YOUNG PLAYER SPOTLIGHT #2
Now with a two-week roundup to make up for the international break, as I could only watch one international match. This time we look at a U21 German midfielder, the greatest teenage sensation in world football right now and a Der Klassiker winner.
Rocco Reitz, 21, Borussia M’gladbach — x Kosovo, U21 Euro Qualification, 22/03/24
To be honest, I started watching this game more interested in other German players, especially Youssoufa Moukoko and Luca Netz, but came off impressed by this guy who completely dominated the midfield.
Playing as part of a double pivot beside Koln’s Eric Martel, Reitz was Germany’s brain and beating heart. With 114 touches and 89 accurate passes out of 99 in 71 minutes, everything passed through him. And those included quite a few progressive passes, some line-breaking ones and even a few long balls, he wasn’t just circulating. Also, he was constantly moving to create passing lanes and constantly asking for the ball, he seemed to be always free to receive the ball. However, such an active passing performance doesn’t match his Bundesliga statistical profile for the season, which could be due to various reasons.
Besides, Reitz displayed impressive two-footedness and impeccable control of the ball, to retain the ball and evade the press with ease. He generated some goal-scoring threats while stepping into the box, both carrying the ball and running from deep to receive. Not to mention a number of recoveries to make for a very complete performance, despite Germany’s draw.
Endrick, 17, Palmeiras — x Novorizontino, Paulista, 28/03/24
The soon-to-be Real Madrid’s striker, made the headlines last week after scoring for Brazil against England in Wembley and against Spain in the Bernabeu, not a little feat for a seventeen year old boy. Three days after his debut in Madrid, Endrick featured for Palmeiras in the Paulista semifinal, hungry to say farewell to his boyhood club with a trophy.
And he didn’t drop the bar. Endrick scored the winning goal to secure Palmeiras’ place in the final. And what a great goal, with ridiculous control and a cold finish to put the ball at the back of the net, face to face with the keeper and surrounded by four defenders. Which he followed with an iconic celebration creating more great images of him.
To go a bit deeper into his performance, he played as the right-sided part of an attacking trio in a 3–4–2–1 system, both dropping to link-up and offering loads of runs in behind. Coming off a great sequence of matches, his confidence was evident, assertively taking on opponents. Always impressing with his technique and physicality, while Palmeiras struggled to break Novorizontino’s defence, Endrick was their focal point of attack, especially in the first half, when every sight of danger seemed to involve him.
Karim Adeyemi, 22, Borussia Dortmund — x Bayern, Bundesliga, 30/03/24
And finally on Saturday, in classic BVB fashion, Dortmund won the one Klassiker that barely mattered after losing so many title deciding ones. And their winning goal came from the young striker who took Austria by storm, scoring goals galore for RB Salzburg, but has only started six matches in the Bundesliga so far, including this one.
As expected, Bayern dominated possession and Dortmund were mostly relying on counterattacks, Adeyemi being their main outlet. In fact, that was how he came to score BVB’s first goal, running into space after a quick transition. After all, these kinds of games fit his style, with tremendous speed and acceleration, a knack for running in behind and great talent for carries and dribbles. Which sums up most of his performance on the ball.
His stats in the Bundelisga underline the profile of a winger who likes to get into the box, receive progressive passes, carry the ball forward and score goals. All of which he did against Bayern, in Munich. Still, most of his time in the Allianz Arena was spent tracking opponents and helping to protect the wings of Dortmund’s 4–5–1 defensive block.
Lucas Barth
