The 2020/21 season had barely begun before Borussia Dortmund once again tore up the record books. Jude Bellingham, a new signing from Birmingham City, scored on his BVB debut to make it 2-0 against MSV Duisburg in the DFB Cup. Aged just 17 years and 77 days, the young Englishman became the youngest player in club history to score in a competitive game. 

Five days later, in the Bundesliga opener against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Bellingham set up 17-year-old teammate Giovanni Reyna for the opening goal of the game. With the two players' combined age of 34, this was unquestionably the youngest Black & Yellow goal in Bundesliga history. The very fact that, for the first time in history, two 17-year-olds had been named in a Borussia Dortmund starting XI almost seemed unimportant in light of the spectacular performances served up by both Bellingham and Reyna.

Europe is in awe. Yes, at Bayern Munich, who, according to BVB sporting director Michael Zorc are ''probably the best team in the world at the moment.'' But Europe is also in awe at what's going on at Borussia Dortmund. 

It's all in the plan

While the vast majority of top clubs in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and even the Bundesliga often run up frighteningly negative transfer balances due to their squad development being based on the idea of buying fully developed - and therefore expensive - players, Borussia Dortmund have opted for an entirely different approach. The management team, led by Michael Zorc and youth coordinator Lars Ricken, have placed their focus on perfecting the scouting process and discovering young talents before other clubs become aware of them. 

The plan is coming to fruition - in more ways than one. On the one hand, Borussia have been able to generate large transfer fees for many of these players in recent years. BVB are one of the very very few top clubs to end up in the black when transfer expenses are factored against transfer income. Ousmane Dembélé (who moved to Barcelona in 2017) and Christian Pulisic (Chelsea in 2020) are just two examples of this approach in action. It could be argued that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal in 2018) also belongs in this category, despite the fact he was already well-developed and no longer so young (24) by the time he moved to Dortmund from St. Étienne in 2013.

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Of course, the financial benefits are viewed as a positive side effect by BVB. However, the club's strategy over the past few years has, above all, developed into a model for sporting success. Many experts view Dortmund's approach as ''one of the most exciting projects in European football.'' Lothar Matthäus, for example, had the following words of praise: ''BVB can be proud of the fact that they're now the number one destination in Europe for big talents.''

The more experienced players in the Borussia squad are also enjoying the direction the club has taken. Emre Can, who has had his fair share of capable teammates during his spells at Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Juventus, says: ''The kind of players we have in our team is amazing.'' What is more, World Cup winner Mats Hummels made the following comments after the 3-0 opening-day win over Borussia Mönchengladbach: ''We have such a variety of different personalities and age groups in the squad. It gives us great balance and a lot of different strengths out on the pitch. We have a lot of good footballers with a huge amount of quality. When we find our form, we're a top team.''

''Borussia Dortmund is the perfect club for my continued development''

For all those asking themselves: ''When did this youth craze actually start?'', the answer is invariably around the summer of 2016. That being said, the club has always promoted young stars, some of whom were still in school and had to be given a lift to training because they were too young to sit their driving test. You might think back to the 1994/95 season, when the ''baby striker'' duo of Lars Ricken, 18, and Ibrahim Tanko, 17, were thrown in at the deep end after several of the more established attacking players were sidelined with injuries. The youngsters were clearly up to the task - at the end of the season, BVB were crowned German champions for the first time in 32 years.  

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The 2008/09 season may also spring to mind. Back then, new BVB head coach Jürgen Klopp brought the talented young defenders Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic to the club and duly entrusted the two 19-year-olds with the starting centre-back roles. You might remember Nuri Sahin, whose records for youngest ever Black & Yellow player to make an appearance in the Bundesliga - 16 years, 10 months and 18 days of age - and youngest ever Dortmund goalscorer in the Bundesliga - 17 years and 82 days - still stand. You might recall Mario Götze, and many others. 

However, there's a reason why the 2016/17 season heralded the start of the new strategy: That summer, seven players under the age of 20 - 16-year-old Alexander Isak, 17-year-olds Christian Pulisic and Jacob Bruun Larsen, 18-year-olds Felix Passlack, Dzenis Burnic and Mikel Merino and 19-year-old Emre Mor - moved into the first-team squad. One year since the Klopp era had drawn to a close, a generational transition and strategic shift had become apparent. One year later, the teenage trio of Dan-Axel Zagadou, 18, Sergio Gomez, 16, und Jadon Sancho, 17, arrived in Dortmund. Then, in 2018, they were joined by Leonardo Balerdi, 19, and loanee Achraf Hakimi, 19. Mateu Morey, 19, Giovanni Reyna, 16, and Erling Haaland, 19, soon followed, the latter arriving over the last winter break. 

