Dortmund's Season Review: Winners, Disappointments, and Promises

A season that never quite caught fire for Borussia Dortmund still produced clear winners, nagging disappointments and a handful of intriguing promises. Strip away the noise and the numbers tell a blunt story: a team propped up by its goalkeeper, held together by a new defensive leader, and dragged forward by a handful of attackers who flickered rather than burned.

Kobel: Dortmund’s insurance policy

Start at the back, where Gregor Kobel quietly put together an outstanding campaign. Forty-seven competitive matches, 4,260 minutes, 57 goals conceded, 18 clean sheets. The Swiss keeper didn’t just play more than anyone else – he carried more weight.

Time and again he bailed Dortmund out with reflex saves that turned defeats into draws and draws into wins. His defining moment came in Frankfurt, where he turned a cup tie into his personal stage by starring in the penalty shoot-out. One casual pass against Freiburg that contributed to Jobe Bellingham’s red card blotted the copybook, but only slightly. Over the season, Kobel was one of the few constants. Rating: 2.

Defence: Anton steps up, Schlotterbeck stalls

The centre of defence told a tale of two trajectories.

Nico Schlotterbeck returned in September after a long injury lay-off and initially looked like his old self. Sharp, aggressive, assured. Then the drop-off came. His form wavered, he was directly involved in several goals conceded, and the unresolved questions about his future hung over him. Five goals in 37 matches – a personal best – underline his threat at the other end, yet they cannot mask a season that felt underwhelming for a player of his ceiling. Rating: 3.

Alongside him, Waldemar Anton became the defender Dortmund had been searching for. Signed from Stuttgart, he logged the second-most minutes in the squad – 3,927 across 44 matches – and rarely put a foot wrong. Relentless in the tackle, switched on, fearless in every duel, he emerged as the true linchpin of the back line. Three goals were a bonus; his real value lay in the calm and steel he brought to a fragile unit. Rating: 2.

Further back in the pecking order, the story was more fragmented. Chelsea loanee Aaron Anselmino arrived short of rhythm but announced himself with an impressive debut before injury struck. When he returned, he looked like he had never been away: aggressive in the challenge, composed on the ball, a 20-year-old playing with the authority of a veteran. Ten matches, 585 minutes, one goal, one assist – and then gone, as Chelsea activated their winter buy-back clause. A fleeting glimpse of what might have been. Rating: 2.5.

Young Italian defender Filippo Reggiani, thrust in by injuries, took his chance more quietly. Nine games, 603 minutes, one goal and a lot of learning. Stationed on the right of a back three, he understandably played conservatively and often leaned on Anton’s guidance. For a rookie season at this level, “decent” is not faint praise. Rating: 3.5.

For another youngster, the step up bit back. Benefiting initially from the absences of Schlotterbeck and Emre Can, he debuted in the cup at Essen with a respectable showing, then saw his Bundesliga bow implode: a late penalty conceded, a red card, and a rapid slide out of the first-team picture. Six appearances, 311 minutes, no rating – and a painful detour to the U23s.

On the left, Ramy Bensebaini quietly stitched together a strong year. Once settled in Dortmund, the Algerian’s blend of technique and sharpened defensive work made him one of the side’s most reliable outlets. He contributed seven goals and three assists in 32 matches, an impressive tally for a defender and enough to make him the club’s top scorer outside the front four of Guirassy, Brandt, Beier and Adeyemi. Rating: 2.5.

Full-backs and captains: promise, price tags and painful breaks

Not everyone in the defensive unit found the same rhythm. The right-back who arrived for €25 million again failed to justify the investment. After a turbulent previous season, he did show progress in the first half of the campaign, cutting down on major errors and working harder without the ball. Defensive duels still exposed him, but six goal contributions – three goals, three assists in 27 games – at least offered some value. Then came the winter break, Julian Ryerson’s surge in form, and with it a return to the bench. Rating: 4.5.

