Youssoufa Moukoko Makes History In Borussia Dortmund’s 5-2 Victory Over Hertha

It was perhaps the perfect occasion for Youssoufa Moukoko to make his Bundesliga debut. On Saturday, the 16-year-old became the youngest Bundesliga player in history when he was brought on in Borussia Dortmund’s 5-2 win at Hertha Berlin. 

Moukoko has been perhaps the most anticipated German talent since Mario Götze first appeared on the scene for Borussia Dortmund back in 2009. Götze was 17 when he made his first start. This season both Jude Bellingham (BVB) and Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich) were younger. 

Bellingham and Musiala were 17 when they made their Bundesliga debuts. But aged 16 and just one day, Moukoko is likely to set a record for the ages—the Bundesliga only recently lowered the minimum age for players to 16, a rule change that was made with Moukoko in mind. 

Not surprising then that there was plenty of hype about the young star who had dominated all junior age groups at ease. Moukoko scored 83 goals in 50 U17 Bundesliga games and 44 in 23 U19 Bundesliga games (all statistics are from Transfermarkt). 

Based on the numbers alone, it was easy to see that junior football was too easy for the 15-year-old. As a result, Dortmund moved the teenager to the senior team this summer, allowing Moukoko to train with the first team while getting ready for his debut once his 16th birthday was completed. 

The move made sense but also brought plenty of attention, with the hype growing by the week. The week ahead of his debut, the German magazine kicker ran a major feature on Moukoko—unprecedented in German football history. Other outlets also produced special content; Transfermarkt, for example, ran three pieces in the buildup. 

Not surprising the BVB bosses tried to downplay the hype around their mega talent. Both sporting director Michael Zorc and CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke pointing out that they were unhappy with some of the coverage. Not that that seemed to matter to the club’s social media platforms, which kept the Moukoko hype train going throughout the week. 

With that in mind, the actual debut was almost a bit lost. But in many ways, head coach Lucien Favre found the perfect time to bring on the young striker. 

Dortmund was up 5-2 when Moukoko was brought on for Erling Haaland. The 20-year-old Norwegian striker had already ensured all the headlines by scoring four goals, breaking a record set by Uwe Seeler in the 1960s by becoming the first striker to score 23 goals in his first 22 Bundesliga games.

“I am very happy for Youssoufa,” Haaland said after the game. “I would love to play together with him at one point. I think he is one of the biggest talents on the planet at the moment. He is only 16 and already plays fantastic. He will have a big career.”

It was actually a perfect evening for Haaland. The Norwegian was also awarded the Golden Boy Award by Tuttosport for the best player born after Jan.1, 2000. In other words, the spotlight was perfectly off Moukoko to make his quiet yet overdue Bundesliga debut. 

Manuel Veth is the editor-in-chief of the Futbolgrad Network and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth