Is Matthias Ginter Borussia Dortmund's Long-Term Answer at Right-Back?

Twenty-two games into Thomas Tuchel's tenure as head coach of Borussia Dortmund, the most surprising story is the one of Matthias Ginter, who has been a revelation at right-back.

Much like the campaign of his club, Ginter's 2014/15 season was a rotten one. Playing only 14 times in the Bundesliga, with just two starts after the winter break, he looked like a deer caught in the headlights in most of his appearances. German magazine Kicker astutely graded (in German) him as Dortmund's second worst player in the Bundesliga last season.

With that in mind, it wasn't too surprising to see rumours pop up about him leaving the club after just one season. Borussia Monchengladbach were hard on his heels until the Black and Yellows put a stop to their pursuit (via Kicker, in German) in mid-June.

Ginter's standing at the club was still a precarious one, however. He played a grand total of seven minutes in his side's first four competitive matches.

It all changed for the young defender during half-time of Ginter's first start of the season in the Europa League qualifier against Norwegian side Odds BK on August 20. After Gonzalo Castro struggled at right-back in a game where Dortmund shockingly went down 3-0 after just 22 minutes, Sokratis Papastathopoulos was introduced. The expectation was that the Greece international would play on the right side of defence, like he had done numerous times in the previous season.

It was Ginter who moved from his centre-back position to right-back, a position he had never played in a professional football match before. The German international hasn't looked back since, getting the start in all but two games in the two months after his first experience on the outside. 

The 21-year-old looked good going forward right from the get-go. He has created 13 goalscoring chances in his 10 Bundesliga games, per Squawka, which trails only Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan, Marco Reus and Shinji Kagawa. His 10 assists in all competitions, per Transfermarkt.co.uk, rank him second behind Mkhitaryan, and he's scored three important goals as well.

Tuchel's system is one major factor behind Ginter's impressive statistics. Dortmund's go-to move saw them build their attacks up overloading the left side of the pitch and then switching play to the right. Ginter oftentimes had only one pass to play to create an opportunity or even a goal (h/t Tom Payne of Spielverlagerung.com). His assist for Park Joo-ho's late winner against FK Krasnodar in September is a good example.

In recent weeks, however, Dortmund have focused less and less on overloading the left wing, and Ginter still contributes to their scoring. His most complete performance to date came in the "Revierderby" against Schalke on Sunday, where he combined with Castro to break through on the right side and assist Kagawa's opening goal. 

Unlike previous games, where the centre-back by trade curiously looked much less assured in defence than going forward, Ginter was a rock against the local rivals. Moments like the one against Krasnodar early in the video below, where Fedor Smolov undressed him far too easily before the Russians' goal, have become less and less frequent.

Ginter has established himself as Tuchel's first-choice right-back for the near future, something his competition has acknowledged in the person of Lukasz Piszczek. The declining long-time starter at right-back told Eurosport that his 21-year-old team-mate will keep his spot as long as he keeps his current form up (via Ruhr Nachrichten, in German).

The return of Erik Durm, who returned to team training on Wednesday, could, however, spell trouble for Ginter, as Durm is Dortmund's most athletic full-back. Some of the Black and Yellows' defensive problems stem from the full-backs' high positioning on the pitch, and Durm, unlike Ginter, has the speed to track back if Dortmund loses the ball in buildup or teams try to counter-attack. On the evidence of the last few weeks, however, it would be more than harsh to take Ginter out of the lineup. 

Either way, the 21-year-old has positioned himself nicely to take over at right-back for the long term. Due to the general scarcity at the full-back position at this time in the global game, Dortmund would be well-advised to keep working with what they have in the fold.

Lars Pollmann is a featured columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for Yellowwallpod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.