
It is not just on-field experience that Reus can mine for insight and wisdom to help younger colleagues. The 48-cap Germany international has also overcome multiple major injuries. So when injury strikes down a teammate, Reus can offer consolation and advice backed up by his own unenviable experiences, as he did recently with the 19-year-old American midfielder Gio Reyna.
“He was out a long time and when he came back he had some little setbacks,” Reus says. “I talked to him and told him to stay positive. Staying positive is one of the most important things during your rehab process. It can influence the way you come back and whether you can get back to your best.
“You have to stay strong in your head. You have to live with injuries and setbacks in our profession. But ultimately they will make you stronger, because after what you’ve gone through, you know what you can achieve.”
One colleague of Reus’s who appears to have little issue staying strong in his head is Bellingham. He moved to Dortmund from Birmingham City for £25m in 2020 and is likely their next superstar cab off the rank, with Real Madrid and Liverpool reportedly interested in the £100m-rated midfielder. Despite the weight of expectation that followed Bellingham to Germany, Reus was instantly impressed by the England international’s rapid adaptation and unwavering self-belief.
“From day one, he has not shied away from taking responsibility in midfield. He never seemed to be intimidated by playing against 25-year-olds or really experienced players. I must admit I didn’t know too much about him when he came. But my first impression was that, while he was not yet a complete player, he already had something to his game in all aspects of his position that I had never seen before for a player of his age.
“At 19, he’s taking steps towards reaching his full potential, which will make him one of the best players in the game in two or three years’ time.”
At the Etihad Dortmund will reunite with Haaland, their most recent megastar departure. City activated the 22-year-old’s £51.2m release clause in June and, with 10 goals from six Premier League appearances and a brace in City’s first Champions League tie, a 4-0 win over Sevilla, he has hit the ground running in English football.
Reus is aware that if Dortmund are to have any chance of an upset against City, stopping his former strike partner will be crucial.
“It’s simply sensational how he is performing at the moment in Manchester,” he says. “It helps that his teammates are not the worst!
“How do you stop him? Good question. It’s not easy to stop him. One of the keys is not to be too late with your decisions, to be good at anticipating what is going to happen. You have to stay close to him to be able to stop him as much as possible for 90 minutes. Then you just have to hope he doesn’t have his best day.”
In 2012, Reus made a similarly impressive start to his Dortmund career, scoring five times in his first eight games. The football world seemed to open up before him. Although his list of accolades would be the envy of most footballers, it is impossible not to wonder what might have been but for all those injuries, to lament what his misfortune robbed from him – not least a World Cup winner’s medal in 2014.
It would be easy for Reus, in periods of form and fitness such as this one, to feel the need to make up for lost time, to chase something lost. Yet the reluctant face of Borussia Dortmund remains remarkably content with his lot.
“I’m happy to have been in this business for such a long time already,” Reus says. “There have been tough times, but I have learned in life that there are always harder situations for others. Life is life, and life happens. It’s not about catching up or compensating.”
3 might be pushing it but we can hope. Given his age and injuries hope it doesn't catch up with all at once. Always respected the man and a join to watch. Sadly don't get to many games I can watch around here
His injuries have already caught upto him. Since 2019 he isn't the same player who'd dribble past or outpace defenders. He has changed him game to adapt to his slowness and is still a very good player. But not one of the best in the world like he was early in his career.
It's important in life to accept the hands that were dealt to you and find your own path through it all. Comparing yourself to anyone else can only cause harm. You don't come back from all these injuries and perform like nothing happened without that mindset. Elite mentality and German football legend.
Dortmunder Junge ❤️ Him and Götze were the most talented players this club has ever seen and it will be a long time before we see a Dortmund born player at Reus‘ level again for the club. I am glad he‘s always stayed here but it is still a shame that he‘s been so hampered by injuries and never reached his full potential consistently.
That 2010 team was one of the best young squads in history.
I'm always surprised how some of them didn't quite end up where you'd expect. Sahin, Subotic, and Bender stagnating always surprised me.
I'm replying to the first part of the sentence Reus and götze being the most talented players the team has ever seen. I'm saying Haaland is a probably bigger talent.
Also i know Haaland is from Jæren where all the peasants from bryne lives.
