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.

Stephan Schmidt currently works in the youth academy of FC Schalke 04, holds courses for advanced training for soccer coaches, and is DFB-certified soccer coach and sports manager. During his playing career, he played for Hertha BSC, Preusen Munster, Babelsberg 03, and Tennis Borussia. When he ended his career, he became a lecturer at the elite school of soccer in Berlin, youth coach at Hertha BSC, and won the Northern German Championship and the German Championship with the U19 of VFL Wolfsburg. He was also head coach in the second Bundesliga at SC Paderborn and Energie Cottbus. Stephan Schmidt is also freelance author for the DFB magazine fusballtraining.

Tim Stegmann has been honored for his social commitment by the Olympic base in Hamburg. He holds the 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. Tim Stegmann has many years’ youth coaching experience in Germany and abroad and has published articles in the DFB magazine fusballtraining junior.