Centre-back star vital to BVB and Germany | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund and Germany defender Nico Schlotterbeck vital to club and country

Despite Borussia Dortmund's ups and downs in 2024/25, Nico Schlotterbeck was enjoying perhaps his best season yet on an individual level before a knee injury struck at the start of April.

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Now in his third season with BVB, the player affectionately known as ‘Schlotti’ by teammates and fans alike has amassed over 120 appearances for the German giants. After coming agonisingly close to winning the Bundesliga in his first season at Signal Iduna Park following a high-profile move from Freiburg, the Germany international just missed out on major silverware again last term when Dortmund went down to Real Madrid in the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League final.

Nico Schlotterbeck (l.) has made 37 appearances in all competitions for BVB this season. (DFL/Getty Images/Simon Hofmann)

"I'm trying to take on the next step, to take on more responsibility," Dortmund’s versatile defender said last season. After 23 starts in what has been a mixed campaign to date for BVB, the versatile Schlotterbeck was one of the more consistent players in the Borussia ranks before injury curtailed his progress at the start of April. Along with fulfilling his main role as a centre-back in a back four or in a defensive three, he has also appeared four times on the left for the five-time Bundesliga champions.

The 6’3” star has the second-highest average possession for Dortmund this term in the Bundesliga with 90.41 percent, which is also in the division's top 15 players, while he has committed just 17 fouls in his 21 top-tier games this season. As evidenced by his four assists, Schlotterbeck boasts an exceptional long-passing game, with the player able to feed cross-field or direct passes in behind, sometimes a key in unlocking defences. He appears to have picked up another skill this season, too, providing two assists from set-pieces against Mainz in his first match taking corners.

Schlotterbeck (r.) is one of the Bundesliga's best tacklers. (IMAGO/Jan Huebner)

“I can hit the ball a really long way with my left foot; that's what my former coaches always said,” BVB’s No. 4 - who has captained Dortmund twice in the Bundesliga this term - explained. “I like playing balls behind the back line and I like playing high-risk passes. That's how I play. Obviously, I try to minimise the mistakes, but I think they're inevitable.”

Coming from a football-playing family – Schlotterbeck’s brother Keven is currently at Augsburg and was once Nico’s teammate at Freiburg while uncle Niels plied his trade at Duisburg, Rostock, and Stuttgarter Kickers – Dortmund’s defensive rock also has the ability to weigh in with a goal, netting 11 times in his 147 Bundesliga games to date.

However, the ex-Union Berlin defender insists it is tackling (Schlotterbeck is a specialist in slide-tackling) that gives him the greatest buzz of all on a football pitch. Once Union's top tackler (Schlotterbeck won 63 per cent of his tackles with the capital club in 2020/21), he previously said: “Making a good tackle is sometimes even better than scoring a goal, especially in home games because I think tackles are appreciated more (in Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park) than in other stadiums. People often remember them, so I enjoy making a good tackle as the fans love it too.”

Having appeared 18 times for Germany since making his senior bow for his country in March 2022, 'Schlotti' has enjoyed major tournament experience at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar as well as UEFA Euro 2024 on home soil. Naming current Liverpool FC defender Virgil van Dijk as one of the players he most admires, the Dortmund player delighted in exchanging shirts with the Dutch behemoth when Germany played the Netherlands twice last October.

“I've followed him for a few years now because he obviously plays in my position and I think he's a great player who has achieved a lot,” Schlotterbeck said of the former English Premier League and Champions League winner.

A slice of misfortune in the form a training knee injury means Schlotterbeck cannot play a role as Dortmund aim to achieve a European finish to 2024/25 under head coach Niko Kovač. He will also miss the UEFA Nations League Final Four tournament in Munich and Stuttgart in June.

However, the performances he has put in this term have put both Dortmund and Der Nationalelf in a position to reach their goals. One he recovers from this set-back, Schlotterbeck will be eager to show exactly what they were missing.

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