Gregor Kobel: Dortmund’s Golden Gloved Hero
All hail King Kobel.
If the royal label seems slightly exaggerative, this is an assurance that it is not. In a Kobel world, it would be treason to think that Gregor Kobel was not currently one of, if not the best goalkeeper in the world. In a Kobel world, it would be an offence for him not to be Switzerland’s number one choice in goal. Yet we find ourselves in a predicament where the masses don’t believe.
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For non-Bundesliga watchers, the name of Gregor Kobel is probably best associated with his blunder in Der Klassiker against Bayern Munich in April 2013. At 0-0, Dayot Upamecano would thread a through ball past the Borussia Dortmund attack, midfield and defence. The ball is safe enough to Kobel to punt it to the other side of the pitch, but instead completely misses the ball and the ball trickles into an empty net.
The Black and Yellows would be 3-0 down by halftime and go on to lose 4-2 in Thomas Tuchel’s first game as Bayern Munich manager. The headlines on social media that evening had clipped Kobel’s horror mistake, and his stocks fell completely flat at a time that his name was gaining traction for the first time in the transfer rumour mill.
It was a cruel moment for him and was not reflective of the impressions he had left on Dortmund fans since his arrival from Stuttgart in 2021. By that point, he filled in the gaping hole left by predecessor Roman Weidenfeller, who even described him as one of the club’s most important signings in recent times last year.
Since April last year, he has stridden to arguably become Dortmund’s most indispensable player. That is a fair assessment on Dortmund’s lack of star power since Jude Bellingham’s departure yet does not undermine the Swiss goalkeeper’s evolvement into one of Europe’s safest pair of hands.
Player History
Gregor Kobel’s father, Peter, was a professional ice hockey player but Gregor had no doubt that his aspirations were to become a footballer one day. That all began in Zurich, his hometown, where he played youth football for Grasshopper Club Zurich.
However, it wasn’t until the age of 16 that the goalkeeper got his breakthrough as he earned a move to Germany with Hoffenheim. He had to wait three years before making his senior debut in a 1-0 win in the DFB Pokal first round under manager Julian Nagelsmann.
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In the following 2018/19 season, the Swiss international would feature heavily for Augsburg in his first taste of Bundesliga football, recoding 4 clean sheets in a team that narrowly avoided relegation. An impressive season-long loan with Stuttgart in 2. Bundesliga in 2019/20 left a lasting impression as the club signed him on a permanent basis.
His stay at MHP Arena was short-lived as Borussia Dortmund made the move to sign Kobel for 15million euros in the hope of becoming Roman Burki’s replacement. So it was meant to be, as the goalkeeper is undoubtedly an automatic starter and fan favourite at Westfalenstadion.
Key Strengths
It feels strange to say that 2023/24 was Kobel’s ‘breakthrough’ season in the eyes of the masses, but on reflection it certainly was. Further helped by Dortmund’s fairytale run to the Champions League final, Kobel was a highlight reel in the same mould as David de Gea (circa 2014) and Andre Onana (2022).
According to FootyStats, Kobel’s save percentage in Bundesliga for 2023/24 was 75.4% – the highest of his first three seasons at BVB. This comes as no surprise given how busy the goalkeeper found himself over the course of the season – nowhere busier than in the Champions League given the calibre of opposition that Black and Yellows had to face in their fantastic run to Wembley.
Despite that, Kobel was only conceding a goal every 108 minutes in the Champions League (keeping the most clean sheets in the competition) as opposed to his Bundesliga numbers (a goal every 76 minutes). This amounted to 42 saves from 50 shots saved in UCL football. There was a whiff of weirdness to Dortmund’s season under Terzic, as they found it difficult to break down low block relegation sides but often turned up compact and clinical against European giants.
On an individual level, Kobel is fantastic as being ‘clutch’ for his team. His reflexes and positioning are second to none, and often single-handedly saved Dortmund from a tumultuous domestic campaign. The 26 year-old is quick on feet and is well defined as a shot-stopper. His numbers for penalties saved improved drastically and kept the team afloat as they faced pressure from opponents.
Weaknesses
Standing at 6’4”, a goalkeeper of his size should find it relatively easy to be commanding in the air. However, that is an area of the game that Kobel can improve on. For example, his 4 punches during the last CL campaign only brought put him in the 44th percentile across all goalkeepers in the competition. Similarly in the Bundesliga, he won 6 aerial duels at a rate of 0.24 per every 90 minutes which is quite low for a goalkeeper of his stature.
What’s Next?
Next season, Borussia Dortmund’s backline will look a little different than it did in 2023/24. Julian Ryerson, Waldemar Anton, Nico Schlotterbeck and Ramy Bensebaini are expected to line up in front of Kobel. Yan Couto of Manchester City has been spoken about, but other targets have passed by.
Ian Maatsen, who joined Aston Villa on a permanent deal after his fantastic loan spell at BVB last season, and Ferdi Kadioglu, who looks Premier League bound, will not be boosting the left back position as many fans would have hoped.
Tom Rothe returns to Dortmund after a great season with Holstein Kiel but will serve as an upcoming understudy to Ramy Bensebaini who is (un)phenomenally expected to become a starter for the team again. Niklas Süle, who did not get much gametime under Edin Terzic last season, will be competing for a position with new signing Anton from VfB Stuttgart.
Overall, there is a lot more depth to the season than last summer, which looks rather optimistic for Nuri Sahin’s side. Kobel will be a man that is satisfied with the security of an established backline, where last campaign it felt very makeshift at times when injuries and form hit the team in the first half of the season.
Kobel can truly define himself as one of the world’s best in the coming seasons. His time in the national team has predominantly been spent on the benches as Yann Sommer is still kicking, but even on the international level in coming tournaments, Kobel will go on to be one of the world’s best in years to come – whether that is in Germany or not.
By Abdullah Mamaniyat / @mxmxnyt
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Mike Egerton – PA Images