Borussia Dortmund Football Formation

Starting Lineup

Kobel · Hummels · N.Schlotterbeck · Ryerson · Maatsen · Emre Can © · Sabitzer · Brandt · Sancho · Adeyemi · Füllkrug

Borussia Dortmund focus on winning the ball high up the pitch and breaking quickly through transitions. The lineup uses a 5-2-3 formation to balance defensive solidity with rapid attacking movements. This formation is built to press aggressively and exploit the space left behind an opponent when they try to play out from the back.

Kobel stands between the posts to command the area. The back line functions as a back five where Emre Can (C) acts as the central defender to hold the line and organize the unit. Hummels plays as a ball playing defender on the right of the trio, using his passing range to find teammates. N.Schlotterbeck sits on the left of the central three to cover space and win headers. Ryerson and Maatsen act as attacking wing backs who push high to provide width. This formation allows the team to stay compact when they drop into a mid block.

The midfield consists of a two man pairing. Sabitzer acts as a carrier to drive the ball forward and connect the defensive line to the attack. Brandt works in the half spaces to play through the lines and create chances. Because there are only two central players, they must work hard to squeeze the space and intercept passes. They often drop deep to help the defense or step up to trigger a press.

In the final third, the team uses three attackers. Füllkrug serves as a target man to hold up the ball and win the second ball. Adeyemi stays wide and makes runs in behind the opposition defense to stretch the defense. Sancho cuts inside from the right to find pockets of space. The wing backs, Ryerson and Maatsen, overlap the wingers to create overloads and whip it in toward the box.

One strength is the ability to hit in behind on the transition using the speed of Adeyemi and Sancho. The formation also allows for wide overloads when the wing backs push up to support the front three. This creates numerical superiority in the attacking zones. The Borussia Dortmund squad is also very hard to break down when they defend zonally in a compact block.

This 5-2-3 formation is built for teams that want to play with high intensity and lethal counter attacks. It is best suited for games against opponents who play a high line and leave space behind their defenders.