Exactly, which is why Reus has a point to prove. The CL is where players can show off their pedigree, Gomez did it last season, kind of, it seperates so to speak, the men from the boys.
What I mean is if Reus somehow doesn't 'show' what he is made of, we should refrain from criticizing him directly. Whether Dortmund performs or not is primarily on Klopp. We can't expect young players with so little experience and pedigree to 'step up'.
Reus doesn't have to prove a point or anything else. Everyone has seen what he can do in the league (with 2 different teams) and he has shown his talent with the German NT including the Euros. Regardless of how BvB performs in the CL, Reus will still be a quality player improving with every year till he reaches his ceiling...which I don't think is approaching any time soon.
I fully expect Reus to the best german player of this generation when it's all said and done. Which is why it's exciting just watching how it unfolds. He doesn't need to get there right away.
Not sure I would go that far. Reus is already 23 years old, even older than Thomas Mueller, who has 2 major FIFA awards to his name. There are also plenty of genuinely young players who are shining bright for Germany, Goetze, Draxler, even Schuerrle all will likely develop for 2-5 years more than Reus will, before they too reach their peaks.
Im not just pulling things out of my ass here. Younger players have more years to develop their skills and improve than do older players. Not all of them will pan out, granted...but if these younger players are already starting for big clubs and playing at a high level, one can reasonably expect big things in the future.
*shrug* Gotze's 3 years younger than Reus, Draxler 4 and Schuerrle just a year and a half. Reus is the best of the bunch right now and still improving himself. I see no reason he won't stop improving in the next 2-5 years. Gotze may surpass him, but frankly I don't think he will, Reus IMO will always be the superior goal scorer and more dynamic player of the two. Either way, the age gape isn't very big at all, and he's already at the front of the pack. He may not end up the best, but I think he will and am fully convinced he'll be in the top 3-5 with Ozil, Gotze and Khedira.
Not exactly a rating, but this article points out that Mats Hummels would make a fantastic replacement for carles puyol. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1356430-fc-barcelona-should-carles-puyol-retire
Oh you mean the 2 games he played at the euros? Give me a break. I am only saying that his individual performance will be scrutinized. Anyways, given how BVB have performed, I don't blame him for anything. Just looking to hummels performing, who has quickly become my favorite defender.
I have to say, Schmelzers movement is sometimes just sublime, looks so confident against city its weird.
If you're going to bring up the City game you have to talk about Bender and Gündogan, especially the latter. What an incredible performance. The entire German contingent of Dortmund played well. For Schalke Draxler was outstanding, shame he is going to be out for a while.
I thought Goetze was fantastic as well. He is a mix of Messi and Iniesta City had to foul him so many times. They just couldnt take the ball from him. He was probably Spanish in a previous life. Hummels, Guendogan and Draxler all got injured. Mertesacker wasnt even on the bench for Arsenal so I guess he is injured too.
That was by far the best performance I have ever seen from Gündogan. He, Reus, and Goetze are proving that they can play at the highest level.
Reus bounces back nicely from the Ajax CL match, against City. Almost had two goals. Goetze and Gundogan deserve credit as well. A scored draw is a great away result, and the pressure is on City now. They will need a result in Dortmund in the battle for 2nd. Who knows, maybe Dortmund can sneak past Real as well and finish on top, is that asking too much? Schalke coughed up the lead against the French champions, and so Arsenal takes over their group. Podolski generally plays well in Europe, but this year he is beasting. His shot went through two pairs of legs, thats two CL goals in two matches so far. Mertesacker meanwhile is not injured, just out with a cold. Will be good to go for international duty.
Speaking of Mertesacker; he has been an absolute rock in central defense for Arsenal. Both he and Poldi are having fantastic seasons so far.
I mentioned Schmelzer because he actually had a great game against a world class side, he made a lot of misplaced passes but his movement was just top notch. Bender was amazing, and Gundogan did very well, but again - missed a great chance to finally score. still young though and not quite confident so its understandable. I thought Reus was all over the pace, and gotze could and should have scored.
One young German player that nobody mentions but I think is fantastic is Roman Neustaedter. IMO he is right up there with Sven Bender, Khedira, Lars Bender and the likes. He will never get a chance for Germany but he is quality.
Gundogan had one of the best and most dynamic performances from a German midfielder in YEARS. Sublime.
Woah, calm down with the hyperbole. Yes, great performance - but dont forget this man city has problems of their own, nowhere near their best. Best performance in years? I think you vastly underrate schweinsteiger there.
Both those have a supporting cast Dortmund's can't match in terms of individual quality and experience...yet. Gundogan retained, defended and attacked effortlessly. In the Champions League, with the context of Dortmund away at City I'd rate it as one of the best I've seen in recent memory from a German midfielder. It was the type of performance that must have caught Ferguson's attention for instance. Also it indicated that Gundogan took the next step. He is ready for the big time and he has shown he can become an elite player in this position. He came in under scrutiny last season, finished as the best midfielder in the Rueckrunde, got a call up and is now Dortmund's best midfielder by far and outside of Bayern's midfielders not many come close to his quality in the league at the moment. It's not a hyperbole. It's refreshing as we haven't had a midfielder of his depth in a long time. He is the complete midfielder. He is our version of Scholes you can say, incredible football intelligence on display but his hunger is just as impressive.
This group of death has some major chinks in its armour. For instance, City and Real are both having big problems in their young seasons so far. Defences look more than a little shaky, on occasion. I think there is a great opportunity here for BvB, and if they can sneak into the KO stages, anything can happen, as we saw with Chelsea last year.