Dominik Salz could not stop grinning after making his professional debut. - © IMAGO/Sportfoto Zink / Melanie Zink

2. Bundesliga

Better late than never: Dominik Salz makes his professional debut for Karlsruhe at the age of 37

24.11.2024

Sometimes there are stories that seemingly only football can write, and Dominik Salz’s is certainly one of them. On 23 November 2024, the Karlsruhe striker made his debut in Bundesliga 2, at the age of 37. His cameo in the 3-2 win away at Greuther Fürth may have been brief, but it was nonetheless of huge significance.

“My goosebumps had goosebumps”

It was a dream come true for Salz in the 93rd minute of the match with Fürth. Clad in his unmistakable headgear, he had his first taste of Bundesliga 2 football, aptly summarising his emotions after the 3-2 victory in saying: "My goosebumps had goosebumps."

This expression duly described the magic of his debut. Salz is not your average professional footballer; in the summer, he made the switch from Sonnenhof Großaspach in the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg (fifth tier of German football) to Karlsruhe’s second team, who play in the sixth tier Verbandsliga Nordbaden. A call-up for the first team and ultimately making an appearance in the Bundesliga 2 was, in any case, something he could never seriously have planned for.

And just like that, he's a professional - Salz celebrates victory with his teammates. - IMAGO/Sportfoto Zink / Melanie Zink

The long road from the lower leagues

Salz’s amateur career is well worth a look at. In 268 games in the Oberliga, he returned an impressive tally of 129 goals, but his path to professional football still seemed blocked. Prior to the game with Fürth, he had made just 17 appearances in the semi-professional Regionalliga, meaning he had spent the overwhelming majority of his career in amateur football.

This made the moment in which coach Christian Eichner sent him on for top scorer Budu Zivzivadze all the more remarkable. Two sprints, one touch and 590 metres covered – these may be the unprevaricating figures from his performance. But they won’t matter to Salz or the fans; his debut wasn’t to be defined by the statistics. It was an unexpected highlight in the latter stages of a long career.

Celebrating Salz

The story of his late debut was also received enthusiastically on social media. Karlsruhe congratulated him on Instagram, captioning the post: "You’re never too old to live your dream" Fans joined in too, with one Karlsruhe fan summarising the emotion of the day in the comments under the post, saying: "Seeing the joyous smile across his face is almost as nice for me as the three points."

Karlsruher crowned the day with a 3-2 away win, launching themselves into the automatic promotion places. For Salz, however, this will be a day that he personally will never forget.