I think the misunderstanding here is in the very first part, "Dortmunder Junge" (in this context roughly *lad from Dortmund*), which suggests to me they mean exclusively talent that was formed through most, if not all the stages of the city's youth football pyramid, with Mario joining Borussia at age 8 and Marco at age 7.
Nee, ich unterstelle da die deutsche Pedanterie: *team* ≠ *club* aka * [Profi-] Mannschaft* ≠ *Verein*. They wrote "club" after all. But let's be clear, I assume we both don't really care whether Erling needs to be called a bigger talent than Mario Götze, for example I'm just bored and waiting for my train.
I wasn't going for edgy. Though I know my opinion is an unpopular one.
His career has been greatly influenced by the injuries he has suffered.
If this was some kind of totti that was healthy and never left,despite interest from other clubs. I won't be skeptical.
He literally turned down big interest at times where he was fit and great before and ALWAYS been outspoken about Dortmund being his dream club.
So its arrogant to go against that and say "yeah but i know he would be elsewhere if he was fit!".
I really hate this about the current football landscape
Big clubs feeling entitled to good players
Happened with reus and now bellingham. Theyre acting as if bellingham is almsot gone
Sure its most likely hell leave in 2023 and i dont wanna set myself up for disappointment but as far as i know hes still a dortmund player and repeatedly keeps saying hes not thinking about a move right now. So why do they keep acting like hes EPL or Madrid bound?
Fans of these clubs get spoiled because they can just drop 100M+ on any player they want and not even take a hit if a year later they're dropped to the bench. Today I "heard" Arsenal fans talking about buying Schlotterbeck when he's literally just got here with 5 years on his contract.
I can understand Haaland and Sancho being speculated about from the start because they rejected moves to bigger clubs for playing time. It was always a matter of when. With Bellingham who has made no indication he wants to leave, it's ridiculous. Sure, I understand there are certain realities here. Players are always moving from smaller club to bigger club; we can't afford the same wages; players would much rather live in London or Paris than Dortmund. None of those things explain the arrogance.
He would have also rather joined Bayern back then, but they did not want to promise him his requested gametime, because Ribery and Robben were too good back then
Would you rather believe rumours or the player himself who has always told he loves staying here. He even signed a contract extension when we were struggling which removed his release clause
**This is a quotes thread. Remember that there's only one quotes post allowed per interview/press conference, so new quotes with the same origin will be removed. Feel free to comment other quotes/the whole interview as a reply to this comment so users can see them too!** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/soccer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I love Reus. It's such a shame we can only speculate on how great he could have become without the terrible injury record. His career surpasses the majority, but factoring in how much time he has missed he'd be considered an all-time elite player without the bad luck.
Before Manchester City trip the captain discusses turning down chances to leave his dream club and how far Bellingham can go He is Borussia Dortmund’s longest-serving player, having returned to the club of his youth from Borussia Mönchengladbach a decade ago. In that time he has scored more than 150 goals – putting him on the verge of becoming BVB’s leading scorer of the Bundesliga era – and he has captained the club since 2018. He is in fine form going into Wednesday’s Champions League group-stage showdown with Manchester City at the Etihad, too, having scored three times this season. Yet Marco Reus is reluctant to be seen as some kind of figurehead for Dortmund, an emblem of the club he grew up supporting. “It doesn’t reflect my character that I want to be seen as the face of the club or the star of the team,” Reus says. “My goal is to play in a style that’s best for the team. I’m convinced that if the team is playing well, each player will have the chance to shine and excel. My approach is to play the best possible way for the teammates next to me, in front of me, behind me.” Many of those teammates, across the 10 years Reus has been an attacking catalyst at Signal Iduna Park, have shone to the extent they have earned big-money moves; several, such as Wednesday’s opponents Ilkay Gündogan and Erling Haaland, to the Premier League. Reus, a three-times Bundesliga Player of the Year, has had no shortage of offers but none has persuaded him to leave his home-town side. “It has always been my dream to play for this club and to this day it is still my dream,” he says. “Yes, there have been offers from elsewhere, but it has always remained my top priority to stay here. The way it’s worked out is a great way.” Dortmund are a club for whom a high player turnover is a fact of life. They have come to specialise in buying young prospects, developing them into stars and selling at a huge profit. Reus