Just before the hour mark in the match against Augsburg, with the familiar roar of 81,365 fans echoing through the stadium, 18‑year‑old defender Luca Reggiani found the back of the net for Borussia Dortmund. The sheer elation on his face was instantly relayed to academy director Paul Schaffran, who was watching from the training centre. "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 that is reshaping the club’s development philosophy. Another 18‑year‑old Italian, Samuele Inacio, made his Bundesliga debut against Bayern Munich in February and immediately impressed the coaching staff. "He’s already shown he belongs at this level," Schaffran noted. Six‑year‑old prodigy Mathis Albert, just 16, earned his first senior minutes against Freiburg last Sunday, while 17‑year‑old Mussa Kaba is on the cusp of a debut.
"He’s been with us since he was eleven and I rate him very highly," Schaffran added. These four players are not the only examples. While some, like Inacio and Reggiani, arrived from Italian clubs Atalanta and Sassuolo respectively, the academy also cultivates home‑grown talent from an early age.
"Our aim is to build players from the ground up, but we need both home‑grown and imported pillars to succeed," Schaffran explained. The club’s reputation for offering a clear pathway to the senior side is a key selling point for young prospects. The situation for an 18‑year‑old centre‑back in Italy is stark: most top‑level defenders are well into their thirties, leaving few opportunities for a teenager to gain meaningful minutes. Dortmund’s willingness to trust a player like Luca in such a demanding position is therefore a distinctive advantage.
The concept of Dortmund as a "finishing school" is not new. The arrivals of Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham a few years ago demonstrated how the club can accelerate a player’s rise to stardom. Yet recent seasons have forced the club to rethink its senior‑team recruitment strategy, prompting a shift toward even younger talent in order to uncover hidden gems before rival clubs can snap them up. This strategic pivot places additional responsibility on Schaffran’s staff to refine and accelerate the development process.
"We altered our vision and the way we nurture players," Schaffran said during a recent interview at the club’s Liverpool hotel ahead of a development match. "Previously we were obsessed with winning at every youth level.
But a victory at under‑17 level 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 pressure, Dortmund now deliberately subjects them to the toughest challenges possible at youth level. The belief is that early exposure to adversity will make the transition to senior football smoother. "It is a massive change in our thinking," Schaffran emphasized.
According to the academy director, Dortmund currently fields the youngest under‑17 and under‑19 squads in Germany, as well as the youngest side competing in the Premier League International Cup. The club does not expect to win that tournament; the objective is purely developmental. "We are not doing this just to be the youngest. We want to over‑challenge our players so they adapt quickly," Schaffran explained.
He continued, "If you keep a player in a comfort zone for too long, they will not develop the resilience needed for top‑level football. The game is getting faster, more physical and increasingly complex. Players must learn to adapt on the fly. During adaptation periods their performance may dip, but the long‑term developmental gains outweigh the short‑term loss of efficiency." A cornerstone of this renewed approach is bio‑banding, a technique that uses ultrasound scans to determine each player’s skeletal age rather than relying solely on chronological age.
This allows coaches to place youngsters in groups that match their physical maturity, ensuring they face appropriately sized opponents. The results were eye‑opening. Six years ago, roughly 35% of Dortmund’s academy were early developers, 60% fell within the average range and only about 5% were late developers. The club realized that these figures reflected a bias toward early‑maturing players rather than true talent.
"The biggest lesson from bio‑banding was for our scouts and coaches," Schaffran said. "They now assess players differently than they did two or three years ago." Coaches have been trained to look beyond immediate dominance on the pitch.
A 14‑year‑old who is physically smaller but possesses technical skill is now given a longer runway, rather than being dismissed as a fringe player. Schaffran cited an anonymous case of a slower‑developing youngster who would have been cut under the old system; with the new method, he now has a realistic chance to progress.
Rather than imposing quotas, the academy focused on education and balanced representation. This season, the distribution of players by development stage is roughly 15% early, 70% average and 15% late developers—a more equitable spread that reflects the club’s commitment to nurturing diverse growth trajectories. Individual success stories illustrate the impact of this philosophy. Both Inacio and Albert were excelling with the under‑19s, prompting the academy to promote them to higher age groups to keep them challenged.
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 played for the under‑19s and under‑23s across multiple competitions. "He thrives in varied environments and keeps stepping up," Schaffran observed.
Admittedly, promoting talent early can be painful for the youth teams, as they lose their best performers. "If we only cared about winning at youth level, we would keep them," Schaffran admitted. "But our metric is development, not trophies." 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.
"I am always invited to first‑team squad planning meetings," Schaffran said. This close collaboration ensures that promising players have a clear route to the senior squad. Ricken’s involvement has been instrumental in attracting talent like Reggiani, Inacio and Albert to Dortmund in the first place, making the transition smoother for both club and player. "When Luca scored against Augsburg, I saw his celebration back at the academy with the under‑12 to under‑15 groups," Schaffran recalled with pride.
"It shows the conveyor belt is working again." In summary, Dortmund’s academy overhaul hinges on three pillars: challenging players early, using scientific tools like bio‑banding to tailor competition levels, and maintaining a seamless link between youth and senior staff. By embracing adversity and focusing on long‑term growth over short‑term results, the club hopes to continue producing Bundesliga‑ready talent and sustain its reputation as one of Europe’s most prolific talent factories.