Captain Emre Can endured a stop-start, ultimately cruel year. Like Schlotterbeck, he missed months early on, then saw his form swing wildly once he returned. Just when he seemed ready to string games together, a cruciate ligament tear ended his season prematurely. Sixteen games, 980 minutes, three goals – and a campaign that never really got going. Rating: 3.5.

Midfield: Nmecha commands, others drift

In midfield, one name stood above the rest: Felix Nmecha. This was his best season in a Dortmund shirt. Across 42 appearances and 3,137 minutes, he often dictated the tempo, using his dominance on the ball and sharp passing to accelerate play and keep Dortmund’s midfield in control. There were dips, as with almost everyone in the squad, but his importance became obvious when injury took him out and the structure in the middle of the park sagged. Five goals and three assists underline a complete campaign. Rating: 2.

Behind him, the picture was murkier. The new signing from England’s second tier, Jobe Bellingham, needed time to adapt. Early on, he played within himself, often too safe and uncertain in defensive situations. Yet he grew with the season, earned trust and a starting berth, and ended with 29 starts from 45 appearances. Four assists, no goals, and a sense that the foundations have been laid even if the attacking edge is still missing. Rating: 3.5.

Marcel Sabitzer, by contrast, never imposed himself. At 32, with his experience and technical quality, Dortmund needed more than flickers. After a poor pre-season, he briefly found his stride only to fade again, too often disappearing from matches rather than grabbing them. One goal and four assists in 34 appearances tell their own story. Rating: 4.5.

Salih Özcan’s year was even more frustrating. Left out of the Champions League squad and unable to secure a move in the summer because of injury, he received promises of more minutes after the winter break. They never really materialised. Twelve appearances, 74 minutes in total, and just 53 after January. His contract now runs out and he departs on a free, without a rating and without ever truly establishing himself.

Creative sparks and fading stars

Out wide and between the lines, Dortmund’s season felt like a series of short bursts rather than a sustained blaze.

Julian Brandt remained one of the most productive players in the squad. Fifteen goal contributions – 11 goals and four assists in 41 games – from only 24 starts is an excellent return, and only Guirassy scored more. Yet the old criticism still applies: consistency. In his seventh season at the club, the level expected of a player with his talent still didn’t appear week in, week out, and a few performances fell well below his standard. Dortmund’s decision not to extend his contract now leaves a significant creative and goalscoring gap. Rating: 2.5.

On the opposite end of the age scale, a 34-year-old creator was pushed to the fringes. Despite ranking second among Dortmund’s outfielders with 15 assists across the 2024/25 campaign, he spent most of this season’s first half watching from the bench. Sixteen appearances, only eight starts, no goals and two assists – and when the chances came, he couldn’t seize them. The frustration culminated in a winter move back to Brighton. Rating: 4.5.

Carney Chukwuemeka, another big-money arrival, endured a stop-start year of a different kind. The talent is obvious; the output is not. Across 38 matches and 1,225 minutes, he averaged just 32 minutes per appearance and started only ten times. He completed 90 minutes in a professional match for the first time in mid-April at Hoffenheim – a staggering statistic for a player of his profile. Three goals and two assists hint at quality, but his lack of fitness and stamina remains a glaring issue. Rating: 4.5.

Wings and forwards: numbers, droughts and auditions for the World Cup

On the flanks, the story swung wildly from promise to frustration.

Donyell Malen’s successor in the “problem child” role, Karim Adeyemi, seemed to have turned a corner early on. After a troubled previous season, he backed up his words with performances in the first half of this campaign, contributing to nine goals and looking sharper, more focused. Then 2026 arrived and the floor fell away. Only six starts in the second half of the season, a month out injured, and the earlier disciplinary issues on and off the pitch still lingering in the background. Even so, he finished with ten goals and six assists in 39 games, joint third-top scorer alongside Maximilian Beier. For a player with World Cup expectations, that second-half slump felt like a wasted opportunity. Rating: 4.

