Lena Oberdorf is only eighteen years of age.
However, she has already built a reputation that surpasses her years.
Already well in the German national side’s plans, making her debut at the World Cup last year, she is also the heart of SGS Essen.
The Frauen Bundesliga side currently sits fourth in the table.
In this Lena Oberdorf scout report, we will look at the young German in depth.
One of her biggest assets is her flexibility in playing a variety of roles.
We will look at what Oberdorf provides in both her club and national sides, and consider which club she could potentially fit in at as she continues to progress.
Lena Oberdorf At SGS Essen Frauen
As I mentioned above, Oberdorf’s greatest strength is her flexibility.
She is capable of playing in multiple roles for her team, and will typically shift between various positions during matches depending on the team’s needs.
Below you can see her territorial coverage from this campaign, which shows the amount of time she has spent in different areas during this time.
Lena Oberdorf Territorial Coverage Map
Her roles differ in the national side and for SGS Essen.
However, both managers aim to get the best out of the promising youngster in these positions by using specific tactics that enable her to have an impact on all phases of the match.
For her club side, the 18-year-old is extremely versatile.
So far this campaign, Lena Oberdorf has played in four different positions: centre-half, centre-midfield, left-wing, and centre-forward.
This type of flexibility is highly unusual and is a testament to her ability.
In each of these positions, she is capable of making a positive impact on the match.
Most of the time, Oberdorf (19) is played in central midfield.
However, even here, she is extremely flexible with the role she plays.
In the images below, you can see the average positioning of the SGS Essen side in two different matches.
Lena Oberdorf (19) As A Deep-lying Midfielder
Here, the German youngster is tasked with dictating the game and using her defensive awareness to prevent opposing attacks from reaching dangerous areas.
She is averaging over six interceptions per 90 this campaign, showing her intelligence with reading plays.
Lena Oberdorf (19) As An Advanced Midfielder
In the second image, her role has completely shifted, and instead, Oberdorf is playing as a very advanced midfielder.
Here we see some similarities in the movements she makes going forward on the national side.
Lena is at her most dangerous once she has released a pass and looks to move beyond the opposition’s defensive set-up without possession.
SGS Essen try to utilise Oberdorf’s passing above all.
Her range is staggering for a player of her age, and it shows in the statistics she puts up.
Below you can see her totals for different categories of long passes.
Lena Oberdorf Long Passes Stats
100% accuracy on long passes into the box and vertical through passes is a huge testament to her ability to pick out a pass.
Oberdorf’s 56 long passes in the opposition half, with an 85.7% completion rate, demonstrate her eagerness to advance into the attack and support her side.
Lena Oberdorf At Germany WNT
Getting the opportunity to be in the World Cup side in 2019, Oberdorf would probably not have expected to receive a huge amount of playing time.
Due to her age and seniority on the side, it was a huge opportunity to travel with the side and gain experience.
However, the 18-year-old was thrown directly into the mix, coming on in the second half of their first match and starting their second.
In the national team, Oberdorf plays as the left-sided centre-back.
Here, she is able to use her strength and physical presence in the air to be dominant against opposing strikers when out of possession.
When Germany have possession, they switch from a four-back system to a three-back.
Oberdorf is deployed on the left of this back three and is given a very unique role in this area.
The addition of the third player in this defensive line allows her to be more adventurous going forward.
This is a huge asset for the German side, and will only continue to improve as she gains experience in time.
When Germany looks to work attacks down the left side, Oberdorf is often a major part in these advances.
When she plays a pass into the winger or central midfielder, she will look for opportunities to make forward runs.
This will often include underlapping runs to support the winger and provide a passing option behind the defensive line, or as a decoy to not allow opponents to close down the German player in possession in these areas.
This is illustrated in the example below.
Lena Oberdorf plays it into the wide player, who holds up play and assesses her options ahead.
The centre-half is quick to move beyond her regular position and into an advanced position.
