Creating World Champions : How German Soccer Went From Shambles to Champions

Soccer players and coaches alike admire the German national team for their combination of individual qualities and teamwork, leading to some of the most creative soccer being played during the 2014 World Championship. The roots for the German team's success can be found in the youth training practiced in German soccer clubs. Most professional soccer clubs in Germany have their own youth academy where the next Bundesliga stars are formed. Of the 2014 World Cup squad, only Miroslav Klose was not trained in one of these academies. In this book, the system used for German soccer youth development is explained with particular emphasis on the different paths that young players can take on the road to success. World Champions and rising star players present their individual stories and some of the exercises that improve their strengths and remove their weaknesses. This book contains many interviews with former Bundesliga stars, soccer experts, and youth and professional coaches as well as an overview of the youth development program of an ambitious amateur club. Some of the star players interviewed include Marco Reus, Manuel Neuer, and Shkodran Mustafi as well as rising stars Sebastian Rode and Maximilian Arnold. This book is for everyone who's interested in the German Soccer Association's talent nurturing and different perspectives on the preparation of young players for a professional soccer career. Cover 1 Table of Contents 7 Preface 10 Introduction 12 PART 1: LOOKING BACK 16 1 The dancing refrigerators – From the depression of the turn of the millennium to the fourth title 17 1.1 The first step – An extensive network of DFB centers 19 1.2 Talent development at youth performance centers 24 1.3 Star wars – Ensuring quality at youth performance centers 25 1.4 Reformation 2.0 25 1.5 Visible progress 26 1.6 German in-house production: The local player 28 1.7 To the top of the world 28 2 A word from Germany’s top coach – Interview with Frank Wormuth 33 PART 2: YOUTH DEVELOPMENT 38 3 The wellspring of the future – Youth performance centers 39 3.1 Introduction 39 3.2 Training at VfB Stuttgart – Tradition obliges 48 3.2.1 The newly constructed youth performance center – An important foundation for the future 49 3.2.2 A conversation with Rainer Adrion, athletic director at the youth performance center 51 3.3 The Kroos family – A down-home success story 54 3.3.1 Interview with Roland Kroos 55 3.4 The Berlin way – Training top talent for pro soccer 59 3.4.1 Introduction 59 3.4.2 Frank Vogel talks 60 3.5 School, Chelsea, and the fight for the dream – Maurice Neubauer of U19 of FC Schalke 04 67 3.6 VfL Wolfsburg – Holistic thinking as the key to youth development 71 3.7 Interview with Werner Mickler, DFB psychologist 78 3.8 BVB – Practiced consistency 86 3.8.1 Insights into BVB’s approach by U19 coach, Hannes Wolf 88 3.8.2 Youth soccer coach as a full-time job 90 3.9 Diligence, international flair, and blood, sweat, and tears – Schalke 04’s youth division builds pros 93 3.9.1 Interview with Schalke’s director of youth development, Oliver Ruhnert 93 3.10 At the threshold to pro soccer – Life after the youth performance center 100 PART 3: EXAMPLES 106 4 Many roads lead to the top 107 4.1 Manuel Neuer – The boy from Buer starts the goalkeeper revolution 108 4.2 No name – European vagabond – world champion – The crazy tale of Shkodran Mustafi 114 4.3 Sebastian Rode – From a parking lot to FC Bayern 120 4.4 Debuting with a club record – Maximilian Arnold 123 4.5 Back to his roots – The path of Marco Reus 126 5 Individual training units of star players 131 5.1 Ralf Fährmann 132 5.2 Shkodran Mustafi 136 5.3 Sebastian Rode 139 5.4 Marco Reus 142 PART 4: AMATEUR SOCCER 146 6 Recreational sports form the base of the path to the Top – Amateur soccer 147 6.1 Started small, made it big – Some national team players and their beginnings 151 6.2 Project TuS Haltern – A different kind of amateur club 154 7 Between Bernabeu, Arena Berlin, and Stauseekampfbahn Stadium – Interview with vice world champion, Christoph Metzelder 163 8 A look ahead 171 8.1 “Germany will dominate European soccer in the next 10 years” 172 8.2 More investment to stay on top 175 References 180 Photo credits 185 Content: Cover Table of Contents Preface Introduction PART 1: LOOKING BACK 1 The dancing refrigerators -- From the depression of the turn of the millennium to the fourth title 1.1 The first step -- An extensive network of DFB centers 1.2 Talent development at youth performance centers 1.3 Star wars -- Ensuring quality at youth performance centers 1.4 Reformation 2.0 1.5 Visible progress 1.6 German in-house production: The local player 1.7 To the top of the world 2 A word from Germany's top coach -- Interview with Frank Wormuth PART 2: YOUTH DEVELOPMENT. 3 The wellspring of the future -- Youth performance centers3.1 Introduction 3.2 Training at VfB Stuttgart -- Tradition obliges 3.2.1 The newly constructed youth performance center -- An important foundation for the future 3.2.2 A conversation with Rainer Adrion, athletic director at the youth performance center 3.3 The Kroos family -- A down-home success story 3.3.1 Interview with Roland Kroos 3.4 The Berlin way -- Training top talent for pro soccer 3.4.1 Introduction 3.4.2 Frank Vogel talks 3.5 School, Chelsea, and the fight for the dream -- Maurice Neubauer of U19 of FC Schalke 04. 3.6 VfL Wolfsburg -- Holistic thinking as the key to youth development3.7 Interview with Werner Mickler, DFB psychologist 3.8 BVB -- Practiced consistency 3.8.1 Insights into BVB's approach by U19 coach, Hannes Wolf 3.8.2 Youth soccer coach as a full-time job 3.9 Diligence, international flair, and blood, sweat, and tears -- Schalke 04's youth division builds pros 3.9.1 Interview with Schalke's director of youth development, Oliver Ruhnert 3.10 At the threshold to pro soccer -- Life after the youth performance center PART 3: EXAMPLES 4 Many roads lead to the top. 4.1 Manuel Neuer -- The boy from Buer starts the goalkeeper revolution4.2 No name -- European vagabond -- world champion -- The crazy tale of Shkodran Mustafi 4.3 Sebastian Rode -- From a parking lot to FC Bayern 4.4 Debuting with a club record -- Maximilian Arnold 4.5 Back to his roots -- The path of Marco Reus 5 Individual training units of star players 5.1 Ralf Fährmann 5.2 Shkodran Mustafi 5.3 Sebastian Rode 5.4 Marco Reus PART 4: AMATEUR SOCCER 6 Recreational sports form the base of the path to the Top -- Amateur soccer. 6.1 Started small, made it big -- Some national team players and their beginnings6.2 Project TuS Haltern -- A different kind of amateur club 7 Between Bernabeu, Arena Berlin, and Stauseekampfbahn Stadium -- Interview with vice world champion, Christoph Metzelder 8 A look ahead 8.1 "Germany will dominate European soccer in the next 10 years" 8.2 More investment to stay on top References Photo credits.