Just moments before the hour mark in the match against Augsburg, surrounded by the familiar roar of 81,365 fans, 18‑year‑old defender Luca Reggiani found the net for Borussia Dortmund. The sheer elation on his face was instantly relayed back to the club’s academy, where director Paul Schaffran watched the celebration on a screen. "When our youngsters break into the first team, it lifts the spirit of everyone involved," Schaffran told Sky Sports.
As the academy chief, he explained that Reggiani’s breakthrough is part of a broader trend at the club. Another 18‑year‑old Italian, Samuele Inacio, made his Bundesliga debut against Bayern Munich in February, and the 16‑year‑old prodigy Mathis Albert earned his first senior appearance versus Freiburg last Sunday. Even 17‑year‑old Mussa Kaba is on the cusp of a debut. "He’s been with us since he was eleven and I hold him in very high regard," Schaffran noted, highlighting that three of these promising names arrived from outside the club’s own youth system.
"Our philosophy is to nurture talent from the ground up, but we also need to bring in external prospects to complement the home‑grown pillars. The key is that they see a clear route to the senior side." Inacio came from Atalanta, while Reggiani transferred from Sassuolo. Schaffran pointed out that in Italy the average centre‑back is well into his thirties, making it extremely difficult for an 18‑year‑old defender to secure regular minutes at the top level. Dortmund’s model, therefore, offers a rare opportunity for early‑career defenders to gain valuable experience.
The notion of Dortmund as a "finishing school" for elite talent is not new – players such as Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham have already used the Ruhr club as a springboard to stardom. However, recent pressure to deliver results forced a shift in the club’s recruitment strategy, prompting a stronger emphasis on youth. Faced with competition from other European powerhouses, Dortmund decided to look even younger, hoping to uncover hidden gems before rival clubs can snap them up. This decision placed additional responsibility on Schaffran’s staff to refine these raw abilities.
"We completely re‑imagined our vision and the way we develop players," Schaffran explained. "Previously we were obsessed with winning at every youth level.
But a victory in an under‑17 match means nothing if the player does not evolve into a Bundesliga‑ready professional." The new approach flips the old mindset on its head. Instead of protecting youngsters with easy games, Dortmund now deliberately pits them against the toughest opposition possible.
The idea is to expose them to high‑intensity challenges early, so that when they finally reach senior football the transition feels smoother. "It’s a massive shift in thinking," he added. According to Schaffran, Dortmund currently fields the youngest under‑17 and under‑19 squads in Germany, as well as the youngest team competing in the Premier League International Cup. The club does not expect to win that tournament; the goal is purely developmental.
"We aren’t doing this just to boast about having the youngest side. We want our players to be constantly over‑challenged. If you under‑challenge them for too long, they never learn to adapt, and their growth stalls." He elaborated on why constant adaptation matters: "The game is getting faster, more physical, and increasingly complex.
Players must learn to adjust quickly. Each adaptation period may reduce immediate impact on the pitch, but it dramatically boosts long‑term development." A crucial tool in this revamped system is bio‑banding. By employing ultrasound scans to determine each player’s skeletal age, Dortmund can place youngsters in groups that match their physical maturity rather than their chronological age.
Six years ago, the academy’s composition was heavily skewed: roughly 35 % were early developers, 60 % fell into the average range, and only about 5 % were late developers. This imbalance reflected a bias toward early‑maturing athletes rather than true talent.
"The biggest lesson from bio‑banding wasn’t for the players, it was for our coaches and scouts," Schaffran said. "It forced them to reassess how they evaluate potential.
They now look beyond who dominates a particular age group and consider long‑term growth trajectories." He gave an example of a player who would have been rejected under the old system because he was slower than his peers. Given the chance to develop at his own pace, that player now has a realistic pathway to the first team. Schaffran admitted that the academy initially considered imposing quotas to ensure a balanced mix of early, average, and late developers.
Instead, they focused on education and awareness, which paid off: this season the distribution settled at roughly 15 % early developers, 70 % average, and 15 % late developers. Individual progress sometimes means losing key players at youth level.
Both Inacio and Albert were performing brilliantly for the under‑19s, prompting the club to promote them to higher age groups. Albert, in particular, has shown remarkable adaptability. He featured in Dortmund’s Club World Cup squad, represented the United States at the Under‑17 World Cup, and has already played for the under‑19s and under‑23s across domestic and international fixtures. "He thrives in varied environments and keeps stepping up," Schaffran praised.
Admittedly, promoting players early can be painful for the youth teams, as they lose their top scorers and leaders. Yet Schaffran emphasized that the academy’s primary metric is development, not short‑term trophies. With former academy chief Rudi Ricken now overseeing first‑team decisions, there is confidence that a clear route to senior football remains intact. Schaffran works closely with Ricken, attending squad planning meetings and discussing promising youngsters, ensuring alignment between the academy and the senior side.
When Schaffran saw Reggiani’s jubilant reaction after the Augsburg goal, he recalled the young defender celebrating with the under‑12‑to‑15 groups back at the academy. "Seeing Luca’s smile reminded us why we do this," he said proudly. Dortmund’s conveyor belt of talent, once again, is humming smoothly, delivering fresh prospects to the first team and reinforcing the club’s reputation as a premier incubator of footballing excellence.