After the final whistle at the Allianz Arena, Dortmund’s nightmare temporarily ended. But for Marco Reus, his pain has only really begun. After the defeat to Bayern Munich, Reus became the focus of criticism when he played weakly and almost disappeared on the field before being substituted in the 60th minute. Things got worse when Dortmund continued to lose to Leipzig just a few days later in the semi-finals of the national cup. And Reus once again suffered the wrath of public opinion.
The White Night for Marco Reus
Much has been said about the future of Marco Reus after those failures. His motivation seems to have run out, and his contract with Dortmund is set to expire at the end of this season. Legendary Lothar Matthaus even bluntly said that Reus’ position at Signal Iduna Park was no longer sacrosanct and Dortmund’s young players are now well enough to replace him.
But then at the darkest moment, Dortmund and Reus saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Bayern Munich’s 1-3 loss to Mainz 05 helped Dortmund return to the top of the table when the Bundesliga had only 5 rounds left. The distance of 1 point can be very fragile, but it can also be enough if Marco Reus and his teammates are really determined.
Criticisms for the better
Among the criticisms directed at Reus, perhaps many of them come from people who truly love him. They love him because of his loyalty to the yellow and black shirt, and they love him because of a career that is too uneventful. All his youth he served Dortmund only in exchange for two German national cups. If that summer of 2014, Reus went to Bayern Munich or Real Madrid, maybe his career would have been a lot different.
In the moment when Marco Reus went to hug his old friend Mario Gotze last weekend, people felt the brutality of football. Both are only shadows of themselves when they turn late, but at least Gotze has it all in his collection, from Bundesliga titles with Dortmund or Bayern Munich to the World Cup. Honor Cup. As for Reus, the World Cup is just a distant dream, and the Bundesliga silver disc is still just an unrelenting anxiety. That’s why when seeing Reus give up during a pivotal period of the season, fans became radicalized and aimed at him. They hate him less but are disappointed in him more.
But now that the Bundesliga dream continues to come to life, people once again hope that their captain is strong enough to fight for his dream. Reus is not the classic German player who can scream fire and devour opponents, but he is still a guy with extraordinary energy.
Persistent injuries up to a few pages long can cause any player to retire from the field in his twenties. But in the end, fate could not bring Reus down as he continued to get up and continue writing the story at Signal Iduna Park. At the age of 33, Reus is still an inspiration for Dortmund to fly high this season and is the second greatest striker in the team’s history with 161 goals.
Time for Reus
Now will be the time for Reus to promote that passive to stand up and fight with his teammates for the rest of this season. Fighting for the Bundesliga dream he’s had for more than a decade, fighting for the pain he’s endured throughout his career, and fighting for a happy ending in a Ruhr love story.
Come on, get up and fight, Marco Reus!