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U23s kick off pre-season

On Monday (24/06), Borussia Dortmund's reserves became the first Black & Yellow team to start pre-season. Following an extensive performance diagnostics, coach Jan Zimmermann summoned his players onto the training pitch in Dortmund-Brackel on Tuesday and Wednesday. Eleven of the 12 new signings were involved from the beginning.

Almost a dozen new signings introduced themselves to their new U23 team-mates: Danylo Krevsun and Leonardo Posadas from the BVB U19s, Baran Mogultay from MSV Duisburg, David Lelle from Holstein Kiel, Ben Hüning from SC Wiedenbrück, Yannik Lührs from Hannover 96, Felix Paschke from Hamburger SV, Niklas Jessen from FC St. Pauli, Babis Drakas from VfB Stuttgart, Jordi Paulina from USV Hercules in the Netherlands and Antonios Foti from Eintracht Frankfurt. The sole absentee was Filippo Mane, who is currently preparing for the European Championships with the Italy U19 national team. The former defensive lynchpin of the Black & Yellow U19s will only be expected back at the end of July. New assistant coach Marcel Schmelzer is also absent, having recently become a father for the first time, and will only return next week.

"A big compliment to our sporting director Ingo Preuß, who was once again able to recruit great players for BVB, and also to our groundsmen. The pitch looks excellent," said coach Jan Zimmermann as pre-season got under way with the summer signings.

The first few hours on Monday were primarily led by athletics coach Benjamin Schüßler and his colleagues, with the group then heading out onto the pitch twice on both Tuesday and Wednesday. They got straight down to business despite the high temperatures, working on fitness and conditioning as well as with the ball.

Next Wednesday (3 July at 19:00 CEST) will see BVB's U23s first play away to Oberliga club ASC 09 Dortmund and then travel to Gevelsberg (6 July, 15:00 CEST), where local club FSV are celebrating their 125th anniversary, three days later. The team will then travel to a training camp – in Kirchberg in the Kitzbühel Alps, as is tradition – where they will spend a week preparing intensively for the new season.

Additional dates:

11 July: U23s vs. FC Kitzbühel (Sportplatz Brixen im Thale)

19 July: U23s vs. Eintracht Frankfurt U21s (Jugendstadion Brackel, behind closed doors)

27 July: U23s vs. Almere City FC (Stadion Schwansbell in Lünen)

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