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Henrikh Mkhitaryan "makes the difference"

Five goals in as many games, one in each match – Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s scoring record during Borussia Dortmund’s DFB Cup run this season is truly unique, while the qualities of the BVB midfielder are equally rare. His playing style seems to follow a melody and it’s like music to your ears.

“Micki makes the difference,” said Dortmund’s sporting director Michael Zorc recently, and the stats prove him right: Mkhitaryan reached 50 competitive appearances this season even with two games left to be played in the Bundesliga. In those 50 competitive games in the league, DFB Cup and Europa League he was involved in 55 goals (23 goals, 32 assists) – remarkable numbers for the midfielder, whose trickery on the ball and pace often see him outrun the opposition and sometimes even make him hard to follow as a spectator.

Breakthrough in his third year

Mkhitaryan has finally made his breakthrough at Borussia Dortmund in what is now his third season. All of a sudden, everyone can see why Jürgen Klopp signed the Armenia international in the summer of 2013. “Henrikh is a complete midfielder. He has pace, is comfortable on the ball, has outstanding vision and a solid finish,” praised Klopp at the time.

However, it wasn’t always a walk in the park for Mkhitaryan. The stretch of 14 days early in 2014 when he missed an unbelievalbe amount of chances will never be forgotten. There was the he missed out on sealing a derby victory when he was one-on-one with Schalke keeper Ralf Fährmann. Then there was the time he had already found a way around Iker Casillas but only hit the post with the goal gaping against Real Madrid, when scoring could have seen Dortmund complete a miracle comeback in the Champions League quarterfinal. But he always remained his biggest critic and eventually all the hard work would pay off.

Tuchel lets Mkhitaryan off the leash

There were chances for Henrikh Mkhitaryan to become a Dortmund legend very early in his career. But he could have also fallen apart after this barrage of missed opportunities in 2014. The Armenian, who now speaks six languages, tends to spend a lot of time contemplating his past actions, which can sometimes help in life but in football it sometimes doesn’t help at all. Those that tend to overthink things on the football pitch are usually the ones who end up losing.

Two things happened that helped Mkhitaryan change his fortunes at BVB. First, Jürgen Klopp moved him from a central position to the wing, which took him out of the focus to a certain extent. Secondly, Thomas Tuchel became his new manager and the arrival of the former Mainz coach may have prevented Mkhitaryan from moving on from Dortmund. Whatever Tuchel told Mkhitaryan at the start of the season, it worked. The midfielder appears to have found a something of a soulmate in Tuchel and it shows in his performances.

“Better personality than ability as a footballer”

The 27-year-old is still the same person, but a completely different player. The difference: when something doesn’t work out for him these days, which could practically happen every second based on the speed Mkhitaryan plays the game, he keeps his head held high. He has the courage and the trust to keep trying even if he’s previously failed. Off the pitch, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is a discreet and humble person, but on the pitch he possesses ferocious acceleration and a fine eye for his teammates, which makes him such a special player.

“As a human, Micki’s personality is better than his ability as a footballer,” said Jürgen Klopp. Micki is always able to make the difference on the pitch and many Dortmund fans are keeping their fingers crossed that this will be the case again in the DFB Cup final on Saturday evening.

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Five goals in as many games, one in each match – Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s scoring record during Borussia Dortmund’s DFB Cup run this season is truly unique, while the qualities of the BVB midfielder are equally rare. His playing style seems to follow a melody and it’s like music to your ears.

“Micki makes the difference,” said Dortmund’s sporting director Michael Zorc recently, and the stats prove him right: Mkhitaryan reached 50 competitive appearances this season even with two games left to be played in the Bundesliga. In those 50 competitive games in the league, DFB Cup and Europa League he was involved in 55 goals (23 goals, 32 assists) – remarkable numbers for the midfielder, whose trickery on the ball and pace often see him outrun the opposition and sometimes even make him hard to follow as a spectator.

Breakthrough in his third year

Mkhitaryan has finally made his breakthrough at Borussia Dortmund in what is now his third season. All of a sudden, everyone can see why Jürgen Klopp signed the Armenia international in the summer of 2013. “Henrikh is a complete midfielder. He has pace, is comfortable on the ball, has outstanding vision and a solid finish,” praised Klopp at the time.

However, it wasn’t always a walk in the park for Mkhitaryan. The stretch of 14 days early in 2014 when he missed an unbelievalbe amount of chances will never be forgotten. There was the he missed out on sealing a derby victory when he was one-on-one with Schalke keeper Ralf Fährmann. Then there was the time he had already found a way around Iker Casillas but only hit the post with the goal gaping against Real Madrid, when scoring could have seen Dortmund complete a miracle comeback in the Champions League quarterfinal. But he always remained his biggest critic and eventually all the hard work would pay off.

Tuchel lets Mkhitaryan off the leash

There were chances for Henrikh Mkhitaryan to become a Dortmund legend very early in his career. But he could have also fallen apart after this barrage of missed opportunities in 2014. The Armenian, who now speaks six languages, tends to spend a lot of time contemplating his past actions, which can sometimes help in life but in football it sometimes doesn’t help at all. Those that tend to overthink things on the football pitch are usually the ones who end up losing.

Two things happened that helped Mkhitaryan change his fortunes at BVB. First, Jürgen Klopp moved him from a central position to the wing, which took him out of the focus to a certain extent. Secondly, Thomas Tuchel became his new manager and the arrival of the former Mainz coach may have prevented Mkhitaryan from moving on from Dortmund. Whatever Tuchel told Mkhitaryan at the start of the season, it worked. The midfielder appears to have found a something of a soulmate in Tuchel and it shows in his performances.

“Better personality than ability as a footballer”

The 27-year-old is still the same person, but a completely different player. The difference: when something doesn’t work out for him these days, which could practically happen every second based on the speed Mkhitaryan plays the game, he keeps his head held high. He has the courage and the trust to keep trying even if he’s previously failed. Off the pitch, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is a discreet and humble person, but on the pitch he possesses ferocious acceleration and a fine eye for his teammates, which makes him such a special player.

“As a human, Micki’s personality is better than his ability as a footballer,” said Jürgen Klopp. Micki is always able to make the difference on the pitch and many Dortmund fans are keeping their fingers crossed that this will be the case again in the DFB Cup final on Saturday evening.