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Dortmund's Jonas Hofmann, right, celebrates the opening goal for his side during a German soccer Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Braunschweig in Dortmund, Germany, Sunday, Aug. 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Dortmund's Jonas Hofmann, right, celebrates the opening goal for his side during a German soccer Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Braunschweig in Dortmund, Germany, Sunday, Aug. 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)Michael Probst/Associated Press

Will Mainz Loan Help or Destroy Jonas Hofmann's Borussia Dortmund Dream?

Allan Jiang
Sep 3, 2014

Will Jonas Hofmann's loan to Mainz fuel his Borussia Dortmund comeback? Or will his loan lead to an exit fromย Dortmund next season?

Whyย Mainz?

Amidย Dortmund's own Saving Private Ryanย campaign (#FreeShinji), which facilitated the return ofย Shinji Kagawa,ย Hofmann's loan toย Mainz was buried.ย 

"The Borussia Dortmund chapter is close to my heart and far from closed,"ย Hofmann said, perย Dortmund's official website. "It's really important to me that I get match practice at an ambitious and emotional club BVB are on friendly terms with."

Credit: Bundesliga.com
Credit: Bundesliga.com

Mainz's record of signing players fromย Dortmund managerย Jurgen Klopp has been more miss than hit.ย 

  • Julian Koch (2013): has never been the same since hisย cruciate ligament tear. Injuries and consequently lack of match fitness is why he watches on as Johannes Geis stars inย Mainz's midfield.ย 
  • Mohamed Zidan (2012): arrived at Mainz (for the third time) lookingย down and out but seemingly rescued his career with a six-game scoring streak. Likeย Lou Bega,ย Zidan's success was short and sweet. Will forever rue his decision to leave Mainz (again) as he is going through a life crisis, perย Omar Zaazou at Ahram Online.
  • Delron Buckley (2009): scored one goal from 11 games.ย 

Though the overriding positive aspect ofย Hofmann's loan toย Mainz isย managerย Kasper Hjulmand has a quandary in the right-wing slot.

  • Christoph Moritz: technically brilliant and a hard worker. However, his playing style is more suited to central midfield.ย 
  • Jairo Samperio: skillful, pacey and will take on players but has struggled with consistency. Has never scored and created a combined 10 goals or more in league play.ย 
  • Sami Allagui: great eye for goal and wasย Hertha Berlin's second top scorer (nine) in the Bundesliga behind Adrian Ramos (16; now with Dortmund)ย last season.

Hofmann will be on a level playing field withย Jairo as both were signed in the past days.ย 

However,ย Allagui has an advantage.

He is familiar withย Mainz, having played two seasons at the club, and will be aiming to have aย Zidan-like impact.ย 

What doesย Hjulmand see inย Hofmann?

Scoutingย Hofmann

Hofmannย is a 22-year-old, 5'9", 170-pound German who can operate across midfield.ย 

His movement off the ball and his productivity in limited minutes shouldย guaranteeย him having a career in theย Bundesliga post-Dortmund, unlikeย Marc-Andre Kruska.

Anticipating then-Dortmund (now Bayern Munich) centre-forward Robert Lewandowski's pass, Hofmann halted his run to stay onside.

He skirted around then-Augsburg (now Hamburg) left-back Matthias Ostrzolek and squared the ball to then-Dortmund (now Hertha Berlin) centre-forward Julian Schieber.

If you swapped outย Hofmann forย Ciro Immobile, the Italian international would have been flagged offside.

Breaking free against Freiburg,ย Hofmannย showed impeccable control and dinked the ball toย Lewandowski.

Pirouetting away from Emanuel Pogatetz's pressure,ย Hofmann slipped the ball between the then-Nurnberg centre-back's legs to play inย Dortmund central attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Advancing the ball intoย Stuttgart's defensive half,ย Hofmann's through ball foundย Dortmund deep-lying forwardย Marco Reus.ย 

Hofmannย flashes scoring potential, as evident with confident finishes againstย Bayern Munich andย Eintracht Braunschweig.ย 

What will holdย Hofmannย back is:

  • Inexperience; only one top-flight season as a regular.ย 
  • Pigeon-holed into a super-sub role, isย Hofmannย ready to be a week in, week out starter?ย 

Bottom Line

Aside from Hofmann being an outstanding young player,ย Hjulmand may have also decided to lessenย Geis' creative workload.

Geis, a commanding, 21-year-old German midfielder, ledย Mainz in tackles per game (3.0), key passes per game (2.1), passes per game (48.3) and was tied for most assists (five) last season).ย 

Two games into this season,ย Geis is alreadyย Mainz's primary creative outlet.ย 

Hjulmand wants to avoid the strategy ofย Geis or bust.

The addition ofย Hofmann supplementsย Benfica loaneeย Filip Djuricic, who is at his best in a free-roaming role.

With noย undisputedย starter on the right wing,ย Hofmann has a realistic chance of winning the starting job.

Dortmund management are in a strong position:

  • Extendedย Hofmann's contractย until 2018.
  • Ifย Hofmann has a productive season forย Mainz (five goals and nine assists), he returns toย Dortmund as an elite player.ย 
  • Shouldย Hofmann be inconsistent but flash moments of world-class play, a club could be tempted to submit aย sizeableย bid (Premier League teams love to gamble).

Statistics viaย WhoScored.

Iconic POTY-Worthy Seasons ๐Ÿ‘‘