Jude Bellingham became the youngest captain in the German Bundesliga and in the history of Borussia Dortmund when he led Dortmund to face FC Cologne away at Rhein Energie Stadion on Saturday, October 1, 2022.
Jude Bellingham had to take up the responsibility of leading the team into the game temporarily since the usual captains Marco Reus and Mats Hummels were unavailable due to fitness issues.
Unfortunately for the 19-year-old English midfielder born on June 29, 2003, his first experience as Borussia Dortmund captain did not end as good as he had hoped for.
Jude Bellingham’s led Dortmund lost to FC Cologne by three goals to two.
Hence, Borussia Dortmund missed the chance of going to the top of the table after Union Berlin lost to Eintracht Frankfurt by two goals to nil.
Before Julian Brandt’s goal in the 31st minute gave Borussia Dortmund the lead, the team had control of the first half and missed two excellent chances through Donyell Malen and Karim Adeyemi.
In the second half, Borussia Dortmund failed to take advantage of their one-goal advantage and seemed indifferent with it. Cologne had enough room as a result, and Florian Kainz gave them an equalizer in the 53rd minute.
Before Dortmund could have a chance to rebound Three minutes later, Cologne scored again when former Dortmund player Steffen Tigges beat Nico Schlotterbeck at the near post to score with a glancing header and change the momentum of the game.
When the Borussia Dortmund defense gave Dejan Ljubicic too much room in the 71st minute, FC Cologne scored their third goal.
Borussia Dortmund had a chance to tie the score when FC Cologne’s Benno Schmitz scored on his own goal in the 78th minute. After the own goal, Dortmund’s effort to at least get a point off the game proved abortive. Hence, the game ended in a 3-2 home win for FC Cologne over Bundesliga title contenders Dortmund.
Note that Jude Bellingham who captained Dortmund in the game for the first time in his senior football career has been a member of the squad for three seasons.
Aside from starting the game with the captain’s hand band, Bellingham’s best moment in the game was his contribution to the match opener. Unfortunately, that could not make the difference after 90 minutes of box-to-box football.
The center midfielder is coveted by Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool. Borussia Dortmund has put a £150 million price tag on him.
Next summer, Manchester United is prepared to increase their spending, and Frenkie De Jong and Bellingham are on their shopping list.
According to reports, Real Madrid are also interested in signing Jude Bellingham for the upcoming campaign.
The English star appears to be Pep Guardiola’s favorite and he would be delighted to have him join Manchester City. He has been viewed as a superior replacement for the 30-year-olds Kevin De Bryune and Ikay Gundogan.
