DFB Juniors - How the U17 world champions can become beacons of hope
After the World Cup title for the U17 national team, coach Christian Wück sees great opportunities for a promising generation of footballers.
"Now it's up to the clubs, it's really up to the German soccer landscape to give these boys the opportunity to play in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd division," said Wück after the World Cup triumph. "We have to find ways in Germany to give talented German players playing time. That also includes trust."
The U17 national team had previously won the World Cup title against France in a 4-3 penalty shoot-out. The score was 2:2 after regular time. This is the first time a team in this age group has become European and world champions. "This age group has enough talent to take off," said Wück.
Völler: "A really great career"
DFB sports director Rudi Völler can also imagine this. "It's often precisely these age groups that go on to make a career many years later," Völler said on RTL. "If they keep working like this and keep improving, they could become senior players at some point. That's still a long way off."
However, Völler said that he has often seen this happen. "If they stay fit and receive good advice - which is always important in soccer - then many of them have a great career ahead of them."
Wück emphasized that there are problems in the transitional area because talented players do not get enough playing time there. "The club and the German soccer landscape have to question themselves," said the 50-year-old. "The association, the senior national team and the U21s are the ones who suffer."
With the current crop, the focus has been on the German virtues. "You can see from Paris Brunner and Finn Jeltsch that we still have class and individual strength in the team," said Wück, mentioning the Dortmund and Nuremberg players by name. "But I could list them all in different positions."
Read also:
- Desperate biathlon king loses dominance after ban
- 4:1! FCM slams Lautern and home curse away
- Resolutions: Olympic bid, sports reform and women's quota
- CDU-Kuban discovered our U17 world champion
- The calm before the upheaval: Nagelsmann's European Championship plans
Source: www.stern.de
