Gregor Kobel is Borussia Dortmund’s player of the season

After a successful season, when asked about the best player in the general public, those who provided the goals or special moments on the pitch are usually mentioned. Should BVB become champions, however, goalkeeper Gregor Kobel must be the priority.

Sébastien Haller with his moving story, the performance explosions of Donyell Malen and Karim Adeyemi, Julian Brandt’s rebirth or Jew Bellingham, who was hunted by half of Europe – they all shone with great performances in certain phases of this season. But none of them was as consistent as Gregor Kobel.

Apart from his blunders against Union Berlin in the first half of the season (0:2) and in the top game in Munich on Matchday 26 (2:4) – both his comeback after weeks of injury – Kobel is playing a flawless Bundesliga season. Despite being outnumbered, the Swiss was once again the center of attention in Augsburg when he thwarted a 100% chance of making it 1-1 with a brilliant act in the 59th minute and considerably relieved the nerves of those in front. Who knows what would have happened if the sometimes fragile BVB (keyword VfB Stuttgart) had had to tremble for the three points.

In the 6-0 win against VfL Wolfsburg, which was only supposedly one-sided in the first half, his team-mates benefited from Kobel’s saves. Without the secure backing, the offensive could not play so freely.

Striking: BVB did not leave the field as the winner in four of the seven games the 25-year-old missed. Even if substitute Alexander Meyer did a good job for the most part, he often didn’t parry the so-called “untenables” – and that’s what distinguishes Kobel this season.

Gregor Kobel: Strong values! Only one is better

Compared to his first year in Dortmund, after he was signed from Stuttgart for 15 million euros, Kobel has upped the ante again. He has long been one of the elite in the Bundesliga, which is also reflected in the numbers.

Although Kobel played three times less than in his debut season, he already has 13 more saves to his credit at 86. With 115 shots on his box, this results in an extremely strong rate of 74.8 percent saved balls. The value is only topped by Union Berlin’s Frederik Rönnow with 81 percent in 116 attempts to overcome it. Freiburg’s Mark Flekken complemented the podium with 74.3 percent.

In his 26 appearances, Kobel also kept the clean sheet eleven times, while Rönnow left the field once less with a clean sheet. The BVB goalkeeper has also improved significantly when it comes to building up the game, especially with long balls.

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Gregor Kobel: New contract or on the island?

So it’s not surprising that Kobel has long been on the list of the big clubs in Europe. Most recently he was in the international press at Chelsea, as the successor to Hugo Lloris at Tottenham Hotspur or David de Gea at Manchester United. After Manuel Neuer’s skiing accident, there were also rumors of FC Bayern Munich’s interest in the winter.

In Dortmund, the alarm bells should therefore be ringing for a long time. An early extension of the contract, which runs until 2026, is reportedly already being worked on. In this context, Kobel should rise to the top earners.

According to the Picture-Zeitung beckons him to double his salary from four to eight million euros a year, which would mean he would only receive slightly less than the top earners in the club. In addition, the whereabouts with a new role should be made palatable to him. Kobel could rise in the club’s internal hierarchy by being appointed to the team council.

If Bellingham leaves, Kobel could also become the third captain. He demonstrates his leadership qualities both regularly on the pitch and in conversations with the media. Kobel doesn’t shy away from criticism and doesn’t mince words about his own mistakes (“Nice shit”; after the game against Bayern).

Gregor Kobel: Curious incident with Sébastien Haller

Kobel also underlined his importance within the team during a curious incident in the catacombs of the Augsburg WWK Arena. While he was already answering questions from the journalists, Haller was one of the last BVB players to go to the locker room. After a handshake, Kobel pointed out that departure was at 8 p.m., after all, a plane still had to be caught.

“We need to fly, Bro,” he called in the direction of Haller, who then increased his speed a bit. “Eight, no fun, I’m not kidding,” added Kobel, referring to the imminent detour: “Otherwise we’ll have to go to Paderborn.”

With the exception of Donyell Malen and Julian Ryerson, all players arrived in Dortmund on time. The next trip would then only be scheduled for the celebrations on Borsigplatz. The keeper is “extremely convinced” that BVB will eventually do the same: “It’s about time because we simply have this quality in the team”. And no one else has been able to do this as consistently as Kobel this season.

BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel: profile