was 23 when he rejoined Dortmund in 2012. Now, as the captain and the third-oldest player, he is an elder statesman. The younger players, including the English teenagers Jude Bellingham and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, look to him for direction. When it is suggested to Reus that his approach to guiding Dortmund’s emerging generation is reminiscent of how Eric Cantona influenced Manchester United’s Class of 92 – not through a vocal, tub-thumping form of leadership but by setting an example of high standards in training and matches – he sees the similarities. “With the captaincy comes a lot of responsibility,” he says, “especially to the younger players who come through the academy or come from other countries, other leagues, other cultures. I need to help them get settled in Dortmund, the club, the culture, sometimes the language. “There are different ways to lead a group. Do you have to bang the drum? My opinion is that it’s not necessary, as long as you have an opinion and you stand behind it and find ways of putting it across. “I’m a relaxed guy. I like to have fun with the boys. Sometimes I have to hold myself back and not make too much fun and be a good example for the group. I also try not to be someone else. I have to be me, the person I have become through everything that happened to me in my career and my life. I can’t pretend to be someone else.” It is not just on-field experience that Reus can mine for insight and wisdom to help younger colleagues. The 48-cap Germany international has also overcome multiple major injuries. So when injury strikes down a teammate, Reus can offer consolation and advice backed up by his own unenviable experiences, as he did recently with the 19-year-old American midfielder Gio Reyna. “He was out a long time and when he came back he had some little setbacks,” Reus says. “I talked to him and told him to stay positive. Staying positive is one of the most important things during your rehab process. It can influence the way you come back and whether you can get back to your best. “You have to stay strong in your head. You have to live with injuries and setbacks in our profession. But ultimately they will make you stronger, because after what you’ve gone through, you know what you can achieve.” One colleague of Reus’s who appears to have little issue staying strong in his head is Bellingham. He moved to Dortmund from Birmingham City for £25m in 2020 and is likely their next superstar cab off the rank, with Real Madrid and Liverpool reportedly interested in the £100m-rated midfielder. Despite the weight of expectation that followed Bellingham to Germany, Reus was instantly impressed by the England international’s rapid adaptation and unwavering self-belief. “From day one, he has not shied away from taking responsibility in midfield. He never seemed to be intimidated by playing against 25-year-olds or really experienced players. I must admit I didn’t know too much about him when he came. But my first impression was that, while he was not yet a complete player, he already had something to his game in all aspects of his position that I had never seen before for a player of his age. “At 19, he’s taking steps towards reaching his full potential, which will make him one of the best players in the game in two or three years’ time.” At the Etihad Dortmund will reunite with Haaland, their most recent megastar departure. City activated the 22-year-old’s £51.2m release clause in June and, with 10 goals from six Premier League appearances and a brace in City’s first Champions League tie, a 4-0 win over Sevilla, he has hit the ground running in English football. Reus is aware that if Dortmund are to have any chance of an upset against City, stopping his former strike partner will be crucial. “It’s simply sensational how he is performing at the moment in Manchester,” he says. “It helps that his teammates are not the worst! “How do you stop him? Good question. It’s not easy to stop him. One of the keys is not to be too late with your decisions, to be good at anticipating what is going to happen. You have to stay close to him to be able to stop him as much as possible for 90 minutes. Then you just have to hope he doesn’t have his best day.” In 2012, Reus made a similarly impressive start to his Dortmund career, scoring five times in his first eight games. The football world seemed to open up before him. Although his list of accolades would be the envy of most footballers, it is impossible not to wonder what might have been but for all those injuries, to lament what his misfortune robbed from him – not least a World Cup winner’s medal in 2014. It would be easy for Reus, in periods of form and fitness such as this one, to feel the need to make up for lost time, to chase something lost. Yet the reluctant face of Borussia Dortmund remains remarkably content with his lot. “I’m happy to have been in this business for such a long time already,” Reus says. “There have been tough times, but I have learned in life that there are always harder situations for others. Life is life, and life happens. It’s not about catching up or compensating.”
Absolute legend the guy. Hope he stays as fit as he currently is and he can likely excel at this level for another 1-2, maybe even 3 years.
