Borrusia Dortmund just might be football’s best talent spotter. The list of teenage phenoms to wear their yellow shirt is the biggest and most impressive of anywhere in the world. Over the years Robert Lewandowski, Christian Pulisic, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Jadon Sancho, Marco Reus, and Mats Hummels all joined the German side before they became household names. The latest teenage star to join the side is Erling Haaland from RB Salzburg. He’s had a dream start to his Bundesliga career, picking up player of the month in January for the competition, despite playing less than an hour of football.
Erling Haaland: The Latest Product of the Dortmund Philosophy
Why Erling Haaland (and others) chose Dortmund
While Haaland’s start has been extraordinary, it is nothing new for Dortmund, who have been playing teenage stars for over a decade. This is why, when faced with a choice between Manchester United and Dortmund, Haaland chose the German side. The reasoning is simple; play more minutes, in bigger games, at a younger age, than anywhere else in the world. The only other team in Europe that field so many youngsters is Ajax, but they don’t play in a top-five league, so it is harder to attract talent. Dortmund holds true to their promise by fielding teams that show commitment to youth, while still qualifying for the Champions League and being a massive contender in the Bundesliga title race.
The Recruitment Cycle
When thinking of examples of this recruitment process, it is easiest to point fingers to the recent signing of Erling Haaland, but there are better past examples who have gone through their entire career at Dortmund. One such example is Ousmane Dembele, who was once a Dortmund star. Dembele joined Dortmund in the 16/17 season after an impressive run with Rennes. However, not soon after, he left for Barcelona in the 17/18 season! This path of breaking through at Dortmund before leaving for a bigger side is all too common for the black and yellows.
At first glance, stories of such prominent players like Dembele leaving Dortmund makes it seem that Dortmund is a struggling side, or can’t keep their stars, but there is a method to this process. When Dortmund buys their players they invest in young and unproven starlets, such as Dembele. These are small, inexpensive purchases, or in Dembele’s case only $16.50m. The player spends time at the club; developing, growing in value, and picking up silverware for Dortmund. Once the player has grown prominent enough and has offers, Dortmund will let them go. Then, Dortmund turns its investment into a massive profit, making $121m on Dembele’s transfer! Not only that but in the short time Dembele did spend at the club he helped them win a German Cup!
Erling Haaland too will probably go on to win some silverware with Dortmund, before moving on and leaving them with a pile of cash.
Dortmund has developed the best scouts and development in football so they can continue recruiting, growing and selling. They put the money they make from a previous transfer to use and invest in the next young star. Their bank account keeps growing and growing and so is the quality of their squad.
Stark Contrast
This week’s Dortmund game couldn’t prove this point any further. Dortmund may be Europe’s best investor, spending pennies on youngsters, then selling them for a massive profit, while PSG is Europe’s biggest spender. While Dortmund buys players low and sell high, PSG just buys high. Just Kylian Mbappe and Neymar cost over $430 million. That’s more than Dortmund’s entire starting XI! PSG are willing to throw cash at their problems, while Dortmund have an ingenious strategy in place to continue growing long into the future. Dortmund’s 2-1 win, coming with a Haaland double, shows just how successful their strategy is.
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