Ciro Immobile Must Deliver for Dortmund on Champions League Return to Juventus

Borussia Dortmund would have raised an eyebrow to express their interest and excitement on Monday when the Champions League draw for the last 16 saw them pitted against none other than Italian champions Juventus. 

Although Jurgen Klopp's side continue to potter around the base of the Bundesliga table with all the inconsistency and wretched luck of a sinking ship, Dortmund have continued on in their quest for European success with a string of performances that have done well to remind us that the team of old is still alive, in there, somewhere. 

The former German champions may be faltering at the minute, but they'll certainly fancy their chances when Andrea Pirlo and Co. arrive after the new year. 

By that point Dortmund should be able to welcome their Italian counterparts with a full-strength side. Marco Reus will have returned to his throne, Henrikh Mkhitaryan will have gotten over his recent injury and the heart of midfield, Nuri Sahin and Ilkay Gundogan, should be running on all cylinders.

Yet that's not who we should expect to put the sword to Massimiliano Allegri's side. No, such a feat will come at the hands, or feet, of Ciro Immobile, Dortmund's latest forward signing and one of the club's deadliest players in Europe's top competition this season. 

Immobile seems to benefit so much from playing in the Champions League due to the manner in which he is able to pass and move as quickly as the rest of Dortmund's forward line. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has his pace, and Adrian Ramos is a traditional, strong striker, but the Italian simply looks more at home alongside small, tricky teammates such as Shinji Kagawa, Mkhitaryan and Gundogan.

It's this quick transition from receiving the ball, turning and either passing or shooting that allows Immobile to thrive in Europe's premier competition and now regard himself as Dortmund's No. 1 choice in attack for the time being. 

The former Torino striker is currently sitting on four goals from five Champions League games—a goal every 81.5 minutes, which currently outscores Cristiano Ronaldo—according to Transfermarkt and is undoubtedly a key part of Dortmund's fortunes in Europe this season. 

Yet such luck or indeed skill will be put to the test when Dortmund come up against the Old Lady of Italian football, which are of course a team that Immobile knows all about. 

Having initially come through the ranks of the Turin club, the Italian striker made little use of his time at the Serie A giants and decided to leave the club two years ago. He certainly hasn't looked back. 

Seventy-eight games and 28 Serie A goals later, and the 24-year-old forward had quickly made a name for himself within a matter of 24 months. Long gone was the wasteful, unfulfilled talent, and in its place stood a striker ready to take on the continent. 

However, there were some caveats to the striker's rise to fame in Italy, the most notable ahead of this tie being the fact that he rarely offered much whenever Juventus came up against his side. With just one goal from four appearances against his former club, Immobile has some catching up to do and some goalscoring to make up for the lost time.  

However this tie ultimately turns out, Dortmund's Italian striker will have either proved himself on the biggest stage of his career thus far or indeed have returned to his former shell when he first sees the familiar white and black of Juventus. Either way, Immobile looks set to decide who goes through to the next round.