Berlin: Swedish teenager Alexander Isak — dubbed the ‘Mini Zlatan’ — has taken a step out of the shadow of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Borussia Dortmund with his man-of-the-match performance in the German Cup.
The lanky 18-year-old set up the first goal, then netted his own with ice-cool finishing in a 5-0 romp at third-division Madgeburg in the second round of the cup on Tuesday on his first start for the holders.
In his home country, Isak is regarded as the next big Swedish star to follow in the footsteps of national hero Zlatan Ibrahimovic and German daily Bild coined the ‘Mini Zlatan’ nickname. However, in Dortmund he plays second-fiddle to Gabon hot-shot Aubameyang, the Bundesliga’s top scorer last season.
As Aubameyang sat out the cup win with a leg knock, his understudy seized his chance on only his fifth senior appearance for the German club. “He has enormous potential, but first of all he had to come out of his shell,” admitted Dortmund coach Peter Bosz after his side booked their place in the third round.
Isak was just 17 when he joined Dortmund for 8.6 million euros ($10.1m) in January from Swedish club AIK after interest from Real Madrid. — AFP
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