Examining the Borussia Dortmund Positional Battles Ahead of 2016/17 Season

With the first competitive match of the 2016/17 campaign around the corner for Borussia Dortmund in the DFL-Supercup meeting with Bayern Munich on Sunday, the Black and Yellows' summer of upheaval is about to end and make way, finally, for actual football.

The Ruhr side have made no fewer than 12 transfers so far this summer, with eight signings compensating for the departures of Mats Hummels to Bayern, Ilkay Gundogan to Manchester City and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to Manchester United.

Any further transfer activity will likely aim at thinning out a rather bloated squad, as a number of players with a bleak outlook in terms of their prospective playing time in the coming months could follow Jakub Blaszczykowski out of the door.

As the raw numbers suggest, Dortmund have gotten deeper over the summer, and while it seems impossible to argue they got better looking at the quality of those who sought greener pastures, head coach Thomas Tuchel will have the agony of choice at most positions.

Rotation could well be the magic word for a side that seemed to run out of gas in key moments of an otherwise fantastic first campaign under the 42-year-old's rule.

If every player is healthy, even selecting an 18-man matchday squad—let alone deciding upon a starting XI—will lead to a few cases of hardship, with highly rated youngsters and seasoned veterans having to watch on from the stands or their homes every week.

This writer commented on the possible negative effects of Dortmund's unprecedented depth in an earlier piece, but there are many positives to consider, too.

Competition is never bad and should get the best out of every player, and the Black and Yellows can only benefit from players pushing each other.

With that in mind, let's take a look at some of the compelling positional battles in the team, moving up the pitch. Four players can be considered guaranteed starters as of now in right-back Lukasz Piszczek, centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos, central midfielder Julian Weigl and striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, so those spots won't be discussed.

Goalkeeper

Roman Burki and Roman Weidenfeller will continue to share the duties between the sticks for another year.

The 25-year-old Burki is coming off a somewhat underwhelming first campaign at the Westfalenstadion earmarked by a distinct lack of consistency—he would go from a man-of-the-match performance to making a costly mistake in a matter of two games—but remains a much better fit for Tuchel's possession-oriented playing style due to his qualities with the ball at his feet.

Aged 36, Weidenfeller could well go into his final year in football, even though the 2014 FIFA World Cup winner told Sebastien Wessling of RevierSport (link in German) during the club's training camp in Bad Ragaz, Switzerland, that he'll only make that decision towards the end of the season.

The club's longest-serving player, with the Black and Yellows since 2002, played in 14 matches last season, 13 of which came in the UEFA Europa League. With Dortmund's return to the UEFA Champions League, it seems likely that Burki will play in Europe this season, however. Weidenfeller could get the DFB-Pokal matches.

Left-Back

Even though Marcel Schmelzer arguably played his best season for the club under Tuchel, proving he's more than a product of the Jurgen Klopp system, Dortmund invested heavily in another left-back for the first time since the 28-year-old took a hold of the job in 2008. 

Raphael Guerreiro cost the Black and Yellows €12 million, according to Transfermarkt (link in German), which is a bargain in these modern times, going by his performances at Euro 2016. The Portugal international impressed in France, earning a spot in the official Team of the Tournament, per UEFA.com, despite missing two games with small injuries.

The former Lorient man displayed a surprising passing range for a full-back as well as strong technical abilities, delivering strong crosses from dead-ball situations and open play. The 22-year-old, in short, seems to have the attacking qualities Schmelzer lacks—tactics blogger Rene Maric (link in German) once described him as the least skillful world-class full-back in the game.

It stands to reason that Guerreiro will overtake Schmelzer over the course of the season, especially for games in which Dortmund expect to have the bulk of possession. But for now, the former Germany international, who captained his side throughout pre-season, probably still holds an edge due to his familiarity with the system.

There's always the option to play both at the same time, of course, with Guerreiro showing his versatility on his club debut against Sunderland earlier in August, when he played at left-back in defence and moved to central midfield in possession—could he be Tuchel's David Alaba?

Centre-back

As mentioned above, Sokratis should be relatively safe at right-centre-back at the outset of the season. The Greece international is Dortmund's best defender in close combat, but he lacks ball-playing prowess.

Much like last season, when Hummels was the team's first build-up player, the centre-back on the left will have to take on the bulk of the playmaking duties, which puts FC Barcelona signing Marc Bartra in the driver's seat.

The 25-year-old has every opportunity to win the job by default, with Matthias Ginter and Sven Bender on international duty at the Rio Olympics with Germany—even though Bender arguably rather competes with Sokratis—which leaves 20-year-old Mikel Merino as the only other first-team option at the start of the season.

