Ansgar Knauff experienced a steep rise at BVB in 2021. He also has Jürgen Klopp to thank for the fact that it got this far.
It was extraordinary and certainly nerve-wracking what Ansgar Knauff experienced between March 20th and April 14th of this year.
The 19-year-old winger was only allowed to sniff the Bundesliga air for the first time in the last ten minutes of the away game against 1. FC Köln (2-2) – and even crowned this with a strong assist to the last-minute equalization by Erling Haaland.
Only two and a half weeks later, Knauff went one floor higher, namely in the premier class: BVB coach Edin Terzic called the youngster into the starting line-up in the prestigious first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals at Manchester City, to everyone’s surprise.
Terzic attested to the debutant, who is otherwise at home in the second representation in the Regionalliga West, “a good performance”, with which he “definitely earned opportunities for further appearances.” These should follow sooner than expected: Again just four days later Knauff even scored his first goal against VfB Stuttgart in the German Beletage, in the second leg against City he was again in the first eleven.
BVB: Klopp discovered the 12-year-old Knauff at the Family Cup
It was in the summer of 2014 when the then 12-year-old Knauff was voted the best player of the tournament in the “Opel Family Cup”.
The automobile manufacturer has been a partner of BVB since 2012, which is why ex-coach Klopp was also present at the tournament at the time – and Knauff was visibly impressed.
Today’s trainer from Liverpool FC invited Knauff directly to the U13 trial training session. The right foot left a lasting impression, switched from the youth of Hannover 96 to the BVB youth and received a professional contract with Westphalia in November.
Almost seven years after meeting Klopp for the first time, Knauff experienced the high point of his still young career.
The fact that business is fast-paced, however, was also shown by the fact that he was not used in the last two home games against Werder Bremen and Union Berlin (and was not even in the squad against the Eiserne). Nevertheless, Knauff can justifiably hope to become part of the Dortmund upheaval in the coming season.
