Borussia Dortmund's Marco Reus: "Stay at home!"
Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus has told fans "a road trip through the USA is at the top of the list" of his future holiday destinations, but not before the #stayathome campaign in which the DFL, in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Health, is supporting in a bid to overcome coronavirus.
The 30-year-old, who has not played competitively since sustaining a muscle injury against Werder Bremen in the DFB Cup quarter-finals at the start of February, took part in a question and answer session on Twitter using the hashtag #FragMarco (#AskMarco).
"Dortmund means an incredible amount to me," he wrote. "It was always my dream to play for this club, especially with these fans. Both at home and away. Every matchday is confirmation for me that BVB is the right club for me."
Watch: All of Reus' goals and assists in the first half of 2019/20
There is no doubting that. Reus returned to Dortmund in 2012, having been released by his hometown club as a youngster, and has since gone on to score 127 goals in 263 games.
Indeed, he has been so effective that only Robert Lewandowski (221) – an out-and-out striker – scored more often in the Bundesliga than Reus (122) in the last decade.
Asked for his best moment in a Black-and-Yellow jersey, the Germany international struggled to pick just one: "I've been here for so long… but it'd have to be my first goal at home against Bremen [on Matchday 1 of 2012/13]. That was very emotional. Also winning the DFB Cup [in 2017], the game against Malaga, wins against big clubs… there's been a lot of things."
Goals and trophies, of course, are not high on Reus' list of priorities at present in the midst of the current situation, but he is nevertheless still working hard on regaining his fitness for when the time comes for matches to resume.
"I'm completing my individual training programme as well as I can," said the Dortmund No.11, who has 11 goals and five assists in 19 league outings in 2019/20. "I hope I can get back onto the pitch as time goes on. I can't say when that will be yet though. Other than that, I'm spending a lot of time with my wife and my daughter.
"Thankfully everyone's doing well. We stay at home the whole time. Our daughter makes sure we're never bored though – she keeps us all in a good mood. But obviously we're also keeping an eye on the situation. We all need to stick together – that goes for everyone. Stay at home!"
If it is his young daughter keeping the Reus family positive, he also gave an insight as to who fulfils a similar role in the Dortmund dressing room: "Julian Weigl used to talk a lot of nonsense, but Raphael Guerreiro can't be beaten. He does everything… and makes sure there's a good atmosphere."
In keeping with a positive attitude, being confined to four walls does not mean Reus' mind does not wander, and he is keen to experience the most iconic American vacation of all once the global health restrictions are relaxed.
"Doing a road trip through the USA is at the top of the list," he said in response to a question about where he would most like to visit. "But there are also a lot of nice cities and islands it would be nice to see."
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