BVB talent gets candid on debut, first goal and his “biggest drive” | OneFootball

An 18-year-old Italian in BVB’s squad looks back on the most emotional day of his young career and explains what his debut and first goal really felt like.

Samuele Inacio spoke in an interview about his BVB debut and his first goal in a Borussia Dortmund shirt. In comments to the Italian magazine “Undici,” the youngster opened up and offered rare insights into his first moments as a professional.

Samuele Inacio made his debut at the end of February 2026 in the home game against Bayern Munich, which Dortmund lost 3–2. He had waited a long time for that opportunity. In the weeks beforehand, coach Niko Kovač had repeatedly encouraged him to stay patient and keep training hard. On matchday itself, the Italian hardly expected to play anymore because the coach had left him on the bench the week before. “So from game to game I kept waiting for it. Before the Bayern game, I thought: if I didn’t come on last week, it’ll be difficult today,” Samuele Inacio admitted.

But after halftime, the fitness coach told him and two or three other substitutes to warm up. A little later, the coach called him over to come on. “I was just about to sit down on the bench when the coach said: ‘No, no, Samu, get changed!’ That’s when the nerves and tension kicked in. But as soon as I stepped onto the pitch, it all disappeared.”

He described that tension as especially pleasant, because it was part of the moment he had worked toward. When he looked at the scoreboard and around the huge stadium, he initially felt the pressure of having to deliver. But after his first touch of the ball, that changed: he no longer noticed the voices of the crowd, felt almost alone on the pitch, and much calmer.

BVB talent Samuele Inacio speaks about the “best day of his life”

Almost two months later, Samuele Inacio truly took off. After coming on against Bayer Leverkusen, he featured in all five remaining Bundesliga matches, and in the final four games of the season he was even in the starting lineup. The 18-year-old finally scored his first goal in the home game against Eintracht Frankfurt, which BVB won 3–2.

For the attacking player, it was “the best day of my life.” He immediately explained why: “Because I had never experienced such a strong emotion in such a short time. That goal and that emotion gave me the drive to score even more goals, because I thought to myself: if it feels like this every time, it would be wonderful to experience that every weekend.”

Photo: IMAGO

The day before, at the hotel, he had already imagined staying focused after scoring so he could hear the fans shouting his last name. In the first rush of celebration, that got lost in the adrenaline. But on his way back to the center circle, Samuele Inacio stopped when the crowd first shouted his first name and then his last name. He said: “I enjoyed it 100%.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.