“Daredevil” Bellingham: You only run out of strength when you cheer

“I couldn’t run around for joy anymore”: Jude Bellingham.

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There they were condensed again, the special qualities of the Jude Bellingham. 93 minutes had been played against Mainz on Saturday, when the Dortmund youngster set a tackle in the opposing half, took the ball from Silvan Widmer and served Erling Haaland to the decisive 3: 1, then only in the arms of Mats Hummels and then to celebrate in front of the euphoric south stand.

“I was relieved that we scored our third goal and decided the game,” said the Briton: “I was very happy with it. It is always nice to score, but preparing such an important goal is also right Well.” It wasn’t enough to cheer so late in the game: “I couldn’t run around for joy anymore because I was broken, I just raised my arms.”

He still has the youthful fire in him, but at the same time is already very clear about what he wants.

But it was enough for the fans to cheer after the final whistle. For last year’s newcomer in the summer, after the many ghost games, it is still extraordinary to play in such a crowded stadium. “It’s always a privilege for me to put on the jersey. But with the spectators in the stadium the feeling is a hundred times as much that I want to give everything to make us the winning team.”

Bellingham, he didn’t just show it on Saturday, is someone who leads the field and inspires the fans, who plays like a ripped-off veteran and has the heart of a fan who combines talent and drive, determination and hunger. “Jude is extraordinary. He still has that youthful fire in him, but is also very clear about what he wants,” says BVB managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke in the big kicker cover story (Monday edition). Sports director Michael Zorc calls him “a brave boy, a daredevil”.

But what makes this 18-year-old from the West Midlands, the Ruhr area of ​​Great Britain, so special? Who influenced him on the way to becoming a top European talent? And what could its future look like? In the big cover story of the current Monday issue (from Sunday evening also as eMagazine) des kicker you can also read what his Dortmund predecessors Julian Weigl and Thomas Delaney say about Bellingham, why he almost ended up in cricket and what role the games of father Mark Bellingham played in his career.