Top 15 greatest Borussia Dortmund players of all time

Some of the world’s greatest players have graced the famous turf of Dortmund over the years.

Borussia Dortmund have won eight league championships, five DFB-Pokals, one UEFA Champions League, one Intercontinental Cup and one UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. Founded in 1909 by eighteen football players from Dortmund, the football team are part of a large membership-based sports club with more than 145,000 members, making Borussia Dortmund the third largest sports club by membership in Germany. 

Borussia Dortmund’s colours are black and yellow, giving the club its nickname die Schwarzgelben. Die Borussen have had some greats. One of them helped Manchester City win their maiden UEFA Champions League in his debut campaign in England. The German side have been home to some other fine players over the years as well.

Here we look at the top 15 greatest Borussia Dortmund players of all time:

15. Erling Haaland

Erling Haaland joined Dortmund in 2020 after impressing at both Molde and Red Bull Salzburg. He uses his sizeable frame to hold play up effectively and involve others. He has the pace and clever movement to run in behind.

He can dribble and create, and he can finish with both feet and his head. During his two-year spell in Germany, Haaland bagged a staggering total of 86 goals in just 89 appearances. This started a prolific period of the Norwegian’s career that saw him earn a move to Premier League champions Manchester City. In just his debut season in England, he helped City win a treble, including the maiden Champions League title.

14. Mats Hummels

The dependable German defender is one of the finest centre-backs to have played the game. He has spent considerable time at both of Germany’s biggest clubs Dortmund and Bayern Munich, making himself indispensable to both in his prime. Hummels is a large, consistent and physically strong player, known for his powerful tackling and strength in the air, as well as his ability to read the game and intercept loose balls.

At the age of 35, Hummels finally left Dortmund as a free agent. A player of his quality should have plenty of offers to choose from this summer.

13. Stéphane Chapuisat

Stéphane Chapuisat played 228 games for Dortmund, most of which came in the 1990s, scoring an impressive 106 goals along the way. After scoring 20 goals in his first season, Chapuisat went on to secure back-to-back league titles with BVB, as well as winning the Champions League in that famous victory over Juventus in 1997. The Swiss striker scored three goals in 10 appearances during that run. 

12. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

After a couple of promising seasons with St. Etienne in France, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made the move to Dortmund in 2013 and hit the ground running. He is renowned for his pace, finishing, and off-ball movement. In early 2018, Aubameyang decided it was time for a new challenge and departed for English side Arsenal where he remained until 2022. The forward has now joined Saudi Pro League team Al-Qadsiah after playing for Marseille last season.

11. Mario Götze

Mario Götze is one of the silkiest attacking midfielders of his generation. The German scored the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final against Argentina. He has played for Dortmund twice, notably between 2009 and 2013, and again from 2016 and 2020. He scored 45 goals and made 61 assists.

Götze departed for Bayern Munich in 2013 following the UEFA Champions League final defeat. Now, we see him play for Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga itself.

10. Lars Ricken

Midfielder Lars Ricken played for Dortmund between 1993 and 2009. What makes Ricken such a legend for Dortmund fans is not his contributions to the successes of the club, but more because of his longevity and devotion to his hometown. Ricken was a man plagued by injuries that severely hampered his playing career.

However, the player achieved legendary status by scoring Dortmund’s final goal in their 3-1 Champions League win against Juventus in 1997. Ricken won the Bundesliga three times and was a runner-up in the UEFA Cup. Due to his frequent injuries, he only made 16 appearances for Germany. However, his loyalty and involvement in the most successful period in Dortmund’s recent history will ensure his legendary status at the club.

9. Robert Lewandowski

Like many players on this list, the Polish striker has spent time at both Dortmund and Bayern Munich. Lewandowski spent four seasons with Dortmund, where he forged himself into one of the world’s greatest players. In his time at Dortmund, Lewandowski made the team one of the most threatening in Europe.

The prolific nature of his goals caught the eyes of Bayern Munich and the pull of the Bavarian giants was too great to ignore. In 131 appearances for the club, he put the ball in the net a total of 74 times. Lewandowski now plays his football for FC Barcelona in Spain.

