'He defended like a farmer' - Why it may be time for Dortmund to replace Hummels
Stefan Bienkowski
- 21 Oct 2021 09:58 CDT
- 5 min read
Borussia Dortmund put in their poorest performance of the season this week when they were entirely undone in a 4-0 defeat to Ajax in the Champions League.
The Bundesliga side have looked good for most of the current campaign, but against a young and talented Dutch side Marco Rose’s team were taught some valuable lessons.
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One of them may, unfortunately, have been that senior defender Mats Hummels is now beginning to seriously look his age.
At the heart of a truly dysfunctional defensive performance, Hummels was at fault for a number of the goals before being substituted off in the 79th minute. And the media in Germany weren’t kind to him.
"Mats only has to give the opponent one side and not make the stupid foul," said former Dortmund and Germany player David Odonkor on German TV after the game. “The goal is conceded from the free kick. It's his own fault.” The former winger concluded that on the night, Hummels had defended "like a farmer".
Hummel’s struggles this season
While Hummels may still be one of the best central defenders in the world in theory, this season has seemingly come at a physical cost to the 32-year-old, with the Dortmund star struggling to finish most games.
Indeed, to date the Germany international has lasted the full 90 minutes in just one of Dortmund’s first eight Bundesliga games, just one of the club’s three Champions League games and was entirely absent for their first round clash in the German Cup and a Super Cup final against Bayern Munich at the start of the season.
Coupled with some poor performances when he is fit enough to feature on the pitch, it may now be time for Dortmund to consider a succession plan at the heart of their defence and to seriously consider whether a new central defender should be a priority in the next window.
