Mislintat hails special triumph of his discovery after BVB exit | OneFootball

After being rather unceremoniously dismissed by Borussia Dortmund in February of this year, Sven Mislintat—nicknamed the “Diamond Eye”—recently had reason to celebrate again. A player he once brought to BVB himself received the highest individual honor in football, and celebrated this achievement together with Mislintat.

Ousmane Dembélé was recently named World Footballer of the Year after winning the Champions League for the first time this summer with Paris St. Germain. In Ligue 1, he also—almost as a matter of course—won the title, and became the league’s top scorer with 21 goals in 34 appearances in France’s top division.

Dembélé’s career really took off when he was discovered by Sven Mislintat for Borussia Dortmund. At that time, Dembélé was still playing in the provinces at Stade Rennes. Although BVB already paid a proud sum of 15 million euros in 2016, the striker was still far from being a world star. Even though he was named Ligue 1’s Young Player of the Season, Mislintat can still take credit for being so convinced by Dembélé that he initiated the investment.

Dembélé stayed only one year at Germany’s second powerhouse, BVB, but developed so strongly there that he was subsequently signed by FC Barcelona for a nine-figure sum—reportedly 105 million euros. In Catalonia, he sometimes lacked the necessary attitude. Nevertheless, he became a World Cup winner with France in 2018 and, after his move to PSG in 2023, has now reached the pinnacle of football in terms of individual honors.

Photo: Getty Images

Discovered for BVB in 2016: Ousmane Dembélé

Being named World Footballer of the Year brought him to tears as he gave his acceptance speech. In it, he mentioned not only his mother but also his former clubs, including Borussia Dortmund, to whom he owes his gratitude. He gave special mention to none other than Sven Mislintat, who is already a part of BVB’s history. On Instagram, Dembélé posted a photo of himself with Sven Mislintat, making it known to the world just how significant a role Mislintat played in Dembélé’s development.

For the highly capable scout Mislintat, who has been without a job since his departure from Dortmund, this may well be the greatest success in his long list of discoveries, which have usually brought his employers a great deal of quality at comparatively reasonable prices.

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