By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Enjoying the cheers from 81,000 fans in a packed arena must feel like heaven for a striker. Youssoufa Moukoko was certainly flooded by similar feelings with his emotions after scoring against Bayern Munich for Borussia Dortmund.
But the 17-year-old's latest achievement goes far beyond a temporary moment of pure happiness. It might as well stand for an eagerly awaited breakthrough in adult football that even for a wonderkid is a tough challenge.
After traveling a bumpy road, experiencing setbacks and having to keep his growing impatience under control, the Cameroon-born forward seems to now make his boldest dreams come true.
Following important goals in important games, it is hard to imagine what Dortmund coach Edin Terzic will do without the gifted youngster in the future.
It might be more than a bold guess that Moukoko is a must when Dortmund face Sevilla on home soil in their Champions League encounter on Tuesday evening.
For the rising star, not will only his goals against Schalke, Sevilla, and Bayern play a vital role, but the wave of improvement floating in his wake when it comes to Borussia's upfront performance.
Much more than new arrival Anthony Modeste, Moukoko is addressing the team's need to count on a flexible spearhead. 34-year-old Modeste is a target man largely dependent on crosses.
While the departed Erling Haaland covered both types, it took a while for Dortmund after the Norwegian left for Manchester City.
The past months might just have been the time Moukoko needed to close the natural gap when transferring from youth football to the next stage.
Terzic and his staff invested many extra hours in advanced training sessions to work on Moukoko's first-touch skills and taught him the importance of securing the ball until his teammates catch up.
"I have more confidence than last year," the striker stated. "The trust of the coaches I received helped me greatly."
Moukoko had to realize that breath-taking performances in the club's youth teams - with 141 goals in 88 games - are a thing of the past, as doors to a new world opened.
The club understood the youngster needs more playing time to make him stay and extend his expiring contract.
The player denied rumours of money issues, as he is more interested in investigating the club's future on-pitch plans.
Making the young genius their number one striker might do the job and encourage him to sign a new contract. ■