The newest additions to this list are Jude Bellingham, 17, and Reinier, 18. When Bellingham moved to BVB from his hometown club of Birmingham City - where he had already become a cult hero - he provided an explanation for this ''next step'' in his career which, at this point, sounds almost clichéd: ''Borussia Dortmund is the perfect club for my continued development. There is no better club in the world at promoting young talents and taking them to the next step of their careers. The way BVB help young players improve made the decision very easy for me and my family.''

''No record lasts forever!'' - especially not at BVB

It's not as if other ambitious clubs don't sign talented young players. However, the difference is that at BVB, these players aren't just included in the squad; more often than not, they're out on the pitch. And not just in the last ten minutes, when the game is already won, or worse, lost. They're frequently included in the starting line-up and are entrusted with serious responsibility, which helps them develop to the best of their potential. ''Nowadays, we're often contacted directly by family members or agents because they see superior progression and development potential here,'' says sporting director Michael Zorc. Although not every promising youngster has set the world alight in the Black & Yellow jersey, it's rare that they regret their time at the club. In most cases, things work out elsewhere and the time in Dortmund proves beneficial.

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This development has meant that Black & Yellow club records have been tumbling faster than the statisticians can keep up with. Six of the ten youngest debut appearances have come since 2016: Pulisic (30.01.2016), Isak (14.03.2017), Sancho (21.10.17), Gomez (08.04.2018), Reyna (18.01.2020) and, most recently, Bellingham (14.09.2020). The other four players in the top ten are Nuri Sahin, Ibrahim Tanko, Marc-André Kruska and Mario Götze. Lars Ricken, who was 17 years, 7 months and 19 days old when he made his debut, was recently pushed out of the top ten by Bellingham. The same Bellingham who received the following lavish praise from new teammate Thorgan Hazard: ''He might just be 17, but he plays like a man. Tough in the tackle, physically strong and with impressive calm and composure on the ball.''

The statisticians have also been kept busy when it comes to goalscoring exploits. When Gio Reyna scored his first competitive goal for the Black & Yellows in the DFB Cup against Werder Bremen on 4 February 2020, he was - at 17 years and 83 days of age - just one day older than Nuri Sahin was when he found the back of the net in a 2-0 win away to Nuremberg on 26 November 2005. But on 14 September of this year, when Jude Bellingham - making his competitive debut for the club - scored the second goal of the game in BVB's 5-0 cup win away to Duisburg, he was five days younger than Sahin was back in 2005. Nuri can at least console himself with the fact that he still holds the record for youngest BVB goalscorer in the Bundesliga; that being said, how much longer will his record stand? Emerging academy talent Youssoufa Moukoko might well be able to claim it this season. Moukoko will turn 16 on 20 November. Then he'll be allowed to play in the first team. 

Give me a ball! Give me a pitch! Set up two goals!

Jadon Sancho has been smashing records like no other over the past two seasons: First brace for someone born in the 21st century; youngest player to score multiple braces in Bundesliga history; youngest player to score 15 goals; first player to score 25 Bundesliga goals before the age of 20. Last season, Sancho was the Black & Yellows' top goalscorer, assist-maker and hence scorer points leader in both the Bundesliga (17 goals, 17 assists) and all competitions (20 goals, 20 assists). And these weren't just records for the 2019/20 season; Sancho racked up more scorer points in a season than any other player in club history - an incredible achievement for such a young player. 

Sancho is just 20 years old. During his time at BVB, he's developed from an exceptional young talent to a world-class player. And he's hit the ground running so far this season: One goal and one assist in the cup game in Duisburg, a brilliant assist in the 3-0 win over Gladbach to set up Erling Haaland...

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The young Norwegian. The phenomenon. The machine. The only player in Borussia Dortmund history to score on his debut in the Bundesliga, the DFB Cup and the Champions League. After Haaland joined BVB from Salzburg in the 2019/20 winter break, he scored a total of seven goals in his first three Bundesliga games. His first three goals for the club came in a 5-3 win away to Augsburg in which he was only on the pitch for 23 minutes. In fact, his first seven Bundesliga goals came in just 134 minutes of playing time. His strike rate was 100 percent: Seven shots, seven goals - a new definition of efficiency. There's also the almost childlike sense of joy with which Haaland plays the game. As if he's trying to say: Football is the best sport in the world. Give me a ball! Give me a pitch! Set up two goals, draw out a few lines and let me play!

Play - that's what the wild young things from the Strobelallee want to do. And BVB let them do just that. ''Positive energy should not be held back,'' says sporting director Michael Zorc. And although some of them won't wear the Black & Yellow jersey forever, the Dortmund way is the right one. There are no alternatives. Not today. And certainly not in the future.