Since being transferred to the defense, captain Emre Can has flourished at Borussia Dortmund. He has received praise from Nico Schlotterbeck and coach Niko Kovac.
The game on social media is not new, but the names vary. On Wednesday, Emre Can was celebrated by listing a number of things he would find in his pocket after the game in Lisbon: his cell phone, change, keys – and Viktor Györkeres, the highly praised Sporting forward.
And the picture was indeed fitting, because Borussia Dortmund’s captain had put the dangerous attacker in his approximately 30-minute stint, as well as the rest of the actually so dangerous offense of the Portuguese hosts, proverbially in his pocket. “Emre has been playing really well in the position for weeks. He also did extremely well against both strikers in the game against Sporting,” said Niko Kovac, not his new manager.
The captain has been a source of controversy for years
For the etatmäßiger Mittelfeldspieler, it is an unfamiliar situation this season so far. Because when it came to the often so shaky Dortmund year, his name was usually at the top of the list of those heavily criticized in the team. Opinions about the captain have been divided for years. For some, he is a strong, experienced campaigner who has gained experience and won titles with top international clubs such as Bayern, Liverpool and Juventus Turin. For others, the Frankfurt native is technically limited and one of the faces of the crisis-ridden BVB. As so often, the truth lies somewhere in between.
But it is undisputed at present that Can has clearly stabilized his performance – and is well on the way to becoming permanently at home in central defense. “If he continues like this,” said coach Kovac, “he is certainly the one who is currently best suited to the position.” For the new coach, this even results in something of a luxury problem. Because in addition to the established Nico Schlotterbeck and the in-form Can, the recovered Niklas Süle and Waldemar Anton are also waiting for opportunities, all of them potential German internationals.
Currently, there is no way around the duo Schlotterbeck/Can. Can played solidly in both the 2-1 loss to Stuttgart and the Champions League play-off first leg, aside from a minor slip-up against Sporting in the ninth minute, which was stopped in its tracks by the attentive presence of Schlotterbeck. It helps the Borussia captain noticeably that he is more clearly positioned at the back, can look ahead in particular, and has a firm grasp of the ball. He can leave the build-up to his gifted teammate, and has stopped the sometimes wild dribbling as a defensive midfielder.
“With Emre, you can play a high chain because he’s fast”
And when he has the ball, his toughness in duels, which he has had since his early days on the football fields of Frankfurt, comes to the fore – for example in the physically robust duels with Lisbon’s top striker Gyökeres. He also covers the depth well with his amazing speed. “With Emre, you can play a high chain because he’s fast. I think he does well with and against the ball and is very fast,” said Schlotterbeck, who knows: ‘He hasn’t had an easy time.’
The move from central midfield to the back four that was necessitated by the many absences was a stroke of luck for Can and BVB. It also gives Kovac the opportunity to switch to a back three in the future, a formation he has used frequently at his previous clubs. There’s still plenty of space in Emre Can’s bag.
