Borussia Dortmund's Marco Reus looks better than ever

Marco Reus smiled wryly when he said that Borussia Dortmund's mentality had been strong in the last few weeks.

Mentality has been a cloud over this side in recent years, but there's no denying that down the stretch of this season Dortmund have been superb. And at the heart of that has been captain Marco Reus.

"The year, for me personally, cost a lot. We had to fight in every game. The ease came late in the season," Reus told Sky after Dortmund's win in Mainz, one where Reus scored his 10th of the season in all competitions and Dortmund confirmed their Champions League status for the following season.

Reus also spoke of positivity and pride at his own progression. Given that the majority of this season Dortmund flattered to deceive, the club's burst at the end of this season is even more impressive. For Reus, it speaks volumes of the player he is. As one Dortmund fan recently put it, you couldn't ask for more of a captain.

Comeback kid

Last season, at the age of 30, Marco Reus missed most of the season due to injury. Whether it was his ankle or various muscle problems, Reus played 800 fewer Bundesliga minutes than the season before.

And so when Jadon Sancho didn't leave, Erling Haaland prepared for a full season and Lucien Favre entered the last year of his contract, it looked like Marco Reus' last dance. His body didn't look like it could take much more, not to mention the mental disappointment Reus has experienced in the last few years.

The 31-year-old hardly burst into the season either, as his side spent most of the season unsure of themselves.

But injury cost Reus just one game and the longer the season went on, the better he began to play. He was instrumental in Dortmund's bigger games, including the Champions League knockouts. He assisted the goal that got Dortmund into the German Cup semifinals and then stole the show in the final, involving himself in all four goals. He has been vocal, smart and led by example.

It has all led to Dortmund finishing the season with six straight league wins, and as German Cup winners.

"As I said after the cup final when we must, we play the football we want to play... It's sensational what we have done in terms of catching up," said Reus in Mainz.

Reus looks as agile as he did before injury robbed him of a World Cup spot in Brazil seven years ago. His pass before the assist has been sensational, his touch in tight spaces deft — Reus has the third most key passes in the box of all Bundesliga players. For a player who, when in form, is often referred to as Rolls Reus, this was a vintage return to form. Reus had a great 2018/19, but after all he has endured, he has saved the best for last.

Germany swansong?

Reus said he hoped he might get a break now, and with European football sealed, it is possible that Reus is rested on the final day.

But that doesn't mean Reus' summer holiday has started. Joachim Löw will name his Germany squad on May 19 and surely Reus will get the call. The Dortmund man hasn't played for Germany since late 2019, but if Joachim Löw is getting the band together for one last hurrah then it's hard to look past a man who has returned to the kind of form few thought he could.