The U23s are set for a new start in the 2015/16 season. After three years in the third tier which unfortunately culminated in relegation last season, David Wagner and his charges are now looking to find their feet at a new level in the Western Regional League.

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Junior Flores has moved up to the U23s.

The coach is approaching his fifth season with the Black and Yellows, which kicks off on Monday with an away trip to Fortuna Dusseldorf II, with a blend of realism and modesty. "We want to compete and hurt the favourites," said Wagner. But following the recent mass exodus of around a dozen players, no-one is expecting BVB to bounce back immediately.

A similar feat was achieved by the Borussia Dortmund second team four years ago. Borussia's inaugural stay in the third division of German football only lasted a year but after putting an impressive spring run together two years later in the Regional League they bounced back. Players such as Jonas Hofmann, Mario Vrancic, Marvin Bakalorz and Terrence Boyd, who all later made the leap to professional football, featured for the team back then. But that squad possessed a far greater wealth of experience than the current Borussia Dortmund U23 contingent. "The current team is approximately two years younger than the squad we had back then," said the coach in reference to the low average age among his charges. "It is by far and away the youngest team that I have coached so far in my time in Dortmund," he added.

That goes some way to explaining the modest demands. "We want to get some successful experience under our belts and play good-quality football on a consistent basis" said U23 Manager Ingo Preuß of his expectations of David Wagner and his players, which also include the further development of young talent. And the coach is well aware of where the priorities must lie for such a young group of players: "Our objective is to help this team grow up as quickly as possible. Football should not only be played with euphoria and enthusiasm, but also with reason and intellect. I hope the boys can get to grips with this quickly."

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Should they succeed, then the current cohort really has the potential to achieve great things this season in a league with so much quality. The favourites include last year's champions Borussia Mönchengladbach II as well as other clubs steeped in tradition such as Viktoria Köln, Alemannia Aachen, Rot-Weiss Essen and Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. Breaking into this group of top teams would mark a real success for BVB.

Regardless of the final league position, things can really be expected from the team built around veteran 32-year-old David Solga. "Some of the new boys are really exciting prospects," said David Wagner enthusiastically. Examples include Alen Ozbolt, who at the age of 19 has already represented his homeland of Slovenia at U21 level. Or Agoney Gonzales Perez and Michael Eberwein, who came through the ranks at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively. "For me as a coach, it's extremely interesting to work with players who have such know-how," said Wagner.

But as the coaching staff and scouts have stepped up their search for new recruits, they have not only looked far away but also focused on the local area. The fact that a promising young player such as Philipp Hanke, who has played for both BV Brambauer and Westfalia Rhynern, has made the leap into the BVB talent pool - and this is by no means an exceptional case - speaks volumes of the credible way in which Borussia Dortmund's youth development department is run.

Udo Stark