Germany has numerous highly talented young players. But by no means will all of them go on to play for the German national team. Bayern’s head of youth development, Jochen Sauer, sees this as a trend to which the DFB must respond urgently.
Especially at the FC Bayern campus, officials regularly witness how intensely various national associations court young players who have multiple options. In recent years, several prominent examples have chosen not to play for Germany.
In an interview with SPOX, Sauer makes it clear that this also means national team coach Jürgen Klopp is losing out on potential top players.
Sauer: “There’s now competition.”
“There are many players born in Germany whom Jürgen Klopp cannot select for the national team,” explained the 54-year-old.
Sauer pointed to several players with ties to Bayern Munich: “Just from Bayern: Kenan Yildiz, Can Uzun? Turkey. Josip Stanisic? Croatia. Paul Wanner? Austria. Malik Tillman? USA.”
For the Bayern official, these examples show that international competition is no longer limited to the club level. National associations are also competing for the top talent at an increasingly early age.
“Here, too, there is now competition among national federations that we must urgently address,” Sauer warned.
This recruitment drive can be observed firsthand at the Bayern Campus. Players who, due to their family background, are eligible to play for multiple nations sometimes receive invitations from different federations and must begin considering their international future at a young age.
A recent example from Munich is Erblin Osmani. The Munich native has since joined Kosovo’s senior national team.
Sauer calls for more courage from German clubs
For Sauer, however, it is not enough to point the finger solely at the DFB. German clubs, too, must create better conditions so that young players can take the next step in their development early on.
“Clubs from the Regionalliga all the way up to the Bundesliga need to be even bolder in fielding young players,” demanded Bayern’s head of youth development.
In his view, regular playing time at the highest possible level is a crucial factor. Only when talented players are nurtured early on and given real opportunities can they develop into candidates for the German national team.
Sauer also sees a need for action regarding the structure of German youth soccer. “In my view, we don’t currently have an optimal competition pyramid,” he clarified.
One starting point is the new “Bundesliga Talent Series,” which Klopp helped develop. It is intended to offer young players additional opportunities to compete at a higher level.
For Sauer, this involves two interconnected tasks: Germany must better develop its greatest talents—and at the same time ensure that they see their future in a DFB jersey. Cases like Yildiz, Wanner, Stanisic, and Tillman show that the international battle for young players has long since begun.