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Marco Reus’ comeback goal against Monchengladbach a reminder of forgotten genius

Marco Reus celebrates with his Borussia Dortmund teammates
Marco Reus celebrates with his Borussia Dortmund teammates

With many lofted goals, there is a debate among football fans about whether the strike constitutes a lob or a chip. Generally, a conventional lob tends to be from a longer distance and to follow an arced, relatively flat trajectory, while a chip comprises more of an up-and-down motion – the projectile equivalent of a mortar shell as opposed to the blast from a Napoleonic field gun.

With Marco Reus’ goal against Borussia Monchengladbach this weekend, it was genuinely impossible to make a distinction. The angles involved were so extraordinary, the trajectory so unusual, that debate over lobs and chips was rendered obsolete (or even more obsolete than it would otherwise be). To the geometrically uninitiated, Reus’ winner at Monchengladbach’s Borussia-Park appeared to visibly bend the rules of mathematics, a gravity-defying, looping strike which left Die Borussen goalkeeper Yann Sommer stranded in an endless void between space, time and his own goal line.


Injury nightmare

Those who have followed Reus’ career to date will be all to aware of his genius in front of goal. The Borussia Dortmund winger, who first made his name in the Bundesliga with Monchengladbach, has scored 90 goals in 192 appearances for BVB since his debut for the club in 2012.

It doesn’t take a mathematical prodigy to figure out that 192 games in six years is too few, however, with Reus’ spell at Dortmund afflicted by fitness issues. His latest long-term injury came in the final of the 2017 DFB-Pokal in May, a cruciate ligament tear which kept him out of action until only a few weeks ago.

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That particular injury followed on from a string of muscular problems, as well as 175 days on the sidelines in 2016 with osteitis pubis. At the age of 25 and in peak form with Dortmund, Reus was ruled out of the 2014 World Cup after sustaining a serious ankle injury in a friendly against Armenia. Die Mannschaft would go on to become world champions, with Reus watching on from the sidelines and nursing what he referred to as a “shattered dream”.

When he limped off during the DFB-Pokal Final back in May, it seemed as if Reus was in a career tailspin. Having been one of the most prolific wide players in the Bundesliga and once linked with a move to one of Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea or Liverpool, it felt as if his professional progress was being shot out of the sky every time he found himself threatening an upwards trajectory again.

Timely reminder

Now 28, his goal against Monchengladbach was a timely reminder of his unique talents. With the World Cup on the horizon, it’s not impossible that a late spate of goals in the Bundesliga could see Reus come into contention for Russia 2018. Were Reus to travel to Russia with Germany, the shattered dreams of the 2014 World Cup could be made whole again. Joachim Löw’s side are among the favourites for the tournament and, with the 2017 DFB-Pokal his only major honour to date, Reus could go from a player whose career has been defined more by injury than silverware to one with the most prestigious winners’ medal in football.

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Having watched on as Henrikh Mkhitaryan and close friend Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang moved to Arsenal this January, or as a string of Dortmund teammates like Robert Lewandowski, Mats Hummels and Ilkay Gundogan earned lucrative moves elsewhere, Reus has felt like a forgotten man over the last few years. If he keeps himself injury free and scores a few more like that against Monchengladbach this weekend, his career could still be one to remember. It’s a big ‘if’, but anyone who appreciates the beauty of an extraordinary goal will hope his dreams of greatness come to be.