Bundesliga
Marco Reus targets titles and scoring record
Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus wants his side to pick up where they left off at the end of last season when his 10th campaign as a BVB player kicks off next month.
Dortmund won their last six Bundesliga matches of 2020/21 to climb from fifth to third and secure UEFA Champions League qualification, having already beaten RB Leipzig 4-1 in the DFB Cup final.
It marked Reus' second major trophy as a professional - but hopefully not his last.
"It was a very tough year with lots of ups and downs on the pitch," Reus told BVB TV.
"At the start, we dropped too many points, which made winning the title impossible, but ultimately we rescued our season. You saw that we're hard to beat. Hopefully we can show the same level of performance again.
"Bayern are the hot favourites, but we'll see where the other clubs are in the long run, and if we can pick up where we left off. Our goal is always to win the Bundesliga and DFB Cup."
Watch: What Borussia Dortmund can look forward to in 2021/22
Reus has been a Bundesliga runner-up on six occasions since returning to boyhood club Dortmund from Borussia Mönchengladbach in summer 2012. After centre-back Mats Hummels and veteran left-sided defender Marcel Schmelzer, the 32-year-old is the third most experienced outfield player in the current BVB squad, on 315 competitive appearances.
The Germany international - who ruled himself out of UEFA Euro 2020 to allow his body to recover from a "gruelling season" - has netted 140 goals in that time, and needs just two more to overtake former teammate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the club's all-time list of scorers. Timo Konietzka (148), Lothar Emmerich (158), current sporting director Michael Zorc and Manfred Burgsmüller (both 158) complete the top five.
"It would mean so much," Reus said when quizzed on the prospect.
"It’s the first time I’ve heard about those stats, but I'm in the hunt. It'd mean a lot because they're BVB legends. I'd be unbelievably proud. Then I'll try and overtake Michael."
Watch: All Marco Reus' Bundesliga goals in 2020/21
Reus will have the opportunity to rewrite the history books when Dortmund begin their DFB Cup defence at lower-league Wehen Wiesbaden on 7 August. The five-time Bundesliga and DFB Cup winners face Eintracht Frankfurt on the opening weekend of the new top-flight season (14 August), before contesting the DFL Supercup against holders Bayern (17 August).