Lars Ricken

Lars Ricken, born on 10 July 1976 in Dortmund, has been the Managing Director for Sport at Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. KGaA since 1 May 2024. Previously, he served for more than three years as the director of Dortmund’s youth academy, which was by far the most successful academy in German football over the past decade.

“BVB regularly wins titles with its own youth players, many talented players have made the step up to the BVB first-team squad, and many of our youth players have established themselves in various leagues around Europe and significantly increased their market values. Lars Ricken’s expertise, extensive network of contacts and strong sense of identification with his hometown club, where he also enjoyed great success as a player, are a great asset for our management team,” said BVB President Dr. Reinhold Lunow when Ricken was appointed to his current role in spring 2024.

Ricken started out as a player at Dortmund club TuS Eving-Lindenhorst, He played for BVB from 1993 to 2007, winning three German league titles with the club (1995, 1996, 2002). In 1997 he lifted the UEFA Champions League trophy with BVB after beating Juventus 3-1 in Munich, the greatest moment in the club’s history to date. His goal to make it 3-1 in the final was voted “BVB Goal of the Century”. In the same year, Ricken and his team won the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo.

As a German international, the attacking midfielder reached the final of the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan/South Korea.