Borussia Dortmund's Marco Reus: "Sebastien Haller is a nightmare for defenders"
Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus says opposition centre-backs better watch out, now that Sebastien Haller has joined the club.
Haller earned the nickname 'the Bulldozer' during a DFB Cup-winning spell with Eintracht Frankfurt, for whom he scored 24 goals in 60 Bundesliga appearances between 2017 and 2019.
After playing in England for West Ham and enjoying a record-breaking stint at Dutch giants Ajax, the 6'3" Cote d'Ivoire striker has joined Dortmund on a four-year deal, where he inherits the No.9 jersey from Erling Haaland.
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Having faced Haller in the Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League down the years, Reus is much happier to have him as a teammate rather than an opponent.
"He's a superb striker," the BVB skipper told the club website. "When we used to play Frankfurt, he was always a bit of a nightmare for our centre-backs because he's got everything.
"He's big physically, he has a good technique, and he's very comfortable in the box, even with high balls. For us midfielders who like to play the ball, it's important to have someone to combine with."
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As well as Haller, Dortmund have signed defenders Nico Schlotterbeck and Niklas Süle, midfielder Salih Özcan and forward Karim Adeyemi. Edin Terzic has also returned as permanent head coach, after winning the 2020/21 DFB Cup with the club in a caretaker capacity.
Although the team have recorded three straight wins in pre-season ahead of upcoming friendlies against La Liga duo Valencia and Villarreal, Reus says the Dortmund revamp is very much a work in progress.
"The training's been intense as the coach promised, and the newcomers are very open," he explained. "There are no cliques, everyone just sits down wherever, which is a good sign for the team and the coaching staff.
"A lot of players have come in who can play an important role for us. There's a lot of quality here, but it'll take us all a bit of time to get used to each other. Things happen quickly in football and in two weeks we're playing the first round of the cup. That's when we have to be ready, and we will be ready."
As Reus alluded to, Dortmund kick-off their season against fourth-tier 1860 Munich in the DFB Cup first round on 29 August. They then host top-four rivals Bayer Leverkusen in their Bundesliga opener on 6 August.
The 2023/23 campaign will be Reus' 14th in the Bundesliga, and 11th for Dortmund. The 33-year-old attacker, who turned out for Borussia Mönchengladbach between 2009 and 2012, has 144 goals and 105 assists to show for his 340 top-flight appearances to date.
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