Marin Pongračić Scouting Report – Why The Croatian Centre-Back Is A Low-Risk Option To Bolster Dortmund’s Defence

With Wolfsburg completing the signing of Sebastiaan Bornauw from FC Koln, it triggered a sequence of signings across the league.

FC Koln subsequently replaced the outgoing Bornauw with Timo Hübers, and with Wolfsburg’s centre-back options becoming a touch more crowded, Borussia Dortmund sensed the opportunity to prize Marin Pongračić away.

The Croatian centre-back has shown plenty of promise at Wolfsburg, but has struggled to truly cement himself in the starting line-up.

A move to Dortmund, where his fellow countryman Marco Rose (who previously worked with Pongračić at RB Salzburg) is in charge made plenty of sense for both sides.

For Pongračić it was a chance to link up with a former coach, get a fresh start, and still have the opportunity to compete in Europe and challenge for domestic trophies too, alongside Wolfsburg, Leipzig and Bayern et al- whilst for Dortmund it was a chance to provide a much-needed bolster to their defensive options, giving them cover at centre-back and right-back.

Dortmund have failed to give themselves ample squad options in either role, and whilst Rose may have preferred to have signed one more defender, Pongračić’s arrival will make him somewhat more comfortable about his defender shortage.

This tactical analysis and scout report will provide an overview of Pongračić’s various abilities and tendencies, whilst giving a brief analysis of the tactics the 23-year-old defender may find himself adjusting to.

Marin Pongračić Positioning

Pongračić predominantly plays as a right-sided centre-back, however, he played a fair amount on the left side of Wolfsburg’s centre-back pairing last season, and looked comfortable enough doing so.

He also has experience playing as a right-back, and will likely provide cover for Dortmund in this position too.

Whilst Oliver Glasner, who has since left Wolfsburg, initially played with a back three with Die Wolves, he changed to a back four, and Pongračić therefore has experience of playing in both systems at the Bundesliga level.

His ability to play comfortably in a back three will provide Rose with some flexibility in his backline.

Pongračić generally anchors possession in the backline, sitting deep, and rarely venturing forward with the ball into the opposition half.

He may sit inside the opposition half during advanced attacks, but is relatively reserved with his overall positioning, as the heat map below testifies.

Pongračić doesn’t have any obvious positional issues, consistently maintaining good distances between himself and his defensive teammates either side of him.

Equally, he keeps ample distance between himself and the midfield in front of him, and shows an anticipation and aggression to step out of the backline and press any ball-carriers operating between the lines.