Marco Reus
Marco Reus is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy.
Reus spent his youth career at Borussia Dortmund, prior to leaving for Rot Weiss Ahlen. He joined Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2009, and had his most successful season at the club in 2012, scoring 18 goals and providing 12 assists in the Bundesliga to help Borussia Mönchengladbach secure a place in the following season's UEFA Champions League.
Reus returned to his hometown club and back-to-back Bundesliga winners Borussia Dortmund after the 2011–12 season. With the club, Reus won the DFB-Pokal in 2017 and 2021, the DFL-Supercup in 2013 and 2019, and reached the Champions League final in 2013 and 2024, coming in both his first and last season as a member of the side. He also finished Bundesliga runner-up seven times during his twelve-year stint, and served as club captain from 2018 until 2023. Reus scored 170 goals with 132 assists for Borussia Dortmund across all competitions, and he is one of only three players to reach the landmark of 100 Bundesliga goals and 100 assists each. He was voted German Footballer of the Year twice, as well as Bundesliga Player of the Season on three occasions. With more than 200 goals scored throughout his career, Reus is considered one of the most efficient midfielders of this century, and one of Borussia Dortmund's best ever players.
After his contract at Dortmund expired at the end of the 2023–24 season, Reus signed for Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy in August 2024 on a deal until the end of 2026, leaving Dortmund after twelve years, as well as Germany for the first time in his career. Four months after signing for the Galaxy, Reus lifted the MLS Cup, his first trophy with the club.
Reus earned 48 caps for the Germany national team. He represented them at two major tournaments, but also missed three World Cups and two Euros due to physical reasons.
Club career
Rot Weiss Ahlen
Reus was born in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. He began to play football for his hometown club Post SV Dortmund in 1994 and joined the youth ranks of Borussia Dortmund in 1996. He played for Borussia Dortmund until he left for the U-19 team of Rot Weiss Ahlen in the summer of 2006. During his first year there, he played as an attacking midfielder and was featured in six games for the club's second team, which played in the Westphalia league at the time. He scored a goal in each of his first two games. The following year, he was able to break into Ahlen's first team, which played in the then German third division, today's fourth tier Regionalliga Nord. He would wear the number 47 that season. Reus featured in 16 games that season, two of which he started. His only goal came on the last matchday, where he played the full 90 minutes for the first time that season, and propelled the team to promotion into the 2. Bundesliga. In 2008–09, as a 19-year-old, he had his definitive breakthrough as a professional football player, playing 27 games and scoring four goals, while playing in the shirt number 18.Borussia Mönchengladbach
On 25 May 2009, Reus signed a four-year contract with Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach, receiving the shirt number 11. On 28 August, he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a game against Mainz 05 after a 50-metre solo run, and since then became a prolific goalscorer for his club under Lucien Favre.On 20 August 2010, Reus scored his first Bundesliga brace in an eventual loss against Mainz 05.
At the start of the 2011–12 season, Reus began the season in fine form, scoring 10 goals in his first 13 matches, including his first ever Bundesliga hat-trick in a 5–0 win against Werder Bremen on 19 November. His contract with Gladbach was set to expire in 2015 and reportedly had a buy-out clause of €18 million. Reus mentioned that his role model was Tomáš Rosický, who played for Borussia Dortmund, Reus' city of birth and former club.
Borussia Dortmund
2012–13 season
On 4 January 2012, Reus signed with his former club Borussia Dortmund for a €17.1 million transfer fee on a five-year deal. He spoke about his transfer saying, "I've made the decision to take the next step forward in the coming season. I'd like to play for a club who can challenge for the league title and guarantee me Champions League football. I see this chance in Dortmund." Reus officially re-joined Dortmund on 1 July, keeping his shirt number 11 from Gladbach days.In his league debut with Dortmund on 24 August, he scored a goal as his new side completed a 2–1 win over Werder Bremen. On 29 September, Reus scored two goals for Dortmund in a 5–0 rout of his former club Mönchengladbach, pushing the champions to the top of the Bundesliga table through six games.
On 3 October, in Reus' second ever Champions League appearance, he opened the scoring as Dortmund earned a 1–1 draw away to Manchester City. He then opened the scoring for the German champions in their 2–2 draw with Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on 6 November, netting on a spectacular volley against Iker Casillas, after a kick-down from teammate Robert Lewandowski. In Dortmund's following Champions League match, on 21 November, Reus scored Dortmund's first goal in a 4–1 victory over Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena, securing qualification for the Round of 16 as Group D winners.
