Just before the hour mark in the match against Augsburg, with the familiar roar of 81,365 fans filling the stadium, 18‑year‑old defender Luca Reggiani found the back of the net for Borussia Dortmund. The sheer delight on the youngster’s face was instantly echoed by academy director Paul Schaffran, who was watching from the training ground. "When our youngsters break into the first team, it lifts everyone’s spirits," Schaffran told Sky Sports.
As the academy chief, 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, according to Schaffran, "has already shown he is ready for the top level." The prodigious 16‑year‑old Mathis Albert earned his first senior appearance against Freiburg last Sunday, while 17‑year‑old Mussa Kaba is on the cusp of his own debut.
"He has been with us since he was eleven and I rate him very highly," Schaffran added. These three players arrived from outside the club – Inacio from Atalanta and Reggiani from Sassuolo – illustrating Dortmund’s dual‑track approach: develop home‑grown talent from the ground up while also recruiting promising youngsters from other academies. "We want to build players from scratch, but we also need the pillars that external recruits bring," Schaffran explained. "The key is that they see a clear pathway here." In Italy, centre‑backs often do not get first‑team minutes until they are well into their thirties, making Reggiani’s early exposure in a defensive role all the more remarkable.
Dortmund has long been regarded as a finishing school for elite talent – the likes of Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham used the Ruhr club as a springboard to global stardom. However, recent pressure to deliver results has forced the club to rethink its recruitment strategy, pushing it to look even younger for the next generation of gems. That shift places a heavier burden on Schaffran’s staff to refine these raw talents. "Our mentality at the academy has completely changed," he said.
"We used to focus on winning at youth level, but a victory at under‑17 means nothing if the player does not become a Bundesliga professional." The new philosophy flips the old model on its head. Instead of shielding youngsters from tough challenges, Dortmund now deliberately places them in demanding environments to accelerate their growth.
"We give them the hardest possible challenges at youth level so that the transition to senior football becomes smoother," Schaffran noted. "It’s a massive change in our thinking." Statistically, Dortmund now fields the youngest under‑17 and under‑19 squads in Germany, and the youngest team in the Premier League International Cup. They do not expect to win that tournament; the aim is to over‑challenge the players.
"We are not doing it just to be the youngest side. We want them to constantly adapt to higher intensity, more physicality and greater tactical complexity." Schaffran explained that constant adaptation inevitably reduces short‑term efficiency – a player in an adjustment phase will not dominate games as before – but it dramatically raises the probability of long‑term development.
"Every time you are forced to adapt, you lose a bit of impact, but you gain experience that will pay off later," he said. A pivotal tool in this new approach is bio‑banding, which uses ultrasound scans to determine each player’s true skeletal age. Six years ago, the academy’s cohort comprised roughly 35% early developers, 60% average and only 5% late developers, a distribution heavily skewed by physical maturity rather than talent.
The bio‑banding data revealed that many early‑maturing players were being favoured simply because they looked stronger, not because they possessed superior ability. "The biggest lesson from bio‑banding wasn’t for the players, it was for our coaches and scouts," Schaffran said. "They now evaluate talent with a completely different lens." Coaches have been trained to look beyond the immediate dominance of physically advanced youngsters. A 14‑year‑old who may be out‑muscled but shows technical flair is now given patience, because his long‑term upside outweighs short‑term results.
Schaffran cited an anonymous player who would have been cut under the old system because he was slower than his peers; with the new approach, he is allowed to develop at his own pace, and there is genuine hope he could reach the highest level. Rather than imposing quotas, Dortmund focused on education and balanced representation.
This season, the academy achieved a more even spread: 15% early developers, 70% average, and 15% late developers. This distribution reflects a commitment to nurturing a diverse range of growth trajectories. The emphasis on individual progress sometimes means losing key players from youth squads.
Both Inacio and Albert were promoted from the under‑19s because they needed the next step in competition. Albert, in particular, has shown remarkable adaptability – he featured in Dortmund’s Club World Cup squad, represented the United States at the U‑17 World Cup, and has already played for the under‑19s and under‑23s in various domestic and international fixtures.
"He constantly steps up in new environments," Schaffran observed. While losing top performers can be hard for the youth team, Schaffran stresses that the academy’s primary metric is development, not trophies.
"If we only cared about winning at youth level, we would keep the best players at that level. That’s not our goal." The alignment between the academy and the first‑team hierarchy has also improved. Former academy chief Rudi Ricken, now a key decision‑maker for the senior side, regularly meets with Schaffran to discuss youth prospects.
Ricken’s involvement in recruiting many of the current youngsters makes the transition smoother and reinforces the club’s commitment to a clear pathway. Schaffran recalled the moment he saw Reggiani’s jubilant celebration after the Augsburg goal. "Luca returned to the academy and celebrated with the under‑12 to under‑15 groups the next day. It was a proud moment for all of us," he said, highlighting how the club’s talent conveyor belt is humming again.
In summary, Dortmund’s academy overhaul centers on early exposure, rigorous challenges, scientific assessment of maturity, and a balanced, education‑first mindset. By deliberately placing young players in demanding situations and supporting varied development timelines, the club aims to produce not just winners at youth level, but fully‑fledged Bundesliga professionals ready to thrive in the modern game.