When 18-year-old Luca Reggiani ran to celebrate after scoring at Signal Iduna Park, the cheer was felt far beyond the stadium. Paul Schaffran, Dortmund’s academy director, watched the moment as confirmation of a deliberate long-term shift at the club. Reggiani’s goal was proof that the pathway the academy is building can deliver first-team players.
Reggiani is one of several teenagers to break through this season. Samuele Inacio, also 18, made his Bundesliga debut against Bayern Munich in February after arriving from Atalanta. Sixteen-year-old Mathis Albert started against Freiburg, and 17-year-old Mussa Kaba is expected to follow soon. Schaffran stresses that the club wants to develop players from the ground up, but also recognises that bringing in young talent from elsewhere is part of the model. The point is that prospects understand there is a real route to the first team, something that can be harder to achieve in countries where older players dominate certain positions.
Dortmund’s reputation as a launchpad for stars is well known. But recent pressures for instant results and competition from other clubs forced the academy to take on more responsibility for preparing talent. That led to a conscious change in philosophy: prioritise individual development over youth-level wins. The academy stopped treating under-17 victories as ends in themselves and instead started creating tougher environments so players are over-challenged early and better equipped for senior football.
As part of that approach Dortmund now frequently fields the youngest under-17 and under-19 teams in Germany and went into the Premier League International Cup with an exceptionally young squad. The rationale is simple: if players consistently face older, faster and stronger opponents, they adapt sooner to the physical and tactical demands of professional football. That can cost short-term results, but the goal is clearer long-term progression.
A key tool in the reboot has been bio-banding. The academy uses ultrasound to assess skeletal age, rather than relying solely on chronological age. The findings were revealing. Six years ago the academy cohort was skewed by selection bias: around a third were early developers, the majority were classed as normal and only a tiny percentage were late developers. That imbalance meant scouts and coaches were regularly influenced by physical maturity when assessing potential.
Bio-banding prompted a learning curve for staff as much as for players. Coaches and scouts began to see beyond who dominated physically at a given age group, recognising those whose technical or tactical gifts were masked by being physically behind. Schaffran points to an example of a player who would likely have been released under the old system because he was slower than his peers. Given time and appropriate challenges, that player now has a realistic chance of reaching the highest level.
Rather than imposing rigid quotas, Dortmund invested in education. The academy’s developmental mix is now more balanced, with a higher share of late developers than before. The updated distribution reflects a deliberate effort to avoid over-selecting early maturers and to give late bloomers the environment they need to progress.
Prioritising growth over immediate wins means moving prospects into tougher settings even when they are important to youth-team success. Inacio and Albert had been major contributors for the under-19s, and Reggiani was a leader at youth level, yet each was pushed into more demanding contexts because the club judged that would accelerate their development. Albert’s season underlines that approach: he has featured across a range of levels, from the Club World Cup to the Under-17 World Cup with the United States, as well as appearances for Dortmund’s under-19s and under-23s. The constant change of environment forces players to adapt and keep stepping up.
Institutional alignment has helped. Former academy chief Lars Ricken, now involved in first-team decisions, supports promoting young talent, and Schaffran sits in first-team squad planning meetings so youth prospects are part of conversations about the club’s future. That integration increases the likelihood that academy players will find real opportunities at senior level.
For Schaffran, Reggiani celebrating with the younger academy age groups after his Bundesliga goal was a special moment. It showed the pathway working: a player developed within the system returning to inspire the next generation. With a clearer vision, the adoption of bio-banding and a willingness to accept short-term sacrifice for long-term gain, Dortmund are rebuilding the conveyor belt of talent that has long defined the club.