Description
Soccer players and coaches alike admire the German national team for their combination of individual qualities and teamwork. It has led to some of the most creative soccer being played during the 2014 World Championship. The German teams success can be found rooted 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. There was only one from the 2014 World Cup squad, Miroslav Klose, who was not trained in one of these academies. In Creating World Champions, 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. Creating World Champions 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. Creating World Champions is for everyone who’s interested in the German Soccer Associations talent nurturing and different perspectives on the preparation of young players for a professional soccer career.
About the Author
Stephan Schmidt currently works in the youth academy of FC Schalke 04. During his playing career, he played for Hertha BSC, Preussen Munster, Babelsberg 03, and Tennis Borussia. He was head coach in the second Bundesliga at SC Paderborn and Energie Cottbus.Tim Stegmann holds the German Football Association (DFB) A-License and has been working in the youth academy of VfL Wolfsburg since finishing university. Currently, he is coach and assistant manager of the youth academy.
