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Soccer: Why Mkhitaryan Is Dortmund's Most Disappointing Player so Fa

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  • Soccer: Why Mkhitaryan Is Dortmund's Most Disappointing Player so Fa

    Bleacher Report
    Jan 1 2015


    Why Mkhitaryan Is Dortmund's Most Disappointing Player so Far in 2014/15 Season

    By Clark Whitney , Featured Columnist


    The 2014-15 season has been abysmal for Borussia Dortmund, who despite
    being alive and well in the DFB-Pokal and Champions League, were lucky
    not to finish the first half of the campaign dead last in the
    Bundesliga table.

    There are many reasons for BVB's woes, and it would be easy to pick
    out individuals who have not been up to par. Not one of the quartet of
    World Cup winners (Mats Hummels, Erik Durm, Kevin Grosskreutz and
    Matthias Ginter) has played like a world champion, at least not on a
    slightly consistent basis.

    Ilkay Gundogan still hasn't got back to his once world-class
    standards. New signings Ciro Immobile, Adrian Ramos and Shinji Kagawa
    have failed to add much of anything to the Dortmund attack. However,
    the most disappointing BVB player of all has been Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

    It would be too easy to pick on any of the newcomers, but it's
    expected that even star players will struggle a bit upon moving to a
    new team, league and country. Mkhitaryan has now been in Dortmund for
    18 months and still hasn't fulfilled the potential that saw him
    command a club-record EURO 27.5 million transfer fee from Shakhtar
    Donetsk.

    Since scoring in the DFB-Superpokal, Mkhitaryan has scored and
    assisted just one goal apiece in 19 Bundesliga, Champions League and
    DFB-Pokal appearances. For a player as talented as he is, one who
    scored 25 in the Ukrainian Premier League two seasons ago, that return
    is simply atrocious.

    Mkhitaryan was regarded as something of a flop even last season, with
    his inability to finish costing Dortmund dearly in the Champions
    League quarter-finals. But even then he at least had a decent return
    of goals. He couldn't make a difference when it mattered most but
    could still help decide lesser games, and by season's end, he had
    recorded 13 goals and 10 assists in 43 appearances.

    The Armenian has, however, taken a step back since the beginning of
    the current campaign. Now, not only does he fail in big moments, he
    just doesn't make a lasting impact in ordinary Bundesliga matches.

    It's not that Mkhitaryan is lazy or has a lack of desire. He often
    gets himself in positions to create goals, but he has very rarely been
    able to finish or play the final ball accurately this season. He lost
    a lot of confidence by failing to convert at key moments last season,
    and it seems that has had a snowball effect into the current campaign.

    In this regard, perhaps it is a blessing in disguise Mkhitaryan
    injured himself and missed the last few games of the fall campaign. At
    the time, the pressure on him was immense, and he didn't look likely
    to overcome it at any point soon. He'll be back in January and will
    have had plenty of time to reflect, recharge and find his resolve.

    If he indeed can find his nerve, Mkhitaryan has all the qualities of a
    big contributor. He's had plenty of chances (63 shots in all
    competitions, per ESPN), and Jurgen Klopp recently backed the
    Armenian, per the official Dortmund website, claiming his time will
    come.

    Mkhitaryan should be wary, though, if he does not step up his game
    soon. BVB have signed Kevin Kampl, and the Slovenian is a direct
    competitor for one of the starting spots in the Dortmund midfield. If
    Mkhitaryan does not start taking his chances, Klopp's patience could
    run out.

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2312227-why-mkhitaryan-is-dortmunds-most-disappointing-player-so-far-in-201415-season



    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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