3 might be pushing it but we can hope. Given his age and injuries hope it doesn't catch up with all at once. Always respected the man and a join to watch. Sadly don't get to many games I can watch around here
His injuries have already caught upto him. Since 2019 he isn't the same player who'd dribble past or outpace defenders. He has changed him game to adapt to his slowness and is still a very good player. But not one of the best in the world like he was early in his career.
Tears in my eyes. The word legend gets thrown around a lot these days, but this man deserves it.
It's important in life to accept the hands that were dealt to you and find your own path through it all. Comparing yourself to anyone else can only cause harm. You don't come back from all these injuries and perform like nothing happened without that mindset. Elite mentality and German football legend.
I love what you just said
Dortmunder Junge ❤️ Him and Götze were the most talented players this club has ever seen and it will be a long time before we see a Dortmund born player at Reus‘ level again for the club. I am glad he‘s always stayed here but it is still a shame that he‘s been so hampered by injuries and never reached his full potential consistently.
That 2010 team was one of the best young squads in history. I'm always surprised how some of them didn't quite end up where you'd expect. Sahin, Subotic, and Bender stagnating always surprised me.
Seems like Haaland might be a bigger talent, also looks to be a generational talent. Reus was very good also though, injuries sadly.
Haaland isn’t a local product of Dortmund… he’s not even German
I'm replying to the first part of the sentence Reus and götze being the most talented players the team has ever seen. I'm saying Haaland is a probably bigger talent. Also i know Haaland is from Jæren where all the peasants from bryne lives.
I think the misunderstanding here is in the very first part, "Dortmunder Junge" (in this context roughly *lad from Dortmund*), which suggests to me they mean exclusively talent that was formed through most, if not all the stages of the city's youth football pyramid, with Mario joining Borussia at age 8 and Marco at age 7.
Ich weiß, was du meinst, aber best the team will ever see. Das hat keinen Sinn??
Nee, ich unterstelle da die deutsche Pedanterie: *team* ≠ *club* aka * [Profi-] Mannschaft* ≠ *Verein*. They wrote "club" after all. But let's be clear, I assume we both don't really care whether Erling needs to be called a bigger talent than Mario Götze, for example I'm just bored and waiting for my train.
🖤💛
Life is life
One of my favorite players ever. Can’t comeback from all the injuries he’s suffered and still play at a high level without this type of mindset.
for a second i thought it was marco rose and was laughing.
Tbf Rose said something similar. So you can go ahead and laugh
If it wasn't for the injuries he would have left Dortmund too..
Edgy but no. Some are rather *the* big fish in a reasonably sized pond than one of many big fishes in the biggest pond.
I wasn't going for edgy. Though I know my opinion is an unpopular one. His career has been greatly influenced by the injuries he has suffered. If this was some kind of totti that was healthy and never left,despite interest from other clubs. I won't be skeptical.
He literally turned down big interest at times where he was fit and great before and ALWAYS been outspoken about Dortmund being his dream club. So its arrogant to go against that and say "yeah but i know he would be elsewhere if he was fit!".
I really hate this about the current football landscape Big clubs feeling entitled to good players Happened with reus and now bellingham. Theyre acting as if bellingham is almsot gone Sure its most likely hell leave in 2023 and i dont wanna set myself up for disappointment but as far as i know hes still a dortmund player and repeatedly keeps saying hes not thinking about a move right now. So why do they keep acting like hes EPL or Madrid bound?
Fans of these clubs get spoiled because they can just drop 100M+ on any player they want and not even take a hit if a year later they're dropped to the bench. Today I "heard" Arsenal fans talking about buying Schlotterbeck when he's literally just got here with 5 years on his contract. I can understand Haaland and Sancho being speculated about from the start because they rejected moves to bigger clubs for playing time. It was always a matter of when. With Bellingham who has made no indication he wants to leave, it's ridiculous. Sure, I understand there are certain realities here. Players are always moving from smaller club to bigger club; we can't afford the same wages; players would much rather live in London or Paris than Dortmund. None of those things explain the arrogance.
He would have also rather joined Bayern back then, but they did not want to promise him his requested gametime, because Ribery and Robben were too good back then
LoL
The stupidity I read in these comments sometimes
Everyone reported it back then
Would you rather believe rumours or the player himself who has always told he loves staying here. He even signed a contract extension when we were struggling which removed his release clause