The 18-yea-old carries this run in behind and forces the opposition to keep their defensive line back, having to respect her run and attacking potency.
This gives the player in possession and others around her the space to work effectively.
Movements like this create a challenging situation for the defending side.
Typically, in a position like hers, she will not have a direct marker.
We have taken the example from the match against Greece, where they opted to allow her to have space in the centre-half area in favour of keeping more players in deeper positions.
This being said, when Lena Oberdorf looked to move forward, it became a question of who would pick her up when she did so.
Apart from the attacking threat she represents, it also becomes an issue of other players getting free because of the extra need to mark her.
In the image above, you can see the problem this creates.
When Lena Oberdorf moves forward into the half-space, it forces the opposition midfielder to turn her attention to the centre-half, as the threat of her getting in behind through this channel starts to increase.
With this, Germany’s central midfielder is now given more freedom to be able to move away from her marker and look for other room to make an impact on the attack.
Lena Oberdorf Attacking Mindset
When in possession for club and country, Oberdorf’s first instinct is to look for opportunities to get forward.
As we discussed in the sections above, she is given the freedom to express herself in attacking areas even when she is originally played in a defensive role.
The statistics speak for themselves when it comes to the young German.
The 18-year-old averages three key passes per game, 27 completed progressive passes out of 30 attempts per 90, and 2.44 progressive runs per 90.
She leads her side in all of these categories and competes with the best in the league in them as well.
This stems from her ability to view the game in a highly advanced manner.
Lena Oberdorf is adept at identifying space for herself or her teammates.
This comes explicitly out in transitions.
When Essen regains possession, Oberdorf instantly becomes an attacking-minded team, looking for space left open to catch opponents off guard.
She is very successful with his, as highlighted by her impressive 90% completion rate on progressive passes.
In the image above, SGS Essen are set up in their defensive structure.
The opposing team’s player in possession looks to make a forward pass, only for Oberdorf to intercept it.
She takes a quick touch to settle it before going to dribble forward.
Lena Oberdorf’s eyes are immediately upfield, looking for options.
She spots the gap down the left side of the pitch.
The German youngster puts through a ball in behind for her striker to run onto, who narrowly misses scoring at the end of it.
Her flexibility has also allowed her to take up more attacking roles for SGS Essen.
Multiple times during this campaign, she has lined up as a centre-forward or left winger.
When playing as a centre-forward, Oberdorf tends to play in a deeper position than her partner in a 4-4-2.
Here, she likes to hold possession and combine with her midfield teammates as the whole side looks to move forward after defending.
When in possession, Lena Oberdorf also tends to drop deeper.
She looks for space to move away from her marker and present a passing option for her teammates.
When the 18-year-old gets a pass, her first instinct is to turn and dribble forward. In the image below, we can see her drifting off into this space as the centre-half moves forward with the ball.
Oberdorf consistently surveys her surroundings to determine the direction she wants to take the ball in once she receives the pass.
As soon as she receives the pass, she turns and runs straight at the opposition left-back.
This forces the defender into a tough situation.
With the winger providing a wide option, the defender must decide whether to allow Oberdorf the space in order to block off the wide pass or to step into Oberdorf in possession and risk giving up the wide pass.
Lena Oberdorf runs at the defender until she is forced to step towards her, and as soon as the defender moves in her direction, she releases her winger down the channel.
Lena Oberdorf Defensive Awareness
While the German international is very creative moving forward, she is often put into these defensive roles due to her dominance in these areas.
She is successful in 59% of her defensive duels this campaign.
Even more impressive, the 18-year-old wins 61% of her aerial duels.
This is used in different ways for club and country.
For SGS Essen, the German international is tasked with much more attacking responsibility than for her national side.
However, Lena Oberdorf is still relied upon for protecting the defensive line in matches where she plays in a deeper role.
The club typically defend in a 4-4-2 formation.
This system provides a solid bank of four in front of the defenders to try and keep opponents away from goal.
The youngster usually occupies the right centre-midfield position in this structure.
