In an exclusive interview with Karim Adeyemi, the Borussia Dortmund winger discusses his sensational form, being quicker than Usain Bolt and why Jude Bellingham is magic; watch Dortmund vs Gladbach live on Sky Sports Mix this Saturday; kick-off 5.30pm
Saturday 13 May 2023 09:52, UK
If Borussia Dortmund are to overhaul Bayern Munich and end their decade-long dominance of the Bundesliga, it will be inspired by Karim Adeyemi. The Germany international has been a revelation since the World Cup – and he has the statistics to prove it.
Six goals and five assists in 705 minutes of Bundesliga action in 2023 means that Adeyemi has been involved in a Dortmund goal every 64 minutes. It is a better record than anyone else in Germany this year. Better than anyone in Europe's major leagues this year.
That does not even include his sensational solo winner against Chelsea in the Champions League. The form of this flying winger - a man who can claim to be faster than Usain Bolt at his peak over 30 metres - is all the more remarkable given his slow start at the club.
The summer signing from Red Bull Salzburg did not score his first Bundesliga goal until January. "Last year was really hard for me and the team. We did not have a good six months. We did not play good and I did not play good," Adeyemi tells Sky Sports.
"Of course, you need time to [adjust to] this quality. I think I adapted quite well but in my first game I got my injury and after that it is quite hard to come back. But I was motivated for the next six months. I never gave up and now I can be really proud of myself."
Belatedly, he has settled on the pitch and off it. A popular figure with his team-mates, bonding over a shared love of anime, he has even launched his own podcast in conversation with a childhood pal. The move to Dortmund feels like it was the right choice.
"I feel at home and that is the most important," he says. But when Adeyemi points out that "everybody knows the city because of the club" it is a reminder that committing his future here was a strategic football decision. This is the best place for his development.
"I think step by step," he explains. "I think what is the best thing that I can do for myself, for my journey. Dortmund was the perfect club."
Even the move to Salzburg, having been with Bayern Munich as a young boy, was all part of the plan. In a sense, Adeyemi is emulating Erling Haaland by following that same path from Salzburg to Dortmund but he actually made the move to Austria first.
"The most important thing for a young guy is to play. They have a second team who play against adults. I played in the second league as a 16-year-old, a lot of games. I adapted to men's football and this is what is important for a young player.
"If you develop you can play in the first team of Salzburg and they play Champions League or Europa League. That is a great thing for a young player and you learn a lot. There are really good players in Salzburg and, for me, it was the best move that I could do."
What those experienced defenders must have made of this particular youngster, one can only imagine. The Bolt comparison is no idle boast. Adeyemi has been clocked at 3.60 seconds over 30 metres. Bolt's split time in his world-record run was 3.78.
Does Adeyemi really believe he is the quickest there is? "Yes, I think so. I am very confident with that." Is there nobody close? "Close, maybe. But not faster." Could the 2024 Olympics be an option? He laughs. "No, I don't think so. I cannot. I am focusing on football."
Being inside the stadium for his goal against Chelsea was a visceral thrill, an intake-of-breath moment as he made Enzo Fernandez look sluggish. The roar from the crowd let Adeyemi and everyone else know that there really is no sight like him in full flow.
"The stadium is just incredible to play in. Every time I come on the pitch for the warm-up I get goosebumps all the time. If you have fans like this who have your back it is always more fun to play. If 80,000 people scream your name after the goal, it is very nice."
He is not the only young talent that the Dortmund crowd has the chance to salute, of course. In Jude Bellingham, there is a superstar in the making. "What I love to say is that the ball loves him and he loves the ball back. So, everything he does is quite magic."
Adeyemi describes him as unbelievable with the ball and just as good without it. After discussing this ability to score and assist, attack and defend, he settles on the simplest summary when contemplating what Bellingham can do. "Almost everything, I think."
There is praise for another young English player at Dortmund too. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, 18, has enjoyed a breakthrough season. "He has no fear. For me, he is one of the best players one-against-one I have ever seen, to be honest. He will be a really good player."
It will be interesting to find out what type of player Adeyemi will become. In Salzburg, he played as a striker and believes he could do it again. "I think I can play in almost any position in the offensive line," he says. "But right now I am thinking as a winger."
Asked to describe his own game, he says: "I think to get on the nerves of the defenders all the time with one-against-one or runs behind the defenders. Being there where the defender cannot see me. Getting assists, getting goals. This, I think, is my game."
It could yet be enough to carry Dortmund to the Bundesliga title. They have been the strongest side in the second half of the season, picking up eight more points than Bayern. But they still find themselves one point behind with three games to play.
"I think we have to win our last three games and hopefully Bayern will lose some points and we will get the championship." There is no margin for error. But there is a chance. "We can smell the opportunity. Every game is important. Every game is a final."
Two of their final three fixtures are at home, starting with Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday. The excitement in Dortmund is building. "We can feel it every time we step on the pitch." But it is not weighing on him. "It is not pressure. It is just motivation."
For Adeyemi, his debut season with the club, one that had failed to ignite at the halfway stage, could yet end in glory. We know what that would mean to Borussia Dortmund and their supporters. But what would it mean to him? "Almost everything," he says.
Watch Borussia Dortmund vs Borussia Monchengladbach live on Sky Sports Mix this Saturday; kick-off 5.30pm
