The Rise, Fall and Rise of Serhou Guirassy

Serhou Guirassy’s 2025/26 campaign has already been filed under “roller-coaster” in the Borussia Dortmund archives. Twelve months after arriving from Stuttgart, the 29-year-old Guinean finished his debut Schwarzgelben season with 21 Bundesliga goals and a share of the Champions League Golden Boot, tied with Barcelona’s Raphinha on 13. Coach Niko Kovač labelled him “our life insurance,” and Europe’s heavyweights—Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United—quickly formed an orderly queue. Yet Guirassy resisted the temptation of a blockbuster move, pledging to lead Dortmund’s rebound from a disappointing league finish.

The early returns felt like a coronation. Five goals in the first four competitive fixtures carried Dortmund to the Club World Cup final and had Guirassy eyeing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s club record of eight straight scoring appearances. Then came the twist no one saw coming: a 45-day dry spell that plunged the striker, and the team, into uncertainty.

The first crack appeared on Champions League Matchday 1 in Turin. After winning a 74th-minute penalty that could have extended his scoring streak, Guirassy watched Algerian defender Ramy Bensebaini assume spot-kick duties. The forward’s heated reaction foreshadowed what lay ahead—no goal that night, and a thigh strain in the following warm-up against Mainz that sidelined him through the October international break. Seven consecutive scoreless outings followed; suddenly the predator who had averaged 0.73 goals per game looked mortal.

Kovač’s tactical remodel did not help. Where predecessor Nuri Şahin’s 4-2-3-1 flooded central lanes and fed Guirassy’s instinctive box movement, the new boss preferred a safety-first 3-4-2-1 that funneled attacks wide. Wingbacks now carry creative responsibility, while two attacking midfielders crowd the zone Guirassy once owned. The result: fewer touches between the posts and a dispersal of finishing duties to Maximilian Beier, Karim Adeyemi and Felix Nmecha. In 25 matches after the Juventus defeat Guirassy managed just five goals, and summer arrival Fabio Silva began eating into his minutes.

January brought experimentation—and liberation. On 24 January, Kovač started Silva not as a substitute but as an attacking midfielder, freeing Guirassy to remain on the last shoulder. The pair combined for the opening penalty in a vital 2-0 win over Union Berlin. Four days later, against Heidenheim on Matchday 20, the re-jigged attack clicked: Couto’s wingback thrust pinned one midfielder deep, Adeyemi and Brandt tucked inside, and Guirassy tormented the box. A brace inside two minutes ended his drought; a missed spot-kick prevented a hat-trick but could not mask the rebirth. In the next five fixtures he added four more goals, only one from the spot.

The common denominator? Service tailored to his strengths. Julian Ryerson’s six successful crosses versus Mainz—triple his season average—rekindled memories of Pascal Groß’s deliveries, while Silva’s unselfish running keeps Guirassy where he is most lethal: between the width of the posts. With creators occupying defenders, the Guinean’s world-class poaching instincts resurface.

The numbers underline the dependency: last season Guirassy posted 0.68 non-penalty expected goals per 90 from 3.11 shots, thriving on link-up play with Groß, Brandt and Jamie Gittens. At 187 cm he is an aerial menace, but it is his spatial intelligence—always arriving in the right square yard—that elevates him above mere target men. Kovač’s current blueprint, heavy on set-piece production and flank overloads, can still exploit that gift if the supporting cast continues to prioritize early balls into the corridor between penalty spot and six-yard line.

Dortmund’s title hopes hinge on the answer. Bayern’s surprise defeat to Augsburg opened the door; BVB’s response was a re-ignited Guirassy stalking the box once more. Whether the striker can sustain the surge will determine if the second “rise” in this dramatic arc proves as spectacular as the first.