Lucien Favre, the sage manager of Borussia Dortmund, had lost count of the goals but not of the days.
At 5-2 ahead in Berlin against Hertha, Favre beckoned his last substitutes from warm-up and indicated to Erling Braut Haaland, the great blond beacon, that he should come off to take applause from the bench.
Haaland wandered over to the touchline, having made his own history at the Olympic stadium. As Favre congratulated the Norwegian on his hat-trick, Haaland corrected him. It was better than that. Haaland had in fact scored four goals in 33 second-half minutes in an emphatic recovery from 1-0 down.
He had fancied squeezing in a fifth with five minutes still left, but understood that, on Saturday, it was important he gave up his place on the field for the young substitute Haaland later called “the best in the world”.
On came Youssoufa Moukoko, the day after his 16th birthday, a milestone Favre paid special attention to. It was Moukoko’s Bundesliga debut and he became the German top division’s youngest ever player.
Moukoko may well very quickly shatter the Uefa Champions League record for precocious starts. Favre was mulling over whether or not to include the Germany under-20 international in the matchday squad for Tuesday’s Group F meeting with Club Brugge. “We have a lot of attacking options,” said Favre, “and there will be many opportunities.”
Moukoko has more than two months – the rest of the group phase – to break the Nigerian Celestine Babayaro’s landmark of 16 years and 87 days old for a Champions League debutant, a record that has stood since 1994.
Favre is right about the wealth of attacking talent in his squad. Much of it is concentrated in established first-teamers not much older than Moukoko, who made his Bundesliga bow shortly after Jude Bellingham, 17, and already a full England international, had set up Haaland’s fourth goal.
Giovanni Reyna, just turned 18 and fresh from his first senior USA caps, had also come on. Both have been used in the Champions League this season, as has Reinier, the 18-year-old Brazilian forward on loan from Real Madrid.
Haaland is not long out of his teens, either, but already carries with him the statistics of a veteran. Since he joined Dortmund from RB Salzburg in January, six months before his 20th birthday, he has struck 31 goals for his new club. It has taken him 30 matches.
There is an argument that 2020, beyond all the pandemic’s devastating impact on wider society, has provided some blessings to young athletes, helping them grow up faster. Most elite football has been played behind closed doors, removing crowd pressures on inexperienced performers. Coaches feel more willing to let them loose.
In the Champions League, it has been a breakthrough year for the likes of Rayan Cherki, who came on as a substitute for Lyon in their semi-final in August, two days after turning 17; and for Pedri, who scored his first Barcelona goal against Ferencvaros, aged 17, in a game in which Ansu Fati, then still 17, was also on the scoresheet.
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Gallery: Hertha 2 Dortmund 5
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Rennes, who meet Chelsea on Tuesday, have featured Eduardo Camavinga, who turned 18 a fortnight ago, and Jeremy Doku, the 18-year-old Belgian striker. Ryan Gravenberch, 18, has been in Ajax’s midfield for every minute of the group stage so far.
When Moukoko entered the vast Olympic Stadium, to the gentle applause of colleagues, his team were three goals ahead. Favre’s decision bore little risk, and, besides, Dortmund had pushed for a debut as soon as possible for their wunderkind. They were among the clubs who had previously lobbied the Bundesliga law-makers to lower the eligible age for players from 17 to 16.
Moukoko, born in Cameroon and settled in Germany from 10-years-old, is already on the radar of Germany manager Joachim Low, who has been in contact with Dortmund youth coaches, the best witnesses to hundreds of Moukoko slalom runs and his breathtaking number of junior goals: 50 in 28 games in 2018-19 for Dortmund’s under-17s; 38 in 28 for the under-19s last season.
“It’s important he now feels part of the senior squad,” said Favre. For how long he does is probably now an economic question.
It is not hard to forecast Moukoko quickly becoming the sort of teenaged asset Dortmund are so adept at cultivating, as valuable as Ousmane Dembele, sold to Barcelona, or Christian Pulisic, sold to Chelsea. Or Reyna and Bellingham. Or, for that matter, Jadon Sancho and Haaland, two stellar 20-year-olds whose value grows almost by the week.
