Marco Reus won his first senior title in 2008, when Rot Weiss Ahlen claimed the Regionalliga Nord and earned promotion to the 2. Bundesliga. Born on 31 May 1989 in Dortmund, the forward and attacking midfielder went on to spend twelve years at Borussia Dortmund, the club he had joined as a boy, before moving to LA Galaxy in 2024. He was named Footballer of the Year in Germany in 2012 and 2019 and won 48 caps for the German national team.
Reus started playing at Post SV Dortmund in 1994 and entered Borussia Dortmund’s youth system in 1996. He stayed there for a decade, but in the summer of 2006 he left for the under-19 side of Rot Weiss Ahlen, a smaller club in the same region. The move gave him the playing time he had lacked. After a season with the reserve team, where he scored three goals in six matches, he broke into the first team in 2007. In 2007–08 Ahlen won the Regionalliga Nord and went up to the second tier. Over two seasons with the senior side he made 43 league appearances and scored five goals, and his pace on the wing caught the eye of Bundesliga clubs.
Breakthrough at Mönchengladbach
Borussia Mönchengladbach signed him in May 2009. He settled quickly in the top flight, and in 2011 he played both legs of the relegation play-off that kept the club in the Bundesliga. The following campaign changed his career. In 2011–12 Reus scored 18 Bundesliga goals and Gladbach, who had barely survived a year earlier, finished fourth. Across three seasons he made 97 league appearances and scored 36 goals. In January 2012 Borussia Dortmund agreed to sign him for €17.1 million, with the transfer taking effect that summer, and a few months later he was voted Footballer of the Year in Germany for the first time.
Twelve seasons at Borussia Dortmund
Reus returned to his home club in July 2012. In his first season he reached the Champions League final, which Dortmund lost 2–1 to Bayern Munich at Wembley on 25 May 2013. That summer he won the DFL-Supercup, a trophy he lifted again in 2014 and 2019. Injuries interrupted several of his seasons, yet his output stayed high: in all competitions he played 429 matches for Dortmund and scored 170 goals, 120 of them in 294 Bundesliga games. He won the DFB-Pokal in 2017 and 2021, was named Footballer of the Year in Germany for a second time in 2019 and wore the captain’s armband from 2018 until 2023, when he handed it over ahead of the 2023–24 campaign.
Farewell at Wembley
His farewell home game for Dortmund came on 18 May 2024 against Darmstadt. Reus scored from a free kick and provided an assist in a 4–0 win at the Westfalenstadion. Two weeks later, on 1 June 2024, he came off the bench in the Champions League final at Wembley, eleven years after his first. Dortmund lost 2–0 to Real Madrid, and the match closed his time at the club.
Germany national team
Reus made his Germany debut on 7 October 2011 against Turkey and was part of the squad that reached the semi-finals of Euro 2012. Injuries cost him two major tournaments. In June 2014 he hurt his ankle in a 6–1 warm-up win over Armenia and had to withdraw from the World Cup squad, and in 2016 a groin problem kept him out of the European Championship. At the 2018 World Cup in Russia he scored the equaliser in the 2–1 win over Sweden on 23 June 2018. His 48th and final international came in November 2021, leaving him with 48 caps and 15 goals.
Playing style
Reus was used on the left wing, as a second striker and as an attacking midfielder behind the centre-forward. His game was built on acceleration with the ball, quick combinations in tight spaces and a strong shot from distance. He was also a regular free-kick taker, the skill that produced his goal against Darmstadt in May 2024.
LA Galaxy
On 15 August 2024 LA Galaxy announced his signing. He joined a side pushing for the play-offs and took part in the post-season run. Galaxy beat Seattle Sounders 1–0 in the Western Conference final on 30 November 2024, and on 7 December 2024 they defeated the New York Red Bulls 2–1 to win the MLS Cup.
LA Galaxy