Mathis Albert breaks Gio Reyna's record with Dortmund debut

Young American prospects and the Bundesliga just seem to fit together naturally. Specifically, Borussia Dortmund. Up first, you had Christian Pulisic, who debuted when he was 17, followed up by Gio Reyna, who also debuted in the German top flight at 17. And then Cole Campbell, who debuted shortly after his 18th birthday. And now another American has made history.

16-year-old Mathis Albert came on to the pitch in a win over Freiburg on Sunday to officially become the youngest American ever to play in an official Bundesliga match.

Who is Mathis Albert?

Mathis Albert is a 16-year-old Greenville, South Carolina native who plays on the wing or sometimes as an attacking midfielder. He was born to a French father and an American mother. Meaning he has dual eligibility for both France and the USA, but because his mother has a German passport, Albert does as well. He could represent any of the 3 countries at the full international level.

After showing promise, he joined LA Galaxy's youth academy and drew interest from European sides. Having a passport made it way easier to make the jump over to Germany, where he signed with Dortmund in 2024.

While the possibility of playing for another country exists, so far, Albert has been competing with the USMNT's youth teams. He has now played for the U-15, U-17, and as of last month the U-19 setup.

In soccer, you play with your age group most of the time; the "U" simply means under, so U-15 would be Under 15 at the time. Players will often play up above their level if they show promise, but it is a way to kind of evaluate kids while watching them with their peers.

After signing with Dortmund, he played with their youth team. He appeared in 14 games, scoring 3 goals.

He showed enough promise to make the bench a handful of times and has now been given the first senior team action of his pro career.

How did the debut go?

Dortmund was absolutely cruising, up 4-0 over Freiburg. And that is the prime debut time for a young player. In the 88th minute, Niko Kovač called Albert's number, and the young American hit the pitch. He completed 2 of 3 passes and completed his first senior team tackle.

Yes, it was a cameo. But it doesn't make it any less important. Dortmund has produced some of the brightest stars in the world over the last decade:

-Erling Haaland
-Jude Bellingham
-Jadon Sancho
-Ousmane Dembélé
-Christian Pulisic

When Dortmund believes in a young player, it usually works out. And for an American side always looking for the next big thing, Dortmund doesn’t hand out debuts like this by accident.

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