Gregor Kobel

The 26-year-old Swiss has been a Borussia Dortmund player since July 2021. The goalkeeper has played 117 matches for BVB across all competitions as of June 2024 (cut-off date for all statistics).

The Switzerland international goalkeeper and Borussia Dortmund are a perfect match, and have been for the past three years. To demonstrate as much, Gregor Kobel held a bright orange goalkeeper jersey up to the cameras in autumn 2023 and smiled his trademark Gregor Kobel smile, which is as wide as his arms and legs, which he uses to block all goal-bound efforts week after week. "2028" was emblazoned on the back of this jersey, symbolising the duration of his current contract. Hans-Joachim Watzke was delighted with "a great commitment to BVB. Gregor Kobel's sporting development in recent years has deeply impressed us all." In approximately one in three (40) of his 117 appearances in a BVB shirt, the 1.95 metre tall goalkeeper has kept a clean sheet.   

"I felt at home here very quickly and realised that we are a really good fit. It's not as if I had seriously considered another club," he told the members' magazine "Borussia" (November 2023 issue) and emphasised: "My commitment was and is very clearly to BVB. I'm a very emotional guy, and Signal Iduna Park is an incredibly emotional stadium. It's an unbelievable feeling to be able to play in this stadium week in and week out. It's a huge privilege and motivates me time and time again."

Kobel has been BVB's undisputed number one since the summer of 2021. The position of deputy captain underlines his status. Last season, he saved a good 73% of the shots that came his way. His goalkeeping efficiency rating (+9.4) was even the best of all Bundesliga keepers. This means that with an "average goalkeeper", BVB would have conceded nine more goals than they did.

“Over time, you get a feel for how a striker thinks, whether you might wait a little longer to react or offer something,” reveals the keeper. He has excellent control of the penalty area, as well as footballing qualities and endeavours to open up the game in a controlled, yet offensive manner. He reacts well on the line and, above all, is consistent in his performances.

“Brilliant save” and “Kobel”. If you search on the BVB website, you'll find what you're looking for early on. The talented goalkeeper was first mentioned on 29 May 2016, annoying the attackers of Borussia Dortmund's U19s in the final of the German U19 Championship against TSG Hoffenheim. The final score was 5-3 because BVB had an even more outstanding player in their ranks, Felix Passlack, than TSG had in Gregor Kobel, who was 18 at the time. And on 1 March 2019 you can read: “A 2-1 loss in Augsburg: only Alcácer gets the better of Kobel”. Kobel, then in the service of FCA, saved eight of the nine shots on goal from the Dortmund attackers in this match and thus earned a place in the “Team of the Round” in kicker magazine.

The son of a former ice hockey first division professional was born in Zurich on St Nicholas' Day in 1997 and trained at Grasshopper Club. He moved to TSG Hoffenheim's youth academy in 2014 at the age of sixteen. After his first appearances with the professionals under coach Julian Nagelsmann (mostly in the DFB-Pokal), the substitute for regular goalkeeper Oliver Baumann was loaned to FC Augsburg in January 2019, where he played 16 of 17 possible matches in the latter part of the season. In the summer of 2019, he moved to his next destination, again on loan, to the then second-tier club VfB Stuttgart.

Kobel was part of the Swiss squad for the 2021 European Championship and made his debut for the senior national team in the 2-1 win over Greece on 1 September 2021. He was also involved in the 2022 World Cup and EURO 2024.