Bundesliga is not only about Bayern Munich. In this competition, there are some other great clubs that have won a lot of prestigious achievements and one of them is Borussia Dortmund. Indeed, in terms of the number of titles Dortmund is still behind Bayern Munich. However, this club is regarded as one of the best German clubs in the world, especially after winning Champions League in 1997.
In this article, I'd like to discuss Borussia Dortmund's best players of all time. Not only from Germany, there are also several foreign players who played major roles in helping Dortmund win a lot of trophies and titles. Without further ado, here is the list:
15. Jan Koller
Jan Koller was a big, tall striker who played for Dortmund in the period 2001-2006. He had instrumental role in helping the club to be a Bundesliga champion in the 2001-02 season. Jan Koller who is more than two meters tall was a mainstay of Dortmund in scoring goals, especially through headings. Not only that, Koller also few times played as a goalkeeper when the team's main goalkeeper is injured or red carded during a match.
14. Heiko Herrlich
This German striker played for Dortmund for nine years, from 1995 to 2004. Herrlich was known as an effective striker in turning opportunities into goals. He presented two Bundesliga titles and one Champions League trophy to Dortmund. Throughout his career, Herrlich scored 42 goals from 128 appearances for Dortmund. Have been diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2000, this player was successfully recovered and even continue playing for Dortmund before retiring in 2004.
13. Lothar Emmerich
Emmerich is the only Borussia Dortmund's player ever to become a top scorer of German League. Not just once, this player even managed to be a Bundesliga's top scorer in two consecutive years, in 1966 and 1967. During his period playing for Dortmund for nine years, he scored 146 goals from 248 appearances. Emmerich also won a Winners Cup trophy and a Bundesliga title. This player was included in the West Germany squad that became a runner-up in the 1966 World Cup tournament.
12. Tomáš Rosický
Prior to joining Arsenal, Rosicky was a very important player for Borussia Dortmund. He played for the club in the 2001-2006 period. The Czech Republic midfielder is known as a playmaker who is very creative and had accurate passing ability. He was even nicknamed as "the little Mozart" because of his creativity and artistic playing style.
11. Christoph Metzelder
Borussia Dortmund has a lot of great defenders and one of them is Christoph Metzelder. Metzelder could be regarded as the most successful German central defender in the first decade of the 21st century. He played for Dortmund from 2000 to 2007, winning a Bundesliga title. Not only that, Metzelder also successfully helped German national team to be a runner-up in the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008 tournament. In 2007, he was transferred to Real Madrid and played alongside Sergio Ramos. His duet with Ramos was recognized as one of the strongest central defenders duet in La Liga at that time.
10. Robert Lewandowski
Robert Lewandowski is a Polish striker who is still playing for Dortmund. He was signed by Dortmund a small club in Polish League in 2010. He got his chance to play in the first team in 2011, and he used the opportunity very well. Since 2011 until now, Lewandowski has always been a top scorer of Dortmund. One of his most memorable performance is when he scored four goals in the Champions League semi-final match against Real Madrid in 2013. Not only that, Lewandowski also led Dortmund win a Bundesliga title and two DFB Pokal trophies.
9. Jürgen Kohler
Kohler is one of the strongest Germany national team defenders in the 1980s until the mid-1990s. This player successfully helped West Germany win the 1990 World Cup. He is known as a central defender who is very tough. He even successfully marked and stopped some of the world's greatest strikers such as van Basten, Lineker, and Maradona in scoring goals. Kohler played for Dortmund for seven years, leading the team won two Bundesliga titles and one Champions League trophy.
8. Stéphane Chapuisat
Chapuisat is regarded as the best Swiss footballer of all time. His golden period occurred when he played for Dortmund from 1991 to 1999. During the eight years of joining Dortmund, Chapuisat won two Bundesliga titles, two DFB Pokal trophy, and a Champions League trophy. He also played in 103 international matches for the Swiss national team and scored 21 goals. This player ended his career as a footballer in 2006 with a Swiss League club, Lausanne.
7. Christian Wörns
Worns was one of the mainstay of Germany national team defense in the 1990s period. He played as a center back, sometimes it can also be played as a sweeper. Worns was signed from Paris Saint-Germain in 1999 and played for Dortmund for nine years before finally retiring in 2008. His solid performances in Dortmund defense line played a major role in helping this club become the champion of Bundesliga in the 2001-02 season.
6. Roman Weidenfeller
Roman Weidenfeller is a player who is trusted to be the number one goalkeeper of Dortmund since 2003, replacing Jens Lehmann who was transferred to Arsenal. So far, Weidenfeller has appeared in over 300 official matches with Borussia Dortmund. During his period at this club, Weidenfeller won two league titles and one DFB Pokal trophy. Not only known for his goalkeeping ability, Weidenfeller also has very good leadership skills so that he was given a position as the vice captain of Dortmund.
5. Michael Zorc
With a total of 561 appearances, Michael Zorc holds the record as the player with the highest numbers of appearances for Borussia Dortmund. The German midfielder played for Dortmund for 17 years, from 1981 to 1998. He is known as a player who often scored from penalty kicks. With a total of 151 goals, Zorc listed as Borussia Dortmund's second top scorer of all time. In addition to winning two German league titles, Zorc also won the Champions League in the 1996-97 season.
4. Alfred Preissler
Alfred Preissler is a former German striker who is also Borussia Dortmund's top scorer of all time, with a total of 174 goals. He played for Dortmund for 11 seasons and led the club to become German champions two years in a row in 1956 and 1957. During his golden era, Preissler is known as a fast, tough, and extremely effective striker. Unfortunately, he rarely got chances to play for the West Germany national team.
3. Andreas Möller
Andreas Moller is often regarded as the "Roberto Baggio of Germany." He was a playmaker with high creativity and very prolific in scoring goals. For six years playing for Dortmund, Moller won two Bundesliga titles and one Champions League trophy. He also became the mainstay of the German national team midfielder, played in 85 international matches for his country and scored 29 goals. He also helped German win the 1990 World Cup and Euro 1996.
2. Matthias Sammer
Matthias Sammer is one of the Bundesliga's best player of all time. This player also became the only Dortmund player ever to win a Ballon d'Or award. Sammer won the award in 1996, a year in which he led Dortmund to be a Bundesliga champions and helped German national team win the Euro 1996. Throughout his career, Sammer is known as a tough, strong, and determined libero. He is also one of the highest scoring defenders in the world of football.
1. Stefan Reuter
Based on the performance, achievement, and loyalty; Reuter is the most appropriate player to be named as Dortmund's best player of all time. The German central defender played for Dortmund in the period 1992-2004. Throughout his career, he won five Bundesliga titles, two as a Bayern Munich player, and three as a Dortmund player. Reuter also had a vital role in helping Germany win the 1990 World Cup and Euro 1996. During his best time, Reuter was known as one of the fastest central defenders in the world.
