Key Takeaways
- Borussia Dortmund now chooses long-term player development over winning youth trophies
- The academy uses bio-banding technology to judge true physical maturity rather than just selecting early developers
- Teenagers like Luca Reggiani and Samuele Inacio are fast-tracked to the senior squad through a clear pathway
Luca Reggiani fired the ball into the net against Augsburg. The 18-year-old defender celebrated in front of 81,365 supporters at Signal Iduna Park. His joy was clear for everyone to see. Back at the training complex, academy director Paul Schaffran watched with pride.
Schaffran leads the youth programme at the German club. He spoke to Sky Sports before a development fixture in Liverpool. He explained how the setup has changed under Lars Ricken, the managing director for sport.
The club once focused mainly on winning youth matches. Now they want to produce Bundesliga footballers. “Victory at under-17 level means nothing if we do not develop professionals,” Schaffran stated.
The academy now fields the youngest teams in Germany. Their under-17 and under-19 sides have lower average ages than any rival. They also brought the youngest squad to the Premier League International Cup. They will not lift that trophy. However, Schaffran says this is deliberate.
“We want to challenge our boys,” he explained. “If the task is too easy, they stop growing. We make things difficult now so the senior game feels simpler later.”
The club checks bone growth using ultrasound scans. This process is called bio-banding. Six years ago, most academy players were early developers. They were bigger and stronger than other boys their age. Scouts preferred them because they won physical battles.
Now the academy accepts all body types. Fifteen per cent are early developers. Seventy per cent are normal. Fifteen per cent are late developers. Schaffran educated his staff. He taught them not to reject small or slow players who possess real talent.
One slower player would have been released under the old rules. Now he might reach the top level. The coaches look at technique and potential, not just size and speed.
The new system helps foreign players too. Samuele Inacio joined from Atalanta. He made his debut against Bayern Munich in February. Mathis Albert, aged 16, appeared versus Freiburg. Mussa Kaba, 17, waits for his opportunity. Reggiani arrived from Sassuolo. Italian leagues often use older defenders, so young talent struggles to find minutes there.
Schaffran meets with Ricken every week. He attends first-team planning meetings. They discuss which youth players are ready for promotion. This creates a clear route from the academy to the senior squad.
The academy loses its best players regularly. When Inacio and Albert performed well for the under-19s, they moved up immediately. This damages the youth team’s results. But Schaffran does not worry. “Development beats trophies,” he insists.
Reggiani recently returned to the academy. He celebrated his goal with boys aged 12 to 15. They could see their future path. The famous Dortmund talent factory is working once again.