Here is a brief FM20 team guide of the Borussia Dortmund squad, their club structure, relationship any potential managers will have with the board, expectations and possible tactics any FM manager can use.
Here is a brief FM20 team guide of the Borussia Dortmund squad, their club structure, relationship any potential managers will have with the board, expectations and possible tactics any FM manager can use.
About Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund are a professional football club that plies their trade in the Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1909 by football players based out of Dortmund.
They are the 2nd largest sports club in Germany and are supported globally. Dortmund are the 2nd most successful team in Germany with 8 German Championships, 4 DFB Pokals, 6 DFL Supercups, 1 UEFA Champion’s League and 1 UEFA Cup winner’s cup. They have been runners up in the above-mentioned tournaments many times as well.
Their fan base is said to be one of the best in the world with the 81,000 Signal Iduna Park stadium almost filling up every time Dortmund play a home game.
Dortmund came runners up in the Bundesliga in the 2018-2019 season.
The Board's Expectations
The requirements of the board should you take over will be;
- Make the top 4 of the Bundesliga (Automatic Qualification into the UCL)
- Make the final of the DFB Pokal.
- Make the knockout stages of the UEFA Champion’s League.
As bonus requirements, you will be asked to play attacking football, sign young players for the first team and promote players who are out of the club’s youth system.
Dortmund have spent quite a bit in the transfer market having used up £115m of their transfer budget. So there should not be much room for you to make changes should you take over.
Dortmund have excellent training facilities and one of the best youth systems in FM 2020. You will learn to heavily depend on these to meet the club expectations and to compete for titles.
Squad, Formation and Tactical Style
Dortmund are a very attack-minded team and the board requirement is that you play attacking football. A Vertical Tiki-Taka style should best suit the squad of players and should cater to the board’s needs. You can use a fluid counter-attacking style in tough away games.
A 4-2-3-1 is probably the best-suited formation to the available squad of players. This also helps them maintain the width and pull defenders wide and use the superior dribbling skills of your wingers to create chances.
A rough example of what your line-up would look like in a 4-2-3-1 formation is as follows,
- Roman Burki as a sweeper keeper.
- Mats Hummels & Manuel Akanji as your 2 Ball Playing central defenders.
- Hakimi Achraf & Rafael Guerreiro as the 2 fullbacks. They’re attack-minded in general and should be given instructions to push forward as much as possible.
- Thomas Delaney & Axel Witsel as the 2 central midfielders. The former to be played as a holding playmaker and the latter also to be played as a deep playmaker.
- Thorgan Hazard & Jadon Sancho as the 2 wide attacking midfielders who can also be deployed as inside forwards.
- Marco Reus as the central attacking midfielder in a Shadow Striker role.
- Paco Alcacer as the lone forward in a Poacher role.
Alternatively, you can go with a 4-3-3 formation if you wish to be a little defensive. There are strong options from the bench in the form of Julian Weigl, Julian Brandt & Mario Goetze.
Key Players
1. Marco Reus
Reus is one of the best attackers in German football. Should keep him from getting injured, Reus will contribute with a lot of goals, especially in important games.
2. Axel Witsel
Witsel gives a lot of experience in central midfield. The versatile central midfielder contributes to both defence and in the transition to attack.
3. Jadon Sancho
Sancho is one of the best young wingers in FM20. His dribbling and physical attributes are extraordinary and the winger will only get better with age.
4. Thorgan Hazard
Hazard is a new signing for Dortmund, the younger Hazard has the potential to be as good as his brother with him contributing 10 goals from the wings for the past 2 seasons for his previous club.
Weaknesses
- Many of the players in the squad are prone to injury and a congested fixture list could see important players in the sidelines for many big games.
- You run the risk of some talents being poached by other clubs especially in search of higher wages.
- This is a very young squad and the inexperience will show in big matches.
Potential Transfers (in)
Dortmund are not the best squad in the league with respect to squad depth, these players could be welcome additions to the side.
- Erling Haaland (will be at the club if you play with the winter update)
- Dayot Upamecano
- Kai Havertz
Potential Transfers (Out)
These players may be surplus to requirements at the club or may not be of the expected quality.
- Marcel Schmelzer
- Lukasz Piszczek
Youngsters to Watch
There are a few exciting young prospects in the ranks who have the potential to be some of the best players in the league. A few examples are,
- Sergio Gomez (AML)
- Dan Axel-Zagadou (DC)
- Jadon Sancho (AML, AMR)
- Bradley Fink (ST)
FM20 Team Guide - Borrusia Dortmund
To Summarize, Dortmund is one of the most exciting teams to manage in FM 2020. The allure of managing so many wonderkids especially, Sancho is definitely alluring.
However, with bigger clubs always trying to poach your stars and in the shadow of Bayern, it will definitely be a challenge to establish Dortmund as one of the best clubs in the world. Are you up for it?