On 16 February 2013, Reus scored a hat-trick, netting all the goals in Dortmund's thumping of Hessian side Eintracht Frankfurt. On 9 April 2013, Reus scored an injury time goal which was a vital one in the stunning injury time comeback against Malaga in the quarter-final second leg of the UEFA Champions League. Dortmund won the match by 3–2 and progressed on to the next round where they defeated Real Madrid 4–3 on aggregate to reach the final. On 11 May, Reus scored a late brace against VfL Wolfsburg to help Dortmund draw the match after being two goals down. In the final against Bayern Munich, he managed to earn a penalty for Dortmund after he was fouled by Dante, which İlkay Gündoğan managed to score from the penalty, but Bayern went to win the trophy due to a late goal by Arjen Robben.
2013–14 season
On 27 July 2013, in the 2013 DFL-Supercup against Bayern Munich, Reus netted the game's opening goal and later rounded off the scoring, as Borussia Dortmund claimed a 4–2 victory to lift the trophy. On 18 August, Reus converted a penalty kick which rounded off the scoring as Dortmund defeated Eintracht Braunschweig 2–1 at the Signal Iduna Park in the second game of Dortmund's 2013–14 league campaign. He then scored a brace against SC Freiburg, one from the penalty spot, and started the season hitting impressive form. Reus had confirmed he would be Dortmund's penalty taker for the season, though despite winning a penalty against 1860 Munich in the DFB Pokal, he allowed teammate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in taking the penalty which propelled the Borussia-based club into the next round of the competition. On 1 November, Reus scored a goal for Dortmund in a 6–1 league win against VfB Stuttgart.On 25 February 2014, Reus scored a goal in a 4–2 win for Dortmund against Zenit Saint Petersburg in the first leg of the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League. On 29 March, he then scored a hat-trick in a 3–2 win for Dortmund against Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. On 8 April, Reus scored twice in Dortmund's second leg 2–0 win against Real Madrid, though Dortmund were eventually knocked out of the competition after losing 3–2 on aggregate. Reus finished the season with 23 goals and 18 assists in all competitions.
2014–15 season
At the beginning of the season, Reus was not part of the squad that won the 2014 DFL-Supercup with 2–0 over Bayern Munich, due to the lack of fitness after having returned from a partial tear of the syndesmosis.In the second match of the 2014–15 Bundesliga against FC Augsburg, Reus scored one goal and helped set up another. Dortmund went to win the match by 3–2. In September 2014, he was diagnosed with an ankle injury. On 22 October, having returned from injury, Reus contributed a goal and assist in their 4–0 Champions League group stage away win against Galatasaray. On 1 November, he scored the only goal for Dortmund in their 2–1 away loss against their rivals Bayern Munich.
Despite prior injury concerns, Reus started Dortmund's match away to SC Paderborn on 22 November and scored to put them 2–0 up. He was stretchered off in the second half, however, after which Paderborn equalised for a final score of 2–2. The injury ruled him out until January 2015. On 10 February, Reus signed a contract extension with Dortmund, keeping him at the club until 2019. With Dortmund he would reach the DFB-Pokal final, after a victory on penalties against Bayern in the semis. Reus and his team would lose 3–1 against league runner-up Wolfsburg at Olympiastadion, failing to win his third final with the club and thus his first major trophy.
2015–16 season
On 5 August 2015, Reus scored a goal in Borussia Dortmund's 5–0 win against Wolfsberger AC to advance into the 2015–16 Europa League play-off round. On 15 August, he then opened the 2015–16 league campaign with a goal and an assist in a 4–0 home win against his former club Borussia Mönchengladbach. On 28 August, he scored a hat-trick in their 7–2 home win against Odds BK to qualify for the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League. Reus and Dortmund would be knocked out of the Europa League in April 2016 by Liverpool in the quarterfinals, in a late 4–3 loss at Anfield, in which he scored in the 57th minute to make it 3–1, after leading the second leg match twice by a two goal difference, failing to qualify for the semi-final of the competition.On 20 April 2016, Reus was one of three goalscorers as Borussia won 3–0 away at Hertha BSC in the semi-final of the DFB-Pokal. He finished the 2015–16 season with total of 23 goals and 8 assists in 43 appearances. Around this time, Reus became part of a collaboration between the German Football Association and The LEGO Group, who in May 2016 released a Europe-exclusive collectible minifigure series, with Reus featured as the thirteenth of sixteen minifigures in the collection.