Beier, by contrast, caught fire when it mattered. Dortmund’s standout performer in the second half of the season, he produced six goals and seven assists despite rarely operating in his preferred role as part of a front two or as a central, deeper striker. Often shunted to left midfield, he still found ways to influence games, finishing with ten goals and ten assists in 44 matches. His late surge has likely pushed him into contention for the DFB’s World Cup squad. Now comes the real test: can he sustain this level when the stakes rise again? Rating: 2.5.

Up front, Serhou Guirassy remained the main reference point – and the biggest puzzle. Forty-six matches, 3,222 minutes, 22 goals, six assists. On paper, a strong season. He still scored twice as many goals as Dortmund’s next best, Brandt. Yet it never felt as explosive as the previous year, when he was involved in 43 goals in 45 games. A brutal drought – one goal in 13 Bundesliga matches – dragged his numbers down and his mood with it. The frustration boiled over in off-pitch flashpoints: a penalty dispute in Turin, a refusal to shake hands with Niko Kovac, poor body language in difficult spells. A rating of 2.5 reflects the balance: still vital, still prolific by most standards, but short of the bar he set himself.

Behind him, the new striker signing spent much of the season playing catch-up. He arrived in Dortmund injured and never quite closed the gap. Used mainly as a substitute, he brought energy and willingness but lacked the killer touch. Three goals and seven assists in 39 games, across just 1,181 minutes, suggest a useful squad player rather than a finished article. The foundations are there; the numbers must rise next season. Rating: 3.5.

On the right flank, the Norwegian creator offered a different kind of output. He didn’t score at all in 42 games, yet he finished with a remarkable 18 assists – 15 in the Bundesliga alone. Only Bayern’s Michael Olise (22) and Luiz Diaz (17) registered more. His relentless work rate and fighting spirit remained elite, and domestically he was one of Dortmund’s most reliable providers. In Europe, though, his limitations surfaced more clearly, and he struggled at times to impose himself at that level. Rating: 2.5.

The tireless Swede in midfield, ever-present in the first half of the season, also left a mixed impression. Third in the squad for minutes with 3,462 across 45 matches, he covered huge distances and executed the tactical plan diligently. Four goals and two assists were a modest return, and his attacking influence often felt too muted. As 2026 wore on, his form dipped, leaving the sense that he needs to add more incision to justify such a central role. Rating: 4.

The next wave: Inacio and the kids

Not all of Dortmund’s future lies in established names. Eighteen-year-old Inacio has already turned heads. “He sees things that others don’t see even at 30,” Kovac said, and the early evidence backs that up. In seven appearances and 383 minutes, the Italian has shown clever movement between the lines, tireless off-the-ball work and a knack for drifting into dangerous spaces. One goal so far, and the feeling that with a touch more precision he could already have three or four. No rating yet, but the anticipation is clear.

A handful of academy products also tasted the stage, if only briefly. Cole Campbell (16 minutes), Almugera Kabar (14) and Mathis Albert (2) all made cameo appearances. Nine other players – Alexander Meyer, Patrick Drewes, Silas Ostrzinski, Yannik Lührs, Danylo Krevsun, Elias Benkara, Julien Duranville, Giovanni Reyna and Mussa Kaba – spent time in matchday squads without seeing a single competitive minute. For them, the season was a lesson in patience.

A squad at a crossroads

Look across the roster and a pattern emerges. Kobel, Anton, Nmecha, Beier and Bensebaini formed a reliable spine. Guirassy still delivered, but with caveats. Brandt and the Norwegian creator provided end product without always dominating games. Around them, too many players either stagnated, broke down or flickered only in short bursts.

The raw talent is there. So are the gaps. As the World Cup looms and another season approaches, the question for Dortmund is stark: can this group turn scattered promise into a coherent, ruthless team – or will another year slip by as a story of what might have been?