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The dreamcatcher: Dortmund’s world champion Matthias Ginter

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Sometimes dreams come true before you even have a chance to fall asleep – a phenomenon Matthias Ginter can certainly attest to. On 13 July, the 20-year-old became a world champion with Germany in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana. Then, just a day after returning from Brazil, his transfer from SC Freiburg to Borussia Dortmund was announced.

Yesterday evening, Ginter made his competitive debut for BVB in front of a sell-out crowd of 80,669 at Signal Iduna Park – in the DFL Supercup final. Against Bayern Munich. Facing Robert Lewandowski, who until recently also wore the black and yellow of Dortmund. BVB won the match 2-0 to give the promising young centre-back his first win and first title with the club. For Matthias Ginter, it is simply the latest in a series of memorable moments.

"Things couldn’t have gone any better. It was an incredible feeling to play my first home match in this stadium, and in a final against Bayern," the German international said. When he was first unveiled to the fans at Dortmund, Ginter explained how momentous his move from the tranquil surroundings of Breisgau to the Westphalian metropolis really was. "For me," he said at the time, "this is the fulfilment of a childhood dream. I was always a huge BVB fan and now I get to wear the shirt of my favourite club. I want to take the next step in my professional development here in Dortmund."

Jürgen Klopp: "We defended exceptionally well as a team"

Although Ginter played one or two noticeable wayward passes at the start of the match against the reigning league and cup champions, his overall performance was a display of German craftsmanship and contributed significantly towards his coach’s comments after the game. “We defended exceptionally well as a team,” said Jürgen Klopp, explaining: “We were extremely effective without the ball, defending bravely and pressing high up the pitch. We remained focused and consistent, and created good chances whenever we won the ball.” All of these attributes could be applied specifically to Matthias Ginter. During the first half, he cleared the ball away from Robert Lewandowski in an aerial duel on the halfway line – definitely an example of defending bravely and pressing high up the pitch with focus and consistency.

After half-time, he took the ball away from the lively Xherdan Shaqiri in a difficult area inside the penalty box, on this occasion taking a completely different defensive approach befitting the situation. He defended calmly and waited for the right moment to strike, forming an intelligent rearguard partnership with with Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who was the best player on the pitch against Bayern Munich. Indeed Papastathopoulos appears to be the natural choice in the centre of Dortmund’s back line for their first DFB Cup match against the Stuttgart Kickers on Saturday, followed by their Bundesliga opener against Bayer Leverkusen a week later.

Neven Subotic also made his return from a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a torn cruciate ligament, with BVB’s defensive stalwart and new captain Mats Hummels only resuming training a few days ago after his post-World Cup holiday. Although Ginter, who was awarded the Fritz Walter Gold Medal by the DFB in 2012 and 2013 for being the best German player in his age group, did not feature at this summer’s tournament in Brazil, the experience was an extremely valuable one.

Just two yellow cards in 42 games last season

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Standing at an impressive 1.90 metres tall, Ginter clocked up plenty of playing time last season. He started all 34 of Freiburg’s Bundesliga games, missing just 21 minutes of the campaign. The right-footed defender also performed strongly in his DFB Cup appearances, scoring twice, and in the UEFA Europa League, where he found the net once in five games. Along the way the 20-year-old made a name for himself with his distinctive intelligent play, skilful tackling, remarkable composure on the ball and formidable build-up play. The centre-back was shown just two yellow cards in his 42 competitive appearances last season, one in the league and one in the cup. His pass completion rate for the campaign stood at 84 per cent – an exceptional achievement and reason enough for Michael Zorc to entice Ginter to Dortmund.

BVB’s sporting director will now feel that his initial assessment of the former Freiburg player was justified. “Matthias is one of Germany’s strongest, most versatile and talented young players, and as such has always been of great interest to us,” Zorc said when news of the transfer was first announced, explaining: “BVB play in three competitions and have set ourselves big targets, so we made a conscious decision to start the new season with four formidable centre-halves.” It is a decision that could pay off from an early stage in the season and one that may make more of Ginter’s dreams come true by the end of the campaign.

created by dfb

[bild1]

Sometimes dreams come true before you even have a chance to fall asleep – a phenomenon Matthias Ginter can certainly attest to. On 13 July, the 20-year-old became a world champion with Germany in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana. Then, just a day after returning from Brazil, his transfer from SC Freiburg to Borussia Dortmund was announced.