8. Stefan Reuter

Having already played for Nuremberg, Bayern Munich and Juventus, Reuter moved to Borussia Dortmund in 1992, going on to make 307 Bundesliga appearances over the next 12 years. He captained the club for six years. He won the Bundesliga three times, the Champions League, the German Supercup two times and an Intercontinental Cup.

7. Roman Weidenfeller

No goalkeeper has stood between the sticks for Dortmund more often than Roman Weidenfeller. German goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller played for the club between 2002 and 2018, notching up an impressive 349 appearances in his glittering career. Weidenfeller spent 16 seasons with Dortmund and managed to win both the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal twice.

Across the plethora of seasons that Weidenfeller spent in Dortmund, he kept 148 clean sheets. Given the level of longevity that he spent at the club, it was viewed by the fans as the end of an era when he eventually retired in 2018.  

6. Michael Zorc

Michael Zorc is a one-club man who holds the record for the most appearances for Dortmund, playing 572 times over 17 years of service as a player. Zorc was a man who bridged the generations at the Westphalenstadion, playing for Dortmund between 1981 and 1998. After retirement he has held the position of sporting director at the club, overseeing three Bundesliga titles.

5. Karl-Heinz Riedle

Karl-Heinz Riedle was nicknamed “Air” throughout his career for his heading accuracy, jumping and timing skills in the air. The most vital contribution Riedle made to the ‘Yellow and Black’ were his two strikes against Juventus in the 1997 UEFA Champions League final that gave Dortmund the platform to take a 3-1 win over their Italian opponents. He went on to finish his 18-year career in England, playing for both Liverpool and Fulham before retiring in 2001.

4. Alfred Preissler

He is Borussia Dortmund’s all-time top scorer to date, having bagged 168 goals in the yellow jersey. He joined Dortmund at the end of the Second World War and captained the team for many years. He helped die Schwarzgleben lift the Championship trophy for the first time in 1956, a feat for which 250,000 fans reportedly lined the streets of Dortmund when the squad returned to the city. 

3. Jürgen Kohler

Regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation, Jürgen Kohler was a complete and physically strong centre-back. He was famed for his defensive perception, anticipation, quick reactions and marking, as well as his tactical sense. The player was also known for his prowess in the air, courtesy of his height, timing, heading accuracy and elevation, which also made him a goal threat during set-pieces. 

Having arrived at Dortmund in the autumn of his career, Kohler played seven years in the yellow jersey, winning Bundesliga titles in his time. He won the Champions League, Bundesliga two times, Intercontinental Cup and German Super Cup two times.

2. Marco Reus

Dortmund-born and bred, Marco Reus was only seven years of age when he joined the BVB youth system. After senior spells at Weis Rot Ahlen and Monchengladbach, where he played under current Dortmund manager Lucien Favre, Reus returned to the club in 2012 with the intention of playing Champions League football.

Reus is renowned for his versatility, speed, agility, technical skills, intelligence and shooting ability. However, he is also known for his proneness to injury. Reus is also a hard-working player and a precise passer, who possesses good vision, which enables him to create chances and provide assists to teammates, in addition to scoring goals himself.

He has won the German Supercup three times, the German Cup, Bundesliga Player of the Year two times, got inducted into the UEFA Team of the Year and finally also won the German Footballer of the Year. His journey with the club came to an end last season, with the last game in the colours of Dortmund being in the 2023-24 UCL final defeat to Real Madrid. He is now linked with a move to MLS side LA Galaxy.

1. Matthias Sammer

Matthias Sammer is a former player and coach. He played for Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, VfB Stuttgart, and Dynamo Dresden in his senior career. Sammer played for the club during his Golden Years. With Borussia Dortmund as a player, Sammer won the Bundesliga and DFL-Supercup in 1995, the Bundesliga, DFL-Supercup and European Footballer of the Year in 1996, and the UEFA Champions League and Intercontinental Cup in 1997.

After retiring from football in 2000, Sammer would later return to Dortmund as a manager in 2002. The former midfielder would lead his side to the Bundesliga title in the same year.

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