Borussia Dortmund Boss Thomas Tuchel Defends Star Centre Back Amid Criticism Over Recent Form

“?Thomas Tuchel has leapt to the defence of Marc Bartra after the Borussia Dortmund star came in for fierce criticism over his recent form.

The defender, who completed a £7m move to the Bundesliga club from Barcelona in July, has bore the brunt of negative reactions from fans and media alike for his displays in recent weeks, despite Dortmund’s good form overall.

Bartra’s season had been punctuated by an abductor muscle early into his career at the Westfalonstadion and, since his return to fitness on October 18, has been derided by sections of the club’s support for his overplaying of the ball at the back, as well as struggling to get to grips with the physical nature of Germany’s top flight.

Tuchel, however, insists that the 25-year-old will come good if given time to do so and, in quotes published by Spanish news outlet “?Sport, claimed that the language barrier, among other things, had made the transition from Spain to Germany difficult for Bartra.

He said: “He is not used to the intensity of the training and the matches in the Bundesliga.

“It is an adjustment process that takes time. There are linguistic problems too; but this is a normal acclimatisation period. He is a very open person who is extremely reflective when not everything is going right.

Remember when we sold Mats Hummels, one of the best center backs in the world, and replaced him with Marc Bartra

“But we need to acknowledge that he is not used to playing every three days and carrying absolute responsibility for the game.

“Sometimes it [his play] looks a little bit tense or a little bit overambitious out there, but at the core there is always a good intention behind it. For that reason he’ll continue to get full support.”?

Bartra made over 100 appearances for Barcelona’s first-team before he made the switch to Dortmund. He has since gone to feature on 17 occasions for the eight-time German top flight champions, and bagged his first goal for the club in September’s 6-0 Champions League victory away to Legia Warsaw.

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