The Transfer Monger Week 9: Bartra’s Greatest Triumph and a squad hungry for the title

The Transfer Monger Week 9: Bartra’s Greatest Triumph and a squad hungry for the title

When the horrendous news broke ahead of Dortmund’s UEFA Champions League quarter final against Monaco last season, the automatic reaction was to think, “I hope no one is hurt.” The reality was though that following that terrible terrorist attack on the team bus, someone was hurt. In the grand scheme of things the club got off lightly, it could have been a lot more devastating and thankfully only one person was hurt. That unfortunate person was 26-year-old Dortmund centre back Marc Bartra.

Bartra suffered cuts and gashes but most significantly a broken arm. This kept him out of action for several weeks following the event. Barta eventually made his return in the final Bundesliga match of the season in the 4-3 victory over Werder Bremen.

Barta, who has been known for his interaction with fans on social media, was asked on Twitter what the best moment of his career had been. Barta posted a split picture, on one side was his kissing the Champions League trophy he won during his time at Barcelona. The second was him acknowledging the fans upon his return from the horrific attack. Bartra simply responded with the pictures with a quote: “The second one. Playing football again after hitting rock bottom. It’s the greatest triumph I can have and I achieve it every day I put my boots on.” 

Being able to play football is something that all players take for granted. that horrific day could have been so much worse, not only for Bartra but for the entire club. Having the gift of being able to play football again may seem insignificant to some people, but for Bartra it clearly shows how much he loves the game, declaring it as one of his greatest achievements being able to return to playing the game he loves.

Hungry for more

Die Schwarzgelben winger Ousmane Dembele has put to bed any rumours that he wanted out from the club by confirming his commitment, insisting he is focused on winning more trophies with BVB.

Dembele was a revelation in his debut season at Dortmund, netting 6 times in the league and getting 12 assists. He impressed many people throughout the world of football with his dynamic pace, trickery and the constant threat of being able to beat his marker. He also made a statement that he doesn’t shy from the big occasion when he scored the opening goal in the DFB Pokal final win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

Dembele said the following to Bild newspaper: “Bosz speaks fluent French and I hope that I can keep improving under his guidance. The whole team has a great future ahead. I want to win the Champions League, I’d like to win the World Cup with France and obviously, I want to win more titles with BVB.”

But it isn’t just Dembele who is hungry for success, Roman Bürki and Christian Pulisic have also publicly declared their desire to win with Dortmund.

The Dortmund goalkeeper said in an interview that BVB desperately want to close the gap on Bayern and put an end to the 5-year dominance from the Bavarians giants. He also claimed that the new system put in place by Bosz is coming together nicely and being consistent is key, something that they struggled with under Tuchel last season.

What has impressed me about Bürki is his honesty and his own reflection, something that in all cases of life people find very difficult to do. He said “Often my job is to keep it simple, sometimes I’ve lost concentration, but I’ve learned to be calmer since being here. As a goalkeeper, it helps to radiate calmness to the whole team. Of course, I’ll still sometimes take a risk. That’s what the coach wants.” Taking the time to reflect is difficult and as a goalkeeper, you have so much scrutiny if you make a mistake. To be self-critical is very important, especially when it comes to concentration and decision making. Being able to spot that and work on improving his composure will only improve his game and as a result, it will radiate to the defence and the rest of the side. It is often said that the greatest sides have world class goalkeepers, having a trait like composure could be invaluable in BVB’s rise to greatness.

All sources credited to Bundesliga.com