How Borussia Dortmund’s Young Squad are Perfect for a Title Charge

In the 2011/12 season, Jurgen Klopp led a crop of young talented stars such as Mario Götze, Robert Lewandowski, and Mats Hummels to a remarkable domestic double that crowned them Bundesliga champions for a second successive year.

The Bayern Munich stranglehold that has dominated German football since then has seen only the Bavarians lift the trophy in Germany’s top tier, but Dortmund have come closes to toppling the record 28-time champions. A narrow loss last season saw BVB come ever so close to repeating the feat they managed nearly eight years ago – falling two point short of Bayern after a campaign that saw them spend more than half of the season at the top and even widening their large gap between themselves and their rivals on numerous occasions.

Dortmund’s young crop ultimately surrendered the title that was their's to lose last season, but this time around, the squad that possesses some of the biggest talents and now things look very different.

BVB are a side that have become synonymous with exposing the biggest talents in world football over the years. Parallels can be drawn with the fresh-faced prospects that guided Dortmund to back-to-back Bundesliga triumphs at the start of the decade, with the current team of superstars emerging at the Signal Iduna Park.

Here’s why their exciting young squad are more than capable of overcoming Bayern and propelling Dortmund to their ninth title in Germany’s top tier.

With the current situation that has put a holt to football across Europe, teams all over the continent have gone months without the regular weekly league action or even training. Prior to the reopening weekend where, Dortmund clashed with Schalke, the club had gone over two months since their last Bundesliga encounter – a 2-1 away win over fellow top four side Borussia Monchengladbach.

However, whilst many teams may struggle to return to match fitness and regain match sharpness, this is clearly not the case for Lucien Favre’s young team. The Black and Yellow's showed that their exuberant and energetic fleet don’t need as much time to adjust to playing as other teams possibly do, with their resounding 4-0 Revierderby over local rivals when Bundesliga action resumed.

The dominant displayed by BVB and the control they had over Schalke highlighted how their youthful talents are fresher than most following the break, with little time to train and return to full sharpness. The behind closed doors fixture last weekend looked incredibly easy and almost like a training ground game to them. It seems as if Dortmund perform like this in training each day and as if each game will be like an effortless training session for them.

Erling Haaland is a goal machine. Simple. The Norwegian has been firing on all cylinders since his £18m move in January; the 19-year-old’s reputation has skyrocketed after his ten goals and three assists in just 10 Bundesliga appearances.

Jadon Sancho is another youngster that has become a world-renowned talent with 29 goal involvements (15 assists and 14 goals) in 24 Bundesliga games. Whilst Sancho and Haaland represent the incredible starlets that are a driving force behind Die Schwarzgelben’s title charge, there’s plenty of other promising youth stars that can be called upon to demonstrate their potential.

The likes of Gio Reyna and Leonardo Balerdi have added a fresh pair of legs from the bench in a lot of games, as Dortmund replace their star-studded first team young guns with even more upcoming stars with bags of potential.

Reyna has impressed and been tipped for a huge future despite just the eight league appearances. The 17-year-old can provide even more exuberance to an attacking midfield role or as a winger, injecting energy when perhaps Dortmund need it most due to the lack of training and first team action they’ve had following the recent stoppage.

With the gap between the two giants in German football currently at just four points with seven games to go - including a mouth-watering tie at home to the league leaders. The run-in could be a challenge after the two-month break, but Favre’s men look very much capable of emerging victorious.

The Black and Yellow's have a talented young team, with an average age of 25.6. Their energy and freshness could be their ultimate weapon in their fight to replicate the Klopp-era that saw them reach the summit of the Bundesliga with an array of young starlets.

By Jordan Edmonds