Oberdorf’s defensive positioning is what stands out the most in her game.
When marking her player, she is always able to force the opposition to move possession into wide areas rather than work it through the middle.
As soon as a pass is made into the centre of midfield, Lena Oberdorf uses her physical presence to get tight to the opponent and press them from behind, restricting room in the middle of the pitch.
With her doing this, the player with the ball is forced to look to move it backwards or out wide.
In the image above, Lena Oberdorf is occupying a higher position in midfield when out of possession.
As the centre-half controls the ball, she waits for the player to make a move.
The centre-half looks to make a quick pass into her central midfielder to advance play.
As soon as this pass is made, Oberdorf quickly positions herself to defend the situation.
She moves herself instantly into a deeper position on the back of the player now in possession.
The 18-year-old German woman cuts off the centre of the pitch, which forces the attack backwards and towards the touchline.
Her quick thinking and positioning restricted any potential for an attack through the centre of the field.
Oberdorf’s intelligence also allows her to protect her side in different situations.
Playing centre-half, she is able to identify dangerous situations and drop in to help her defensive line when she is played in midfield.
In the image above, we can see Lena Oberdorf as the deepest midfielder in SGS Essen’s formations.
As her centre-half looks to push forward with possession, she acknowledges that her teammate is about to be dispossessed.
Quickly, she falls back to fill in the left centre-half position.
Oberdorf’s quickness enables her to help SGS Essen regain its defensive shape, and she blocks off the opponent’s inside pass, forcing it out wide and eventually causing them to lose possession.
Lena Oberdorf Future Improvements
For all of the promise in Lena Oberdorf’s style of play, there is still plenty of room for improvement as she continues to gain experience.
One key area that the youngster can focus on moving forward is her decision-making.
As we have stated throughout this piece, her intelligence enables her to secure advantageous positions throughout the match.
However, we see Oberdorf give up possession a little more than what would be preferred.
The 18-year-old has completed 15 of her 32 attempted dribbles this campaign, and 30 of her 63 attempted offensive duels.
Something such as this will undoubtedly come with time.
As she finds herself in various situations more frequently, selecting the right option for each will become instinctive, especially for a player as intelligent and talented as Oberdorf.
Lena Oberdorf Potential Move?
While Oberdorf would be best served by spending another year or two with SGS Essen, it is worth considering where she could be the best fit for moving forward.
The obvious but arguably most suitable destination for her is VfL Wolfsburg Frauen.
The German champions will definitely be keeping close tabs on the youngster as she continues to develop, and it would not be surprising if a bid were to come in within the next year.
Oberdorf’s flexibility fits in perfectly in a side like Wolfsburg.
While there are regulars in each position, every player is capable of playing just about every position on the pitch. This gives them the ability to be as dynamic as they are.
As we have shown in this analysis, she possesses all the necessary tools to fit into the various roles she would be given at Wolfsburg.
Oberdorf’s defensive awareness and passing range, highlighted by her nine deep completions this campaign, would allow her to fill in the role of the holding central midfielder typically occupied by Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir.
Higher up the pitch, her familiarity with playing as the most advanced midfielder at SGS Essen could benefit her in playing the role of the attacking central midfielder.
Wolfsburg’s possession-based tactics include one of these central players joining the attacking line and playing as an inside forward.
Oberdorf’s intelligence in her forward movement and runs off of the strikers would make her an ideal candidate for this role at Wolfsburg.
Conclusion
Lena Oberdorf has the football world at her feet.
The sky is the limit for the German international as she looks to build upon what has already been an extremely successful career for a player of her age.
While the 18-year-old midfielder is talented enough to play in various positions throughout the pitch, we can expect her to become more regular in a defensive and holding role.
Oberdorf’s defensive abilities, paired with her timing on forward runs, make her a crucial piece to any side she is part of.
A holding midfield role in a double pivot, which allows her the freedom to advance forward when opportunities arise, could be the system that brings out the best in the German youngster.
