Andrea Pirlo-esque: How Nuri Sahin's absence could derail Borussia Dortmund

The sight of Andrea Pirlo struggling towards the sideline at Juventus Stadium last month ought to have filled Borussia Dortmund’s players with relief. One of the most abundantly talented midfielders in the world was departing the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash against the Bianconeri with more than 50 minutes still to play. 

And yet, Nuri Sahin felt only frustration. 

"I do not want to sound disrespectful," he told the German newspaper Kicker afterwards, "but I would have preferred for Pirlo not to get injured. Pirlo’s free-kicks are class, his corners fly in like shots on goal, he can conjure up a ball behind the defence, he just has brutal quality. But we had a plan for how to combat a team with him in it, and that was working great until he was forced out."

Dortmund had not exactly closed Pirlo out of the game prior to his exit, but they had certainly restricted him, attacking his every touch with the aggression you would expect of a Jurgen Klopp team. The statistics show the midfielder still completed 21 of his 24 passes, but more than once his hurried distribution put team-mates in positions where they would lose the ball immediately.

Once Pirlo left the field, Dortmund’s pressing game was deprived of its reference point. Claudio Marchisio took over the central role in Juve’s 4-3-1-2, but interpreted it in his own manner, using fewer, quicker touches to recycle the ball and drag his opponents out of shape. 

Arturo Vidal dropped back from his position behind the attack to help form a more combative midfield. Roberto Pereyra, introduced as Pirlo’s replacement, slotted in as the new trequartista, his direct runs giving the Bianconeri a more explosive outlet on the counter. 

The net result was that Juventus grew better at retaining possession – they finished with a roughly 50% share overall, having held closer to 45% during Pirlo’s minutes on the field – but also more effective in their use of it. 

Pirlo will play no part in Wednesday’s second leg, having failed to recover from the calf injury that forced him out of that first meeting. Whether that will once again prove to be a blessing remains to be seen, although Dortmund have at least had the opportunity to plan this time around for a Juventus side playing without him. 

But the critical question for Klopp’s team is whether they can find a silver lining to the cloud hanging over their own midfield. Sahin picked up a groin injury not long after the first Juventus game, and is expected to miss out on Wednesday’s return fixture. The Turkey international’s reputation is not quite on a par with Pirlo’s, but his importance to his team is even greater. 

Sahin has played just one of Dortmund’s three Bundesliga games since the defeat in Turin. Not coincidentally, it is the only one that they have won. After beating European contenders Schalke 04 with Sahin in the team, they went on to draw 0-0 with Hamburg and then FC Cologne – both opponents residing in the lower half of the table – without him. 

Dortmund have been beset by injuries throughout this season, but as they laboured through a miserable first-half of the campaign, it was commonly assumed that Marco Reus – absent from 14 games between September and January – was the man they missed most. Which side would not be weakened by the loss of a player who scored 23 goals last season? 

But even the most gifted forward needs support. Reus was on a run of five consecutive games with a goal before Sahin suffered this latest injury. He has not found the net since.

Sahin is the man who makes Dortmund’s passing game tick, shuttling the ball elegantly to the feet of Reus, Shinji Kagawa, Henrikh Mkhitaryan or whoever else might be playing on a given day in the bank of three behind the striker in Klopp’s 4-2-3-1. No other midfielder in the squad distributes the ball so effectively.

Bleacher Report’s Stefan Bienkowski noted this week that Dortmund have picked up 2.16 points per Bundesliga game with Sahin in the side this season, compared to 1.07 without. We must take those numbers with a pinch of salt, given that he has only started six times. But the gulf between the team’s performances last season – when Sahin appeared in all 34 of Dortmund’s league fixtures – and this reinforce the sense of his importance. 

It is up to Klopp to find the positives in his absence, creating a Dortmund side that plays to the strengths of the players it does have available. That is what Juventus did so effectively in the first meeting. It is why Dortmund begin today with a one-goal deficit to overcome.