Just before the hour mark in the match against Augsburg, in front of the familiar sea of 81,365 fans, 18‑year‑old defender Luca Reggiani found the net for Borussia Dortmund. The sheer elation on his face was echoed back at the club’s academy by director Paul Schaffran. "When our youngsters break into the first team, it gives everyone a sense of hope," Schaffran told Sky Sports.
As the academy director, he was speaking from a hotel in Liverpool ahead of a development game, and it was clear that Reggiani is part of a broader pattern. Another 18‑year‑old Italian, Samuele Inacio, made his Bundesliga debut against Bayern Munich in February and "already showed he was ready," according to Schaffran. Six‑year‑old prodigy Mathis Albert, just 16, earned his first senior appearance versus Freiburg last Sunday, and 17‑year‑old Mussa Kaba is on the cusp of following suit. "Mussa has been with us since he was 11 and I rate him very highly," Schaffran said.
The three youngsters were not home‑grown; they were recruited into the academy. "Our philosophy is to build players from the ground up, but we need both pillars – development and recruitment," he explained.
Dortmund also promises a clear pathway to the senior squad, which is a key selling point for young talent. Inacio arrived from Atalanta, while Reggiani came from Sassuolo.
Schaffran highlighted the difficulty for an 18‑year‑old centre‑back in Italy, where the average age for that position is often above 30, making it hard for a teenager to get regular minutes at the highest level. The notion of Dortmund as a "finishing school" is not new – players like Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham moved to the Ruhr to accelerate their rise to stardom. However, recent pressure to deliver results forced the club to rethink its first‑team recruitment strategy, and the growing competition from other clubs has pushed Dortmund to look even younger for hidden gems. This shift places a greater responsibility on Schaffran’s staff to refine these prospects, prompting a radical change in academy mentality.
"We altered our vision and the way we develop players," Schaffran said. "Previously we were obsessed with winning at every youth level, but a victory at under‑17 means nothing if the player does not become a Bundesliga professional." He continued, "Now we deliberately give our youngsters the toughest challenges possible at youth level.
The idea is to make the transition to senior football smoother because they have already faced adversity. It's a massive shift in thinking." According to Schaffran, Dortmund currently fields the youngest under‑17 and under‑19 squads in Germany, as well as the youngest team in the Premier League International Cup. They are not aiming to win that tournament; the goal is to over‑challenge the players.
"We aren't doing this just to be the youngest. Over‑challenging forces adaptation, which is essential for growth. If you keep players in their comfort zone, they stagnate." He elaborated on the benefits of constant adaptation: "Each time a player faces a new challenge – a faster game, more physicality, greater tactical complexity – they have to adjust.
During the adaptation phase performance may dip, meaning fewer wins, but the developmental payoff is huge." A pivotal tool in this new approach is bio‑banding. Dortmund uses ultrasound scans to determine the true skeletal age of academy members, ensuring they are placed in groups that match their physical maturity rather than just chronological age.
Six years ago, the academy’s composition was skewed: 35% early developers, 60% average, and only about 5% late developers. This distribution reflected a bias toward early‑maturing players rather than pure talent.
"The biggest lesson from bio‑banding wasn't for the players, but for our coaches and scouts," Schaffran explained. "They now assess talent differently than they did two or three years ago." Scouts who once favored dominant players in their age group have been taught to look beyond immediate physical superiority. "A 14‑year‑old who is being out‑muscled but possesses technical skill will eventually thrive," Schaffran said, citing a confidential player who would have been dismissed under the old system because he was slower than his peers.
Given time to develop at his own pace, that player now has a realistic chance of progressing. The academy also set internal quotas to balance the mix of early, average, and late developers.
This year, the distribution settled at roughly 15% early, 70% average, and 15% late developers – a deliberate effort to create a more equitable talent pool. Individual development sometimes clashes with team success. When Inacio and Albert excelled with the under‑19s, they were promoted to higher levels to face new challenges. Albert, in particular, demonstrated remarkable adaptability: he featured in Dortmund’s Club World Cup squad, represented the United States at the Under‑17 World Cup, and has played for the club’s under‑19 and under‑23 sides across domestic and international competitions.
"He thrives in varied environments and keeps stepping up," Schaffran noted. Admittedly, promoting top performers can weaken the youth sides.
"We lose our best players, which can hurt results, but our metric is development, not trophies at youth level," Schaffran admitted. The club’s long‑term strategy is reinforced by former academy chief Rüdiger Ricken, who now influences first‑team decisions. Schaffran regularly attends first‑team squad planning meetings, ensuring a direct line of communication about promising youngsters.
Ricken’s involvement has smoothed the pathway for academy graduates, making it easier for talents like Reggiani to transition. Schaffran recalled the moment he saw Reggiani celebrate his Augsburg goal and later return to the academy to share the joy with players aged 12‑15. "Seeing his smile back at the academy was a proud moment," he said.
In summary, Dortmund’s academy has undergone a comprehensive overhaul: a shift from win‑at‑all‑costs to development‑first, the introduction of bio‑banding to eliminate maturity bias, deliberate over‑challenging of youth squads, and a tighter integration between academy and first‑team staff. These changes have already borne fruit, with several teenagers making senior debuts and a pipeline of talent ready to feed the club’s future. The conveyor belt of young players is humming again, and Dortmund’s commitment to nurturing home‑grown stars appears stronger than ever.