Bellingham, Haaland & Co .: Youthful research at BVB

Borussia Dortmund has been a talent factory for years. But this year the Revierclub goes one step further with no less than five very talented youngsters. Even the first test fueled the anticipation for the new season.

Bad Ragaz (AP) - Jude Bellingham captured the ball, Erling Haaland passed on, Giovanni Reyna completed. With the first goal on Wednesday in the test match against the Austrian first division club SCR Altach (6-0), the future of Borussia Dortmund could be seen.

And in the further course of the first 45 minutes, the black and yellow "Kindergarten" combined to their hearts' content. Even BVB coach Lucien Favre, who is known as a perfectionist, raved: "You are very young, but you played very cleverly. We scored six or seven goals in the first half alone."

This season, the Revierclub is more than ever a playground for the gifted. "I start to feel old when I see their age," joked the 20-year-old Haaland with reference to such very young teammates as attackers Youssoufa Moukoko (15), Bellingham (17) and Reyna (17). Their potential increases the anticipation of the coming season for the Norwegian attacker: "We'll see a lot more of them in the future."

With the commitment of Bellingham for at least 25 million euros from Birmingham and the promotion of Moukoko from the junior to the professional area, BVB, already known for years for the refinement of talent, went one step further. Above all, Moukoko, praised in the media as a "miracle striker", who cracked various goal records in the youth field, made a powerful impression on Haaland: "I haven't seen such a good 15-year-old in my life. He is much better than I was when I was 15 was. "

The new hopes seem to be in the best of hands with Favre. After all, the Swiss made Jadon Sancho, who was also only 20 years old, a star and possibly contributed to the fact that the England international resisted the advertising of Manchester United and played in the BVB jersey for at least another year. The dribbler can obviously live with this decision. "I like to play with this special bunch. We now have some very special players with us," he commented in Altach.

His storm colleague Haaland is not afraid that Sancho - as speculated in the English media - will end up in Manchester at the end of the transition period: "He still gives the impression that he is fully involved."

Under the direction of Favre, the attacking midfielder Reyna also made the leap into the professional field with at least 15 Bundesliga appearances last season. And with Bellingham, the football teacher can look forward to another rough diamond. Right on his debut, the Englishman advanced to an important place in midfield. "It was a great first few minutes. I enjoyed it very much. The guys are so good, they made it easy for me," said Bellingham.

So far, the youngest among Dortmund's top talents has also struggled with astonishing serenity. Moukoko scores in almost every training game. It cannot be ruled out that the German-Cameroonian will make his Bundesliga debut on November 20th shortly after his 16th birthday. Until then, the exceptional talent should continue to play for the U19, but train with the professionals. But the hype surrounding Moukoko goes far too far: "He's an outstanding talent, but still very young. That's why you shouldn't put too much expectation on your shoulders."

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 200813-99-152925 / 2

BVB squad

Statements by Sancho, Bellingham, Haaland and Favre