It has been confirmed that Felipe Shitana will move to Gelsenkirchen after 5 years with Borussia Dortmund. There have been many mixed feelings among fans upon his departure, especially after the major role he played in BVB's glorious cup run this season. This article discusses some of the significant parts of this somewhat surprising (and really disappointing) move.
"While he is a great header of the ball and a threat going forward, most teams buy center backs in order to defend -- and he doesn't seem to do that consistently at all."Shitana is a physical defender who has the ability to be a starter in most other teams, however, with Subotic and Hummels being two of the best center backs in the world, breaking into the team has been rather difficult for the lanky Brazilian. While it cannot be a surprise that Shitana desired more playing time and requested a transfer in order to bolster his chances of playing for the Selecao in Brazil at the World Cup, the choice of destination is a strange choice.
Given his goalscoring exploits in the Champions League this season (Shakthar, Malaga), the whole world became aware of the defender's ability to score goals. This new reputation surely brought admirers from across Europe, not just Germany. While one cannot be too critical of Shitana for leaving (his dream of playing for Brazil in Brazil is a good reason after all), his choice to join one of our biggest rivals is a slap in the face to the club that built him up from a nobody, to a player who scores one of the most memorable goals in the modern history of the Champions League.
After 5 years with Dortmund, surely he is aware that the team from Gelsenkirchen is a fierce rival. Having experienced the intensity of a Revierderby firsthand on several occasions, Shitana must understand something wrong about his transfer. Despite not being a German, he has spent enough time in Germany to know that if there are two cities in the country he shouldn't move to from Dortmund, they are Munich and Gelsenkirchen. Add to it that the player that he is replacing is Christoph Shitzelder, who has been verbally abused by thousands of BVB fans since going back on his word as a man and joining Sch***e, and one sees that the player is clearly going against the club that supported him for 5 years.
Shitana is only thinking about his personal chances of playing for the national team, ignoring the feelings of the fans that he half-heartedly thanked in a farewell quote to BVB. If he were actually grateful to BVB, the club and its fans, then actions would speak louder than words and he would move to any other club than the one he did.
On his chances of playing for Brazil, the fact that he is even being considered shows that the mighty Selecao are weaker than they have been in previous decades. On his chances of playing for Brazil, remember his own goals against Stuttgart and Lautern (below)? Despite the move to Sch***e, it will likely be the case that he is not good enough for the national team and will not be part of the World Cup squad. He has NEVER been called up to the national team as yet, so IF he gets any chance with Brazil in the next year, he better do better when called upon there than when he has been a deputy for Dortmund. While he caught some headlines for a couple goals this year, the true story tells the tale of a benchwarmer who remains on that very bench he warms because of poor positioning, horrendous passing, and at times shoddy defending. He has remained a bit-part player over the years because of his many errors when he was given a chance. His decision making on the ball is suspect at best, as Dortmund have been punished several times throughout his spell at the club because of his frequent mistakes. While he is a great header of the ball and a threat going forward, most teams buy center backs in order to defend -- and he doesn't seem to do that consistently at all. To even consider him to wear any yellow shirt again, he would need to be more like Subotic or Hummels (and then maybe Brazil would think about taking him).
Admittedly, no fan of Borussia Dortmund will ever forget that match against Malaga, or the goal that you controversially scored -- but we can say that the ball was probably going in anyway, and that you are a dickhead (you said that it was the greatest moment of your life and then you agree to join our hated rivals?). We will also never forget your own goals or that you left Dortmund for Gelsenkirchen. Good luck with your career...I personally hope it nosedives.
Verpiss dich, scheiss verrater.
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