Waldemar Anton: BVB’s Defensive Benchmark

The boos started early. They always do when Waldemar Anton returns to Stuttgart. Every touch, every simple pass, every clearance – whistled and jeered by the fans who still haven’t forgiven his sudden switch to Borussia Dortmund two years ago.

On Saturday night, he barely flinched. He had other problems to deal with.

A flashpoint with Guirassy

The game was tight, tense, stuck at 1-0 to Dortmund when Serhou Guirassy’s number went up in the 74th minute. The striker trudged off slowly, too slowly under the new rules. Fabio Silva, waiting to come on, had to stand on the sideline for 60 seconds before he was allowed onto the pitch.

Dortmund were down to ten men for that spell. Niko Kovac was furious with Guirassy’s lack of urgency and did little to hide it.

For Anton, it was another moment to let his old team-mate know exactly what he thought. He had already joked recently that he and Guirassy shout at each other in “every game”, but that it never becomes a real issue because they have known each other for “so long” and can say anything on the pitch – even if it “might sometimes be a bit over the top”.

The argument, though, was just a sideshow. Anton’s main act came in his own penalty area.

Back at the club that now greets him with hostility, the 30-year-old simply did what he has been doing for months: he shut the door. Stuttgart pushed, the noise rose, yet again neither he nor his team could be beaten.

Kovac’s back line of steel

Defending has become the heartbeat of this Dortmund under Kovac. Last season, BVB already finished with the best defensive record in the league, conceding just 34 goals. Four matchdays into the new campaign, they have tightened the screws even further.

• Three clean sheets.
• Only two goals conceded.
• Joint-best in the league with Bayern Munich.

Anton stands right at the centre of that transformation.

His first season in Dortmund was anything but smooth. Two muscle fibre tears in quick succession sidelined him longer than at any other point in his career. Rhythm gone, momentum broken, questions asked.

He has answered all of them.

Months ago, Kovac called him a “total constant” at BVB. The coach rarely misses an opportunity to underline his importance. Before the Champions League opener against Villarreal, Kovac described Anton as “a leader. Someone who leads the way. He thinks, eats, sleeps, drinks football 24/7. Someone who supports his team-mates, never gives up and gives everything for the team – a role model.”

Anton shrugs off labels like “defensive leader”, but he plays as if he has quietly accepted the role.

Ironman in black and yellow

Last season, he produced one of the most complete campaigns of his career. Next to Nico Schlotterbeck, he often looked the more secure defender, especially when his partner struggled with injuries at the start of the year.

Kovac dubbed him “Ironman”, and the numbers justify the nickname.

Out of 47 competitive matches in 2025/26, Anton missed only three. In the league and cup, he played all 35 games from start to finish. No rotation, no early substitutions, no dips in concentration. Just relentless availability.

Even the World Cup with Germany did not knock him off course. While many Dortmund players enjoyed longer breaks and full pre-season schedules, Anton had one of the shortest preparations of the squad. It barely showed. He returned and simply carried on where he had left off – in outstanding form.

The art of quiet dominance

Anton’s value goes far beyond minutes played. He leads with discipline, mentality and a stubborn resilience that has become part of Dortmund’s identity.

He does not chase the spectacular. He plays without fuss, defends with a ruthless edge, and attacks duels like a man who refuses to lose ground. His anticipation has turned into a standout trait. Since Mats Hummels, no defender at BVB has stepped forward so intelligently and aggressively to win balls early.

The data underlines the eye test. Anton ranks among the league’s best in duel success rate, aerial duels won, interceptions and clearances. When Dortmund look stable, structured and hard to break down, his fingerprints are all over it.

Right now, on form, there is no German centre-back playing better.

Klopp’s blueprint and Anton’s place in it

That form makes one scenario almost unavoidable: Waldemar Anton as a central figure in Germany’s restart under Jürgen Klopp.

Klopp wants his new DFB side to be built on a solid defensive base. Anton brings exactly what that blueprint demands – experience, physical sharpness, mental toughness, organisation at the back and guidance for younger team-mates. He ticks almost every box.

Long term, Schlotterbeck’s strong left foot and his diagonal balls in the build-up may give him a slight tactical edge in certain setups for the national team. Jonathan Tah at Bayern Munich remains the clear number one in the pecking order.

But the battle behind him is wide open. And Anton is not easing off.

No ego, no noise – just performances

Self-promotion is not his style. Kovac once described him as “very calm, very modest, very humble”: a player who pushes his own ego to the background and puts the team first.

That attitude, combined with his current level, makes him one of the faces of Dortmund’s rise under Kovac. At BVB, the league leaders, he no longer has to fight for status. His performances have settled that debate.

The only real question now hangs over the national team: in Klopp’s new Germany, how long can anyone afford to overlook a defender playing this consistently, this reliably, at this level?