Noß’s debut shirt hung up at BORUSSIA-PARK

Conor Noß has become the 27th academy graduate to have his debut shirt hung up at BORUSSIA-PARK, having made his maiden Bundesliga appearance for the Foals against Fürth.

The midfielder had the honour of hanging up the number 34 shirt in the dressing room corridor at the stadium. He wore the jersey on his debut for the club around a month ago, in the 4-0 win over SpVgg Greuther Fürth. “It’s an amazing feeling for me. I’m really proud to be honoured in this way,” said Noß.

Noß is the 27th talent to come through the Foals’ youth system and make his debut for the first team since the move to the new stadium in 2004. All of them are immortalised by their shirt taking pride of place in the corridor linking the youth-team and first-team dressing rooms. “I started playing football here with the U9s, and it was always my dream to one day play for the first team,” said Noß.

A move to the Foals as an eight-year-old

Noß, born in Düsseldorf, began his footballing journey with FC Kaarst at the age of five. One and a half years later, he joined Sportfreunden Vorst and took part in a youth tournament with them in 2009. It was there that Borussia became aware of the talented youngster. “I was invited to train with Gladbach. I was so nervous before the first session at Borussia as I was well aware that not everyone gets a chance like this and it was something special,” Noß remembered. His talent convinced Borussia, however, and the eight-year-old made the move to the club. Starting in the U9s, he then went through all the youth team levels in the years that followed.

In the 2019/20 season, Noß was still eligible to play for the U19s, but Borussia had other ideas. “It was time to give Conor a new challenge,” said Borussia’s director of youth team football Roland Virkus, and the offensive-minded midfielder was given the chance to prove himself with the U23s. Noß also got a taste of what life would be like as a professional, being included in the first-team squad four times at the end of 2019. Although he did not make his debut at that time, being called up to the squad was a huge step for him on the long journey towards his ultimate goal – a career as a professional.

“I always believed I could do it”

At the start of the 2020/21 season, Noß had to take time out due to injury, but still managed to play 21 times in the Regionalliga (1 goal) for the U23s. Since preseason this year, Noß has been an official member of the first team. The 20-year-old played in a few friendlies and was in the matchday squad five times in the first eleven Bundesliga games this season. “I always believed I could do it, but when you are part of the first team, you can feel that you are really close and you work even harder to make your dream a reality,” said the Republic of Ireland U21s international.

On matchday 12 in the home fixture against Fürth, he did achieve his dream, and the homegrown talent made his long-awaited Bundesliga debut. He came on in the 89th minute for Manu Koné. Noß almost scored, in fact, but his curling, left-footed shot from a narrow angle flew inches past the top corner. That certainly didn't dampen his spirits, however. “It was an incredible feeling to play in the Bundesliga. I worked hard for a long time to play at this level. The fact that it has now happened is a massive deal for me and I will never forget it,” said the 20-year-old immediately following the final whistle. He doesn’t want to stop there either, of course. “I am now a Bundesliga player and no one can take that away from me, even though I’ve only played one game so far,” said Noß. “I certainly hope that I can play in many more matches.”