First a mistake, then two goals

Mönchengladbach professional footballer Rocco Reitz, a Borussia player since the F-youth, is currently experiencing fairytale weeks. The courageous midfielder followed up his first Bundesliga goal last matchday in a 4-0 home win over VfL Wolfsburg with two more goals on his debut for the German U-21 national team in Paderborn.

The 3:1 and 4:1 (88th/90th+4) by the Duisburg native gave the three-time U-21 European champions their third victory in the third game of the qualifying round for the 2025 European Championship finals in Slovakia – and with that another reasonably clear success over the outsiders Estonia. It seemed safe after the 2-0 goal thanks to goals from Hoffenheim striker Daniel Beier (39′) and Dortmund attacker Youssoufa Moukoka (53′) – and was initially put in danger by Reitz (64′), who had just been substituted.

His debut in the most important German youth team was followed seconds later by the 21-year-old Rhinelander’s fatal loss of the ball after a very sharp pass from central defender Marton Dardai. What followed in the following phase of Germany’s loss of control was Kuraksin’s easy goal, who had the chance to make it 2-2 in the 84th minute, which Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu prevented with a fantastic save .

Only then was the way clear for the Rocco Reitz Festival. The junior, who had matured into a regular player in Mönchengladbach, quickly took advantage of his two opportunities to more than make up for his faux pas. The German U-21 coach Antonio Di Salvo was pleased with how quickly Reitz, both a player and a fighter, recovered from his shock at himself. “I congratulated him on his two goals after the game,” he said, “and he apologized for his nonsense and said he had to make up for it twice over. Anyone who scores two goals has played a good game in the end.”

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A high degree of persistence characterizes this player, who tried in vain for a regular place at his hometown club for a long time and after almost three and a half professional seasons, including two as a loan player at the Belgian first division club VV St. Truiden, achieved his goal this season thanks to his constant hard work. Reitz’s ambition to get a starting place in the U-21 team as soon as possible was awakened on Friday evening. Reitz would like to play against league leaders Poland, who have won four times in a row, this Tuesday. Before the groundbreaking duel, Di Salvo left it open whether he would get the chance. However, the team player, who can make an impact in both offensive and defensive midfield, has probably already collected some personal plus points. Since his learning curve is steep, he will probably be better equipped to deal with annoying ball losses like the one against Estonia in the future.

Colleague Youssoufa Moukoko, who fired the most of the forty German shots on goal, enthusiastically welcomed his new colleague and his enriching contribution to the victory: “We all enjoy Rocco. He is an outstanding, ball-confident footballer. I love playing with him and hope that he scores three goals next time.” That would be a bit much to ask of a hard-working young professional whose core job is to keep the even more stormy colleagues’ backs free in their urges. The double goalscorer from Paderborn preferred to downplay his contribution to the success. “I got it right twice, you could say.” You have to have a nose for that.