Just before the hour mark in the match against Augsburg, in front of the familiar sea of 81,365 supporters, 18‑year‑old defender Luca Reggiani found the net for Borussia Dortmund. The sheer delight on the youngster's face was instantly relayed back to Paul Schaffran, the club's academy director, who watched from the training ground. "When our youngsters break into the first team, it gives everyone a surge of optimism," Schaffran told Sky Sports. Speaking with the reporter at the team’s hotel in Liverpool before a development fixture, it was clear that Reggiani is part of a broader pattern that the German club has deliberately cultivated.
Another 18‑year‑old Italian, Samuele Inacio, made his Bundesliga debut against Bayern Munich in February and impressed immediately. "He has already shown he belongs at this level," Schaffran noted. Six‑year‑old prodigy Mathis Albert, only 16, earned his first senior minutes versus Freiburg last Sunday, while 17‑year‑old Mussa Kaba is on the brink of a breakthrough.
"Mussa has been with us since he was 11, and I rate him extremely highly," Schaffran explained. The three teenagers mentioned above were not home‑grown; they were recruited into the academy from elsewhere. "Our philosophy is to develop players from the ground up, but we also need solid pillars to support that process," he added. Dortmund, he said, offers a clear pathway that reassures both players and their families.
Inacio arrived from Atalanta and Reggiani from Sassuolo. Schaffran highlighted the difficulty for a young centre‑back to get minutes in Italy, where the average age of defenders often exceeds 30.
"An 18‑year‑old centre‑back rarely sees regular action in Serie A, so the Bundesliga provides a unique platform for rapid development." The concept of Dortmund as a "finishing school" is not new – the likes of Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham both used the club as a springboard to global stardom. However, recent pressure to deliver results has forced the club to rethink its recruitment strategy for the senior squad, prompting a sharper focus on youth. Facing competition from other top clubs, Dortmund has deliberately begun to promote even younger talent in the hopes of uncovering the next generation of stars. This shift places a greater burden on Schaffran and his staff to refine these players’ abilities.
Consequently, the academy's mindset has undergone a radical transformation. "We rewrote our vision and the way we develop talent," Schaffran explained. "In the past 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." He continued, "Our new approach is the opposite of the old one. We now expose our youngsters to the toughest challenges possible at youth level, because that prepares them to succeed when the stakes are higher. It's a massive shift in thinking." According to Schaffran, Dortmund now 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 lift trophies with these groups, and that is intentional. "We are not doing this just to be the youngest team.
Over‑challenging our players forces them to adapt quickly, which is essential for reaching the next level. If we keep them in a comfort zone for too long, they will stagnate and never reach their full potential," he said. He elaborated on the importance of adaptation: "The game is getting faster, more physical and increasingly complex. Players must learn to adjust to new circumstances.
Each adaptation phase may reduce immediate efficiency – they might not win every match – but the long‑term developmental gains are far greater." A key tool in this new philosophy is bio‑banding. Dortmund now uses ultrasound scans to determine the true skeletal age of each academy player, ensuring they are challenged at an appropriate developmental stage rather than merely by chronological age. The results were eye‑opening. Six years ago, roughly 35% of the academy consisted of early developers, 60% were average, and less than 5% were late developers – a distribution that reflected a bias toward early physical maturity rather than pure talent.
"That had nothing to do with ability; it was about bias," Schaffran admitted. "The biggest lesson from bio‑banding wasn't for the players, but for our coaches and scouts," he said.
"It forced them to reassess how they evaluate talent. Two or three years ago they would have dismissed a player simply because he was physically behind his peers." Coaches now learn to look beyond immediate dominance. "A 14‑year‑old who gets bullied off the ball but possesses technical talent will eventually thrive if given the right environment," Schaffran explained, citing an anonymous player who would have been cut under the old system because he was slower than his teammates.
With a more patient development plan, that player now has a realistic chance of progressing. Schaffran also mentioned that the academy moved away from quota‑based selections toward education‑focused development.
"This year we finally achieved a balanced distribution: 15% early developers, 70% average, and 15% late developers." Individual progress sometimes means losing key players from youth squads. Both Inacio and Albert were performing exceptionally for the under‑19s, prompting their promotion to higher age groups. Albert, in particular, has demonstrated 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 teams across domestic and international competitions. Schaffran acknowledged the difficulty: "It hurts the team when we lose our best performers.
Inacio and Albert scored many goals, Luca was a leader. If we only cared about winning at youth level, we would keep them.
But our metric is development, not trophies." The alignment between the academy and the first‑team hierarchy has improved under former academy chief Rudi Ricken, who now makes senior‑team decisions. Schaffran is regularly invited to first‑team squad planning meetings, ensuring a seamless dialogue about promising youngsters. Ricken himself has been instrumental in recruiting many of the current academy prospects, smoothing the transition from youth to senior football. "Having that connection makes it easier for our players to see a clear pathway," Schaffran said.
He smiled when recalling Reggiani's celebration after his Augsburg goal: "Luca returned to the academy and celebrated with the under‑12 to under‑15 groups. Seeing his joy reminded everyone why we do this work." In summary, Dortmund's academy has reinvented itself by prioritising early exposure to high‑intensity challenges, leveraging scientific tools like bio‑banding, and fostering a culture where development outweighs short‑term results. The club's "conveyor belt" of talent is once again humming, delivering young players who are not only technically gifted but also mentally resilient and ready to compete at the highest level.