Just before the hour mark in the match against Augsburg, with the usual sea of 81,365 fans roaring in the stadium, 18‑year‑old defender Luca Reggiani found the net for Borussia Dortmund. The sheer delight on his face was echoed back at the club’s academy by director Paul Schaffran. "When we promote our youngsters to the first‑team squad it lifts the spirits of everyone," Schaffran told Sky Sports. As the academy director, he explained that Reggiani’s breakthrough is part of a broader pattern at the club.
Another 18‑year‑old Italian, Samuele Inacio, made his Bundesliga debut against Bayern Munich in February and "already proved he was ready," according to Schaffran. Sixteen‑year‑old prodigy Mathis Albert earned his first senior appearance versus Freiburg last Sunday, and 17‑year‑old Mussa Kaba is on the cusp of doing the same.
"Mussa has been with us since he was eleven and I hold him in very high regard," Schaffran said. While three of these talents arrived from outside the club, the academy’s philosophy is to nurture players from the ground up while also integrating external prospects. "The aim is to build players from scratch, but you need both pillars," he added, noting that Dortmund offers a clear pathway to senior football.
Inacio was signed from Atalanta and Reggiani from Sassuolo. Schaffran highlighted a practical reason for recruiting a young centre‑back: "In Italy the average centre‑back is over 30, so an 18‑year‑old like Luca would struggle to get minutes at that level." The notion of Dortmund as a finishing school is not new – stars such as Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham have used the Ruhr club as a springboard to greatness. However, recent pressure to deliver results has forced the club to rethink its senior‑team recruitment strategy, pushing the academy to produce talent even earlier.
Facing competition from other clubs, Dortmund has deliberately shifted its focus to younger age groups, placing greater responsibility on Schaffran’s staff to refine these prospects. The academy’s mindset has been overhauled to support this ambition. "We changed our vision and the way we develop players," Schaffran explained.
"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 do the opposite – we give our youngsters the toughest challenges possible at youth level so that the transition to senior football becomes smoother. It’s a massive shift in thinking." According to Schaffran, Dortmund now fields the youngest under‑17 squad in Germany, the youngest under‑19 side as well, and the youngest team in the Premier League International Cup. He admitted they are not aiming to win that tournament, and that this is intentional.
"We’re not doing it because it looks good to be the youngest; we do it because over‑challenging players forces them to adapt and grow. If you under‑challenge them for too long they will stagnate and never reach their potential," he said. He stressed that adaptation comes with a temporary dip in efficiency: "Whenever a player is in an adaptation phase, his impact on the game drops, which reduces the chances of winning at that age. But the upside is a much higher developmental ceiling." A key component of this new approach is bio‑banding.
Dortmund now uses ultrasound scans to determine each player’s true skeletal age, ensuring they are placed in competitions that match their physical maturity rather than just their chronological age. The results were eye‑opening. Six years ago, 35 % of the academy were early developers, 60 % fell within the average range and only about 5 % were late developers – a distribution that reflected bias rather than talent. "The biggest lesson from bio‑banding wasn’t for the players, it was for our coaches and scouts," Schaffran noted.
"They now evaluate talent very differently than they did two or three years ago." Scouts who previously dismissed players because they were dominated by older peers are now more patient. "A 14‑year‑old who gets bullied off the ball but possesses real talent will eventually thrive," Schaffran said, citing a player who would have been cut 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 reaching the top level. Schaffran also mentioned that the club considered quota‑based selections but chose education instead.
The result is a balanced distribution this year: roughly 15 % early developers, 70 % average, and 15 % late developers. Balancing individual growth with team performance can be tricky. When Inacio and Albert performed exceptionally for the under‑19s, they were promoted to higher age groups to face new challenges.
Albert, in particular, has shown remarkable adaptability, having featured in Dortmund’s Club World Cup squad, represented the United States at the Under‑17 World Cup, and played for the club’s under‑19 and under‑23 sides across multiple competitions. Schaffran admitted this creates short‑term pain for the youth teams: "We lose our best players. Inacio and Albert scored many goals, Luca was a leader.
If we only cared about winning at youth level, we would keep them, but that’s not how we judge the academy." The focus remains on long‑term development, and with former academy chief Rudi Ricken now overseeing first‑team decisions, there is optimism that the pathway will stay open. "There will be opportunities and space for these youngsters," Schaffran said. He works closely with Ricken, attending first‑team squad planning meetings to discuss youth prospects.
Ricken himself has been instrumental in bringing many of these players to Dortmund, making the transition smoother. It was no surprise that Schaffran beamed when he saw Reggiani’s jubilant face after the Augsburg goal. "Luca was back at the academy celebrating with the under‑12‑to‑15 groups the other day," he said proudly.
Dortmund’s conveyor belt of talent is once again humming, delivering fresh prospects to the senior side.