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It was during the summer transfer window of 2012 when Borusia Monchengladbach splashed cash close to eight million euros to avail the services of Alvaro Dominguez from Atletico Mardid.
Everybody seemed to be quite astonished as Gladbachs are not known to spend big and that too on a center-back who was not even a starter at the Madrid club after fighting a transfer battle with German giants Bayern Munich who were also chasing him. But with some good performances at the back, he has proved many of his detractors wrong.
Profile
Alvaro Dominguez is a Spanish footballer who plays both as a centre back as well as a left back for the German side, made his move to Monchengladbach last summer from Atletico Madrid to replace Dante, who headed towards Bayern Munich.
After his arrival at the German side, he has had able to establish himself as an integral part in the Lucien Favre’s side. He has also been capped for the Spanish U-20 side in 2009 FIFA World Cup. His good performances allowed him a chance to make his debut for the Spanish national side in 2012.
Style, Strengths and Weaknesses
His strengths lie in his good ball playing abilities along with his strong sense of positional awareness. Bering very calm on the ball, rarely going for tackles and believing in intercepting are some of the strengths that he possesses. Furthermore, he has shown a tenacity to clear the ball out of danger very often. His good passing abilities can be proved from the fact that during last season he had a pass completion rate of just over 84%.
His weaknesses include very limited exposure at the biggest level with the lack of experience and physical strength needed to cope up with strongly built forwards. Furthermore, in the game against Borusia Dortmund, he was awful and could not handle the pace and trickery of Mario Gotze. But later in the game, he improved and showed his commanding presence. He is not a clean tackler and often commits fouls in danger zones.
But some of his weaknesses can be worked out with time and if properly groomed, he can turn out to be a priceless asset.
Stats
Dominguez played 40 games for the Bundesliga side in all competitions and also scored 2 goals.
Transfer Situation
Dominguez left the then Europa League winners in a hope to play in the Champions League, but with the failure of Borusia Monchengladbach to qualify for the big European arena, it will be tough for the Germans to keep him. And this summer he can be tempted to search for greener pastures elsewhere.