Yesterday evening, Ginter made his competitive debut for BVB in front of a sell-out crowd of 80,669 at Signal Iduna Park – in the DFL Supercup final. Against Bayern Munich. Facing Robert Lewandowski, who until recently also wore the black and yellow of Dortmund. BVB won the match 2-0 to give the promising young centre-back his first win and first title with the club. For Matthias Ginter, it is simply the latest in a series of memorable moments.

"Things couldn’t have gone any better. It was an incredible feeling to play my first home match in this stadium, and in a final against Bayern," the German international said. When he was first unveiled to the fans at Dortmund, Ginter explained how momentous his move from the tranquil surroundings of Breisgau to the Westphalian metropolis really was. "For me," he said at the time, "this is the fulfilment of a childhood dream. I was always a huge BVB fan and now I get to wear the shirt of my favourite club. I want to take the next step in my professional development here in Dortmund."

Jürgen Klopp: "We defended exceptionally well as a team"

Although Ginter played one or two noticeable wayward passes at the start of the match against the reigning league and cup champions, his overall performance was a display of German craftsmanship and contributed significantly towards his coach’s comments after the game. “We defended exceptionally well as a team,” said Jürgen Klopp, explaining: “We were extremely effective without the ball, defending bravely and pressing high up the pitch. We remained focused and consistent, and created good chances whenever we won the ball.” All of these attributes could be applied specifically to Matthias Ginter. During the first half, he cleared the ball away from Robert Lewandowski in an aerial duel on the halfway line – definitely an example of defending bravely and pressing high up the pitch with focus and consistency.

After half-time, he took the ball away from the lively Xherdan Shaqiri in a difficult area inside the penalty box, on this occasion taking a completely different defensive approach befitting the situation. He defended calmly and waited for the right moment to strike, forming an intelligent rearguard partnership with with Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who was the best player on the pitch against Bayern Munich. Indeed Papastathopoulos appears to be the natural choice in the centre of Dortmund’s back line for their first DFB Cup match against the Stuttgart Kickers on Saturday, followed by their Bundesliga opener against Bayer Leverkusen a week later.

Neven Subotic also made his return from a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a torn cruciate ligament, with BVB’s defensive stalwart and new captain Mats Hummels only resuming training a few days ago after his post-World Cup holiday. Although Ginter, who was awarded the Fritz Walter Gold Medal by the DFB in 2012 and 2013 for being the best German player in his age group, did not feature at this summer’s tournament in Brazil, the experience was an extremely valuable one.

Just two yellow cards in 42 games last season

[bild2]

Standing at an impressive 1.90 metres tall, Ginter clocked up plenty of playing time last season. He started all 34 of Freiburg’s Bundesliga games, missing just 21 minutes of the campaign. The right-footed defender also performed strongly in his DFB Cup appearances, scoring twice, and in the UEFA Europa League, where he found the net once in five games. Along the way the 20-year-old made a name for himself with his distinctive intelligent play, skilful tackling, remarkable composure on the ball and formidable build-up play. The centre-back was shown just two yellow cards in his 42 competitive appearances last season, one in the league and one in the cup. His pass completion rate for the campaign stood at 84 per cent – an exceptional achievement and reason enough for Michael Zorc to entice Ginter to Dortmund.

BVB’s sporting director will now feel that his initial assessment of the former Freiburg player was justified. “Matthias is one of Germany’s strongest, most versatile and talented young players, and as such has always been of great interest to us,” Zorc said when news of the transfer was first announced, explaining: “BVB play in three competitions and have set ourselves big targets, so we made a conscious decision to start the new season with four formidable centre-halves.” It is a decision that could pay off from an early stage in the season and one that may make more of Ginter’s dreams come true by the end of the campaign.