Jude Bellingham was declared a genius at the age of 16. Plenty of games in England’s second division showed that the midfielder combined a very special talent with the physicality and understanding of the game like the older ones in the match arena. At Borussia Dortmund, they set the table for the English teenager to opt out of Manchester United. The rest is a success story. Now little brother Jobe is going the same route, but faces a completely different reality on German turf.
Jobe Bellingham has shown off his talent at Birmingham and last season at promoted Sunderland. Still, what the 20-year-old has to live with is that, yes, doors are opening because of big brother Jude, but comparisons to big brother’s world-class performances can close the same. After his move to Borussia Dortmund in the summer, little brother Bellingham has been restricted for the first time in his career.
Dortmund willingly flipped up €30 million for Bellingham this summer, in battle with Premier League clubs. The Bundesliga club had opened the door of playing time for then 17-year-old Jude in 2020, the choice of club for Jobe was easy. Then the little brother was met by “reality”.
In the transition to October, Jobe only has two games from the start. So far, there have been 199 minutes spread over 6 games, a somewhat different start than the 17-year-old Jude got in 2020.
In an interview with Kicker, Dortmund coach Niko Kovac explains why Jobe Bellingham is not given free access to playing time.
-Everyone wants to play more. Everyone wants to play every minute, but then you only have room for eleven players. When you sign a contract here, it’s not only well paid, but it also means there’s a lot of competition,” Kovac begins.
“He is a player with great potential, but also someone who needs to grow into his role here,” the Dortmund coach continues. Which reminds people that Jobe is not Jude.
“You shouldn’t make the mistake of putting too much pressure on him just because of the name,” Kovac said.
Then we’ll see if Jobe Bellingham and parents agree that “good things” can’t always come at rocket speed. It was hardly the bench they signed for after everything big brother Jude had given the German club.
