The Germany international signed for Borussia Dortmund a year ago. Nico Schulz injects pace into the Black & Yellows’ play with his runs down the left flank - he was recorded hitting speeds of 34.4 km/h last season. ''Having the chance to move to such a big team, to a genuine title contender - I didn’t have to think about it for even a second. I think my style of play fits in really well with the team,'' said the former Hoffenheim player after completing his move to the Strobelallee. Upon signing, the left-back was particularly excited about lining up in front of the yellow wall: ''Coming here to play against BVB has always been a special experience for me. I think that’s something any player will tell you. It’s one of the most stunning stadiums in Europe, there’s an incredible atmosphere at every game. I’m delighted that I can now call it home.''

The native Berliner first learnt to play football at BSC Rehberge, a club based in the Wedding area of the city. At just seven years of age, Schulz caught the eye of scouts from Hertha BSC, meaning that, from the summer of 2000 onward, he was able to enjoy a first-rate footballing education at the biggest club in the capital. In 2008, he even attracted the attention of Liverpool FC; but for the young Schulz, a move to England was never a serious possibility: ''I was still just a boy at 15. It would have been too big a move for me.''

So it was that he stayed in Berlin. Before long, he was representing his country at every age group from U15 upwards and on 20 August 2010, at just 17 years of age, he made his debut for the Hertha first team in a 2. Bundesliga match-up with Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. After notching up a total of 98 appearances for the Berlin-based club, Schulz moved to VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach in the summer of 2015, for whom he contested his first game on Matchday 5 of the 2015/16 Bundesliga season. Funnily enough, this was current BVB head coach Lucien Favre’s last game in charge of Gladbach. Not long afterwards, Schulz suffered a cruciate ligament tear and then struggled to establish himself in the side managed by Favre’s successor André Schubert.

So it was that he stayed in Berlin. Before long, he was representing his country at every age group from U15 upwards and on 20 August 2010, at just 17 years of age, he made his debut for the Hertha first team in a 2. Bundesliga match-up with Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. After notching up a total of 98 appearances for the Berlin-based club, Schulz moved to VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach in the summer of 2015, for whom he contested his first game on Matchday 5 of the 2015/16 Bundesliga season. Funnily enough, this was current BVB head coach Lucien Favre’s last game in charge of Gladbach. Not long afterwards, Schulz suffered a cruciate ligament tear and then struggled to establish himself in the side managed by Favre’s successor André Schubert.

Schulz continued his momentum into the following season, in which he earned an average rating of 2.88 from kicker magazine - tied with Jadon Sancho for the fifth-highest among outfield players in the league and only five hundredths of a percentage point away from the top.

With this remarkable consistency, the man with Italian roots - his father was born on the island of Ischia - not only played himself into the sights of Borussia Dortmund, but also into the Germany international team. He won his first cap on 9 September 2018, coming on as a substitute to score the decisive 84th minute goal in a 2-1 win over Peru. Speaking after the match, coach Joachim Löw was full of praise for the debutant: "Nico radiates energy. I think he can really come into his own with us." A further highlight of his Germany career came in a Euro qualifying match away to the Netherlands in Amsterdam, in which he combined with Dortmund luminaries Ilkay Gündogan and Marco Reus to score a 90th minute goal that wrapped up a famous 3-2 win for Die Mannschaft.

''I’ve never specifically worked on speed. It’s just something I was born with,'' says Schulz: ''As a quick left-footer, it was clear from a young age that I’d be well-suited to playing on the left-wing. I often used to play higher up the park, on the left side of midfield for example, but I always found that I was better off lining up as part of a back four.'' He made a total of 11 Bundesliga appearances during his first season at BVB, scoring one goal in the process (away to Mainz). He also made three appearances in the UEFA Champions League and the DFB Cup respectively.