Bravely embarking on the mission to defend the title! BVB Youth Team strikes again at the PLIC
“We competed for the first time – and won right away. That was extraordinary. Now we’ll see how far we can go this time,” says Thomas Broich, athletic director of the youth academy, looking ah...
In an impressive debut at the PLIC, Borussia Dortmund's Youth Team claimed victory, securing the title on their first attempt. Thomas Broich, the athletic director of the youth academy, expressed his excitement for the upcoming international challenge in England, noting that this marks only the second time a German team has achieved such success after FC Bayern Munich in the 2018-19 season.
The average age of the Dortmund squad was just over 19, a stark contrast to Real Madrid's 21-year-old average, boding well for their mission to defend the title.
In Group C, the team will face four English U21 opponents, including Fulham FC on August 27th, Aston Villa on December 18th, Leicester City on December 21st, and Nottingham Forest on December 21st. The tournament's format involves 32 teams, split equally between English youth teams and top international clubs, competing in the group stage before advancing to the knockout rounds.
The top two teams from each group progress to the quarterfinals, with standings determined by goal difference, goals scored, and fair play ranking.
Daniel Rios, the coach of the Dortmund team for their opener in England, is motivating his team to embrace the challenge. He believes that their opponents will be even more motivated when facing defending champions, but he emphasizes that the status should not be viewed as a burden. Instead, Rios hopes that the young players will seize the privilege of competing as the defending champions and enjoy the opportunity to prove themselves.
Looking back at last season, BVB's competition was a resounding success, with victories over Leeds United (3-0), West Ham United (2-1), AFC Sunderland (3-1), and a loss to Manchester United (0-2). The team secured first place in the group, followed by victories over Everton FC (2-0) and Real Sociedad (2-0) in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. In the final against Real Madrid, the team completed its debut PLIC season with the title.
The BVB squad consists primarily of U23 players, with four players most recently part of the professional squad - Mathis Albert, Kaua Prates, Luca Reggiani, and Justin Lerma. They are joined by U19 players Luke Fahrenhorst and Jan-Luca Riedl. Due to injury, Beni Ngyombo, Felix Paschke, and Pharell Kegni will not be participating. All field players, with two exceptions, as well as the goalkeeper, must have been born after January 1st, 2005.
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