Filippo Mane has been playing for Borussia Dortmund for more than four years, but the centre-back is still a long way from making his big breakthrough because of injuries. Now the 21-year-old is among the winners of BVB's pre-season.
Next year, Dan-Axel Zagadou will mark a small anniversary. In the summer of 2027, it will be 10 years since he moved to Germany. The now 27-year-old joined Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain's second team.
In theory, the centre-back, who joined VfB Stuttgart in 2022 and remains under contract there until the end of the season, could have played 306 matches across those nine Bundesliga seasons. Instead, Zagadou has managed only 108 appearances in the top flight. Injuries have cost him almost 180 games. More will now follow: on Tuesday, the Swabians announced that Zagadou had suffered a muscular injury to the back of his thigh and will be out for the coming weeks.
Filippo Mane is not quite at that point yet. But in one respect, the Italian could already pass as Zagadou's successor at BVB when it comes to being injury-prone. Since joining the Westphalians' youth set-up at the start of January 2022, Mane has racked up almost 500 days out and has already missed more than 75 matches.
Filippo Mane is the winner of BVB's pre-season
Now, though, the 21-year-old, like Zagadou recently in Stuttgart, has reached another spell of stability. That has given both him and the club fresh hope that things will finally keep moving in the right direction and that no further setback is around the corner. Because if that does hold over a longer period, the centre-back clearly has the potential for more.
"We were and still are absolutely convinced by his abilities," sporting managing director Lars Ricken said on Sunday after the 3-2 friendly win at Arsenal about Mane, to whom he attested an "outstanding game" in London. "It was always only a question of whether he would stay injury-free for long enough. Then we will all see what quality he has," the 50-year-old is sure.
Mane, who signed a professional contract in January 2025 that runs for another two years, is now regarded as one of the winners of BVB's pre-season. Even so, there was another scare for him not long ago. In the 1-0 defeat against Cerezo Osaka, he had to come off after taking a knock and then missed the following game against FC Tokyo (1-0).
"Making progress": Filippo Mane overtakes Luca Reggiani at BVB
Just as at the same stage last year, the door to the first team is once again slightly open for Mane. With Nico Schlotterbeck out with an ankle injury and Emre Can in rehab after cruciate ligament tear, the "classic Italian man-marker" (Ricken) has moved closer to the squad and picked up plenty of minutes in pre-season.
Across his five appearances so far, he has put himself forward for more with uncompromising tackling and good build-up play. By all appearances, he has also moved back ahead of compatriot Luca Reggiani, who had jumped above him in the pecking order in the second half of last season. At the start of the season, the back three of Waldemar Anton, new signing Joane Gadou and Ramy Bensebaini will pick itself, but as things stand Mane is the first alternative to that trio.
"You can certainly still improve one thing or another," coach Niko Kovac said at the weekend, "but Filippo is making progress. That is down to his diligence. We adapted that with him. We know what problems he had. We have improved that in recent weeks and months. If he remains so consistent physically, then he will certainly be a good player for us."
Niko Kovac praises Filippo Mane after win against Arsenal
Kovac also felt Mane produced "a really good game", especially alongside Gadou and the experienced Bensebaini, who repeatedly coached the youngsters through the match. "The three centre-backs cleared things very well. Filippo, but Joane as well. That is real force, that is power. They are quick, they engage well and are aggressive and very strong one-on-one."
Last season, Mane made six competitive appearances for the first team and, oddly enough, he again benefited from the absences of Schlotterbeck and Can. He made his debut in the DFB Cup at Rot-Weiss Essen and shortly afterwards started a Bundesliga match for the first time.
Then it went wrong. Mane saw red shortly before the end with the score at 3-1 against FC St. Pauli and gave away an unnecessary penalty. Dortmund eventually drew 3-3. The chance was gone and the two-time international disappeared from view for months.
Filippo Mane highlights a problem for BVB
After that, he made 11 more appearances for the U23s in the Regionalliga. He even scored three goals, Mane's first in professional football. Then, at the start of February, the familiar setback struck again: a muscle injury that ruled him out for a good two months.
Mane's case also underlines how problematic the second team's drop into the fourth tier is for BVB. He needs to play, at last, and he needs to play a lot. Barring a miracle, that will not happen with the first team. But he also needs minutes at a higher level than the fourth division if he is really to move forward.
What next for Filippo Mane at BVB?
Could a loan be the answer? "We are under no pressure there," Ricken said reassuringly. "We will assess the situation on a case-by-case basis when the transfer window approaches its end."
Right now, the more likely outcome is that Mane stays. Dortmund are still short of depth at the back, he has impressed lately and he has overtaken Reggiani. Whether that will be enough to deliver the long-awaited next step in his development, though, remains highly questionable.
Filippo Mane: his time at BVB at a glance
|
Team |
Games |
Goals |
Assists |
|
Borussia Dortmund U17 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
Borussia Dortmund U19 |
46 |
2 |
2 |
|
Borussia Dortmund U23 |
17 |
3 |
0 |
|
Borussia Dortmund |
6 |
0 |
0 |