Defensive star
January 24, 2012
Ask a Bundesliga player whose team is on a roll where he sees his club in comparison to Bayern Munich and you'll usually get some pious grovelling including the phrases "it would be presumptuous to compare" and "keeping our feet on the ground."
Dortmund's Mats Hummels gives a tellingly different answer.
"Bayern won't like hearing this because it kind of makes it sound like they're taking us as a role model, but I do think they're trying to take our path a bit," the defender told Deutsche Welle. "Paying somewhat more attention to defense and pressing."
Hummels knows whereof he speaks. His former footballer father is a coach in Bayern's youth ranks, and Mats himself spent more than 12 years playing for the Bavarian giants as he grew up.
By May 2007, he made his debut in the Bayern's team. But it was to be Hummels' only appearance there. He failed to get a game in the 2007-8 season, and Bayern's bosses concluded that he would never be good enough to compete with their established central defenders Lucio, Martin Demichelis, and Daniel van Buyten.
Hummels was loaned out to Dortmund. Aside from hiring Jürgen Klinsmann as coach, it was the worst mistake made in Säbener Street in the past half a decade. Hummels eventually signed on permanently with Dortmund and has become the best defender in the Bundesliga during the past one-and-a-half seasons.
Bayern potentate Uli Hoeness no doubt feels a bit nauseous every time he recalls that personnel blunder. And as witnessed most recently in Dortmund's 5-1 demolition of Hamburg, Dortmund and Hummels are providing ample reminders of just how good they are.
Team of the future
With Bayern's defense descending into mediocrity last season, the club put out tentative feelers about bringing Hummels back. But the central defender was having none of it.
It was a wise decision. As an attack-minded center back, who occasionally shifts into something of a midfield rudder role when his team's forward momentum permits, he fits perfectly with Dortmund's style under coach Jürgen Klopp.
"People always talk about their short passing game, but to my mind, what makes Barcelona the best team in the world is their pressing, the ability of the whole team to defend," Hummels says. "For me that's the secret to a successful team."
Dortmund aren't Barcelona, of course, but they are a team with aspirations beyond just first-runner-up to Bayern. After losing stand-out midfielder Nuri Sahin to Real Madrid last summer, Klopp and club CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke have sent clear signals that the reigning Bundesliga champions' renaissance is planned as more than a one-season wonder.
The bosses have declared both Hummels and midfield wunderkind Mario Götze "not for sale at any price." And they've agreed to shell out more than 17 million euros ($22 million) to reacquire Marco Reus, a former Dortmund prospect who, like Hummels at Bayern, was once deemed surplus to requirements.
"It's great that the club once again has the means to bring in really good players," Hummels told Deutsche Welle. "It's a good sign for the guys who are already here that the club isn't complacent and wants to continue improving its quality."
At the age of 23, Hummels has to feel very good about his future prospects. But he also has yet to prove he is truly at the pinnacle of his sport internationally.
Potential linchpin for Löw
As stellar as Hummels has been in the Bundesliga, his performances at higher levels haven't been as consistent.
Against Marseilles in the Champions League last fall, his botched back pass scuppered what looked like a Dortmund comeback. And Hummels' poor marking helped engineer Dortmund's shock loss to Greek side Olympiakos Piraeus. Let-downs like those meant the German champions eventually finished last in their group and exited Europe altogether.
Hummels has also drawn some poor reviews for the German national side, particularly against Ukraine and Azerbaijan. In those matches he was criticized for lacking tactical discipline and relying too much on long balls.
For that reason, Hummels is still competing with Arsenal's Per Mertesacker and Bayern's Holger Badstuber and Jerome Boateng for one of two starting spots in Germany's central defense at the European Championship this summer in Poland and Ukraine.
Staying positive
"Since [Azerbaijan], things have been going well, and the coach has regained confidence in me," Hummels says. "The coming months will decide who gets to play. I see myself as one potential candidate of four. Purely in terms of statistics, the chance is 50-50. But I'm determined to make it happen."
At present, Badstuber seems to enjoy a slight advantage with Germany coach Joachim Löw. But Hummels is more agile than Mertesacker and is getting more minutes in the middle than Boateng, who is presently playing at right back for Bayern.
With no chance left this season to demonstrate his skills internationally, Hummels needs to lead his club in a credible bid to defend their Bundesliga title. If he can do that, it's easy to see Löw deciding to build his starting eleven around an axis of Bayern and Dortmund players.
Many experts inside and outside Germany feel that the Nationalelf is ripe for a major title. A defender with Hummels' skills at both ends of the pitch could be the final ingredient needed to propel Germany past Spain this summer in Central Europe.
"We're now the favorites against most teams, and for that reason the final has to be our goal," Hummels said. "And I think anyone playing in the final wants to win it."
A European crown would be the highlight of a career that looks as though it may continue for a fair few years to come. And an achievement of that magnitude would put Hummels in the mix for clubs even bigger than Bayern Munich when his contract with Dortmund expires in 2014.
Mats Hummels was interviewed by Jana Schäfer for DW-TV's Bundesliga Kick Off! The program airs on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Author: Jefferson Chase
Editor: Nancy Isenson