“He’s still only 13” – Borussia Dortmund U17 coach Lars Ricken moves to dampen Youssoufa Moukoko expectations
It’s not every day a 13-year-old steps up to star for an age group four years above them. Rarer still is the wondergoal Youssoufa Moukoko scored for Borussia Dortmund’s U17s against Bayer Leverkusen recently.
Moukoko has been a revelation for the BVB youth academy this season, with 40 goals scored in just 28 games for the U17s. The Cameroon-born youngster, who also plays for Germany’s U16s, followed up his stunning strike against B04's juniors with the all-important winner to seal Dortmund the B-Youth Championship at the expense of Bayern Munich. He previously netted home and away against Leverkusen to book BVB’s place in the showpiece game, and coach Lars Ricken is understandably delighted with his progress.
Watch: Moukoko's wondergoal against Leverkusen!
“He’s 13 years old and he’s playing a great season,” the former Schwarzgelben midfielder explained to Sport 1. “He’s drawing a lot of media attention so it’s great to see how at ease he is and how happy he is to be out there scoring goals.”
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Ricken made his own Dortmund debut at the age of 17 in 1994, earning cult status three years later when he chipped home the final goal in BVB’s 3-1 win over Juventus in the UEFA Champions League final, seconds after coming on for Stephane Chapuisat. But he remains keen to temper expectations that Moukoko will inevitably follow a similar path.