Shock at Borussia Dortmund: U23 star elite leaves BVB!

Shock at Borussia Dortmund: U23 star elite leaves BVB!

Dortmund, Deutschland - On May 26, 2025, Borussia Dortmund (BVB) announced that five players from the U23 youth team will leave the club. This is a result of the relegation of the U23 from the 3rd league, which leads to a comprehensive change in the team. Trainer Mike Tullberg, who will take over the U23, is planning a realignment in the Regionalliga West with fresh talents.

The players who leave the team include Rodney Elongo-Yombo, Franz Roggow, Paul-Philipp Besong, Niklas Jessen and Tiago Estêvão. In his time, Elongo-Yombo completed 91 games at BVB in which he scored 11 goals and gave 5 templates. Roggow, the captain of the U23, changes to Hannover 96 and signed a contract until 2028. Paul-Philipp Besong has recently been struggling with injuries, while Niklas Jessen, who came from FC St. Pauli before the season, had an impact in 20 games for Dortmund. Tiago Estêvão, committed as a goalkeeper, was only in two games behind the competitors Marcel Lotka and Silas Ostrzinski.

strategic new beginning

Sports director Sebastian Kehl announced a strategic fresh start in the youth work in order to bring the U23 back into the 3rd division as soon as possible. The squad is reinforced by U19 players such as Ousmane Diallo, Tyler Meiser and Elias Benkara. Guille Bueno and Arne Wessels also return from their rental stations. The contracts by Marcel Lotka, Felix Irorere, Julian Hettwer and Silas Ostrzinski are running out, although it has not yet been adopted. However, the squad planning is difficult because national team operations and tournaments delay the process.

The U23 ended its season in the relegation battle with a defeat against SV Wehen Wiesbaden and was in 15th place in the table before the last match day. In this crucial game there was a change to five positions in the starting eleven. Silas Ostrzinski guarded the gate and had to replace Filippo Man in the first half due to injury. Despite a compensation in the second half, Dortmund ultimately lost 2: 4.

challenges in German youth football

The descent of the U23 of Borussia Dortmund illustrates the concerns in German youth football. Oliver Bierhoff, DFB director, recently expressed concerns about the effects of corona pandemic, which led to closed systems and interrupted training in many clubs. These developments tighten the crisis in German football. In addition, fewer German players were integrated into the Bundesliga before the pandemic, which increased the pressure on young teams.

In recent years, the German U21 national team has lost market value, while the market values ​​of the U21 teams of other European countries are increasing. The lack of talents in the Bundesliga shows that reforms in the youth area are necessary in order to find the connection at the international level again. U23 teams, which was considered a platform for young players, are still up for discussion, while the need for real game practice is growing.

BVB is faced with other clubs to make youth promotion to the future. The coming months will be crucial to initiate the next step in German football and successfully integrate young talents into the professional area.

Ruhr24 reported that five players from Borussia dortmund Leave and a change in the team is imminent. bvb.de provides background information on the last games of the team. A comprehensive context of the challenges of German youth football can be found at Createfootball .