Bartra has largely impressed in pre-season so far, displaying excellent technique, as one would imagine from a player spending his youth in La Masia, as well as quickness in sprints and decisiveness in duels. Early returns on the transfer are positive, but the Catalan will have to prove himself in competitive games, having played few matches for the Blaugrana in recent years.

Merino seems more of a long-term project who naturally struggles quite a bit with his conversion from central midfielder in Segunda Division for Osasuna to centre-back at Dortmund. He's one of the players who could struggle to make the matchday squads, especially considering Ginter and Bender have the same versatility as the Spaniard.

Central Midfield

The spot next to Julian Weigl seems the most wide-open in the entire team. After Gundogan masterfully orchestrated Dortmund's attacks last season, the Black and Yellows didn't replace him like-for-like.

Gonzalo Castro offers ingenuity in the final third as well as experience, but he played his best matches in his first year at the club in a more advanced role.

Sebastian Rode is the team's only true box-to-box midfielder and has impressed in pre-season, but he probably lacks the technical and passing abilities to dominate a match against the deep-sitting opponents Dortmund are likely to face early and often, especially in the Bundesliga.

Nuri Sahin is in better shape than at any point during the last campaign, but he and Weigl seem too similar to play next to each other.

Presumably, Tuchel will mix and match at this spot more than anywhere else, with specific plans for every opponent and situation—Rode's athleticism could help in the Champions League, for example, while Castro's strength in short-area combinations will come in handy against ultra-defensive opponents.

Of course, the position might not even exist in many games. Weigl is perfectly capable of being the lone holding midfielder, and Dortmund played large stretches of last season in a 4-1-4-1 formation.

No. 10

If the Black and Yellows play with a true No. 10, Shinji Kagawa and the returning Mario Gotze are likely to battle it out for the spot in the starting XI.

The Japanese had an up-and-down campaign, contributing to a healthy 26 goals across competitions, per Transfermarkt, but also failing to make the squad a few times at the start of the calendar year. Turning 28 in the second half of this season, the diminutive playmaker should be in his prime, but he's yet to reach the level he showed before making a move to Manchester United in 2012.

Gotze, meanwhile, had a forgettable last season at Bayern—and, really, a forgettable three-year stay in total—and looks off his best shape by a few pounds, but it would be more than surprising if he didn't win a regular starting spot relatively soon in his second stint at the Westfalenstadion.

While he could play in the Gundogan role, Dirk Krampe of local paper Ruhr Nachrichten (link in German) noted that the 24-year-old has so far exclusively trained at the No. 10 spot.

During their first two seasons together, Kagawa played in the middle while Gotze predominantly played on the right wing, but the 2014 FIFA World Cup winner has proved to be most effective in the centre over the years. From there, he can create for himself and his team-mates, be it with dribbles or sharp passing.

Of course, there are enough games to go around for both, especially considering Gotze hasn't managed to stay healthy over the last few years, and both are tactically adept enough to play next to each other, but if it's a fight for one spot, the smart money is on the German.

Attacking Wings

Arguably the deepest position group on the team, Dortmund have near-endless options to play on the wings, which shouldn't come as a surprise after the club invested a total of €52 million in record signing Andre Schurrle and highly rated teenagers Ousmane Dembele and Emre Mor.

When fit, Marco Reus should play on one side, leaving the aforementioned three, as well as 17-year-old academy sensation Christian Pulisic, to fight for one spot. Reus rarely has been healthy for extended periods, of course, which could, ironically enough, make things easier for Tuchel.

Much like in central midfield, it seems unlikely there's going to be one first-choice selection on the flanks. Schurrle, Dembele, Mor and Pulisic have different skill sets that fit different opponents.

Schurrle is a strong counter-attacking option with plenty of experience, making him a good fit for the Champions League. Dembele is incredibly creative dribbling right at defenders and has impressed enough in pre-season to earn a starting spot in the first few matches of the campaign.

Mor is equally unpredictable on the ball and seems like a perfect Bundesliga substitute who could run rings around tired defenders when Dortmund need a goal. The Turkey international has obvious tactical limitations at this point and, much like Merino, is more likely a long-term project, but one with enough natural talent to make an impact right away regardless.

Pulisic, finally, despite being the youngest option is also the most well-rounded, having already spent the second half of last season with the senior team. He's almost a forgotten man with the exciting new signings, but he will have his opportunities in the coming months.

Overall, Dortmund enter this season better prepared for injuries, suspensions, form crises and pretty much anything life can throw at them. Every position has at least adequate depth, especially considering they've so many versatile players who can fill a number of roles.

Keeping every player happy in such a deep and talented group will be a challenge for Tuchel, but one that he'll relish in what he, the team and the club's millions of fans hope will be a long season ahead.

Lars Pollmann also writes for YellowWallPod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.