“These are exactly the stories that German football needs,” said Hans-Joachim Watzke, vice president of the German Football Association (DFB) and CEO of Borussia Dortmund, after the Under-17 national team beat Argentina in the World Cup semifinal in Indonesia. “My compliments go to the team and the coaching staff. What they have achieved is simply fantastic.”
Germany’s youngsters had conceded a late equalizer to make it 3-3, but eventually prevailed 4-2 on penalties. “To have the confidence to win the penalty shootout after such a late setback says something about the character of the team,” said Simon Rolfes, Bayer Leverkusen’s sporting director, afterwards.
Head coach Christian Wück is delighted with his team, praising a group of “very different characters” for becoming a team “that goes through thick and thin” for each other. Wück now wants to take the last step and win the final match against France on Saturday. “I believe that with our virtues, mentality and individual skills, we have the chance to win the title,” he said.
That Wück’s team have reached this point is not a huge surprise. They had already secured the U17 European Championship title in June, winning the final, also against France, on penalties.
A ray of hope
In view of the current crisis among Germany’s front-line men’s and women’s senior teams, the youth team’s success is a welcome change. The men’s and women’s national team and the U21 men’s team have disappointed across the board recently, with both the men in 2022 and the women in 2023 exiting their respective World Cups at the group stages.
Though only recently appointed as men’s coach, Julian Nagelsmann has already come under heavy criticism after recent friendly defeats against Turkey and Austria. The headlines from a long list of shortcomings were along the lines of no plan, no identity, too many tactical instructions for the players to take on board. A home Euros in 2024 means the pressure will not relent.
Semifinal heroes Heide and Brunner
Now the focus is shifting to the U17 players instead, particularly those who fit the hero narrative. Goalkeeper Konstantin Heide, for example, was only playing because regular keeper Max Schmitt was ill. Heide made a number of strong saves during the game and then saved two penalties.
Paris Brunner, who scored two goals against Argentina and later scored the decisive penalty, is also in the spotlight — but not just because of his goals. The 17-year-old, who won the Fritz Walter Medal for outstanding sporting achievements this year, was suspended by his club Borussia Dortmund in October “for disciplinary reasons,” and apparently not for the first time.
However, it remains unclear exactly what happened as the club and player have been silent on the matter. In the end, Brunner was pardoned and is now seemingly back on track.
Wück: No lack of young talent
For Wück, players like Brunner and Heide are representative of the fact that Germany — contrary to what is often claimed — does not have a problem developing young players. Talented youngsters are available, but are short of first-team opportunities.
“We have to trust more in German talent again,” said Wück, who spoke from experience. He made his first Bundesliga appearance for Nuremberg in 1990, and was the third youngest Bundesliga player in history at the age of 17 years and 133 days.
Wück’s players, all born in 2006, are now the same age he was back then. He hopes his proteges will continue their development and get their chance at club level. Perhaps the impression made in this tournament will help them make it to the very top.
However, they are far from the first successful youth team in the history of German football. Despite that, only a handful of players who have won an international title with a German men’s youth team have gone on to have a great career in the senior national team, let alone win titles with the seniors. The glorious exception was 2009, when the U17s won a maiden European Championship title and then the U21s also became European champions.
Long road to the top
In addition to goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, two future world champions — Shkodran Mustafi and Mario Götze — played in the U17s. The U21s, meanwhile, included five players — Manuel Neuer, Benedikt Höwedes, Mats Hummels, Sami Khedira and Mesut Özil — who won the 2014 World Cup title in Brazil alongside Mustafi and Götze. However, there were also many players among those squads who never won a senior international cap.
Furthermore, the U21s of 2009 can’t really be compared with the current U17s. Once players reach the U21 setup, they often play in the senior squad of top division clubs. In 2009, for example, Manuel Neuer had already been No. 1 at Schalke for several years, and the other future world champions were also Bundesliga regulars when they won the Euros.
For the current crop, the path to the Bundesliga and the senior Germany team is still long and winding, even if they all play in the youth teams of German clubs in the top two divisions. The only exceptions are goalkeeper Konstantin Heide from SpVgg Unterhaching (third division) and captain Noah Darvich