Wednesday, November 03, 2021
Meunier suddenly good at BVB
The postman who delivers the flanks
A lot can be said about Thomas Meunier, but not that he doesn’t try. Borussia Dortmund’s full-back suddenly shows new qualities after a weak first season. He delivers his flanks reliably. He didn’t give up. As so often in his life.
Tot ou tard – sooner or later, that’s the name of a documentary about Thomas Meunier. That fits, because at first the Belgian at Borussia Dortmund looked like someone had hung his feet the wrong way round. The simplest things failed, bad passes caused goals against – and at Bayern Munich, BVB led 2-0 in March when Meunier only had to serve the free-standing Erling Haaland. The ball did not arrive: BVB lost 2: 4.
Anyone who watches the national soccer player in these weeks sees a different professional: self-confident, uncompromising, precise, with buttery-soft flanks from the right side. “Thomas shows a different face. He has had a significantly greater influence in the previous games than last season,” said licensed game director Sebastian Kehl in “Kicker”. Coach Marco Rose sees the right-back as an “important factor”.
Meunier already toiled as a teenager
Meunier doesn’t give up that easily. When he flew out of Standard Liège’s youth academy at the age of 15, he had to struggle on his way. At 18, at an age when others were already making big money, he worked as a postman for two months, which made him almost desperate. Then he used windshields in a car factory: “Every day from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., after that I went to training.”
Mind you: Back then as a striker, at Royal Excelsior Virton. Social media helped with the ascent: “Soon everyone in Belgium was talking about this guy from the third division who scores those crazy goals,” said Meunier. He found his way to Club Bruges, but most of all he found his looseness and, above all, his love for football again – at 15 he wanted to quit. Dead ou tard.
A down-to-earth miller
Today Meunier (translated: Müller) can get a bit stuck inside. “Thomas is very self-critical, sometimes even a little too much. He would be good to be relaxed,” says sports director Michael Zorc. After the free transfer from Paris St. Germain, getting used to in Dortmund was difficult due to injuries, and the 30-year-old fell ill with Corona after a good European Championship.
After that, he impressed with his performance and attitude. “He’s someone who has the engine to go at a high intensity; someone who has a physical presence,” says Kehl. “He works hard to improve and lives very professionally.” In addition, there is finally a regular rhythm of training and games.
In the meantime, Meunier had lost his regular place. “Not standing on the pitch is like not being allowed to see your children – I get sad and frustrated,” he said. He keeps the three children with his childhood sweetheart, Deborah, out of the media. On Twitter and Instagram there are only sporting insights – but with a hashtag: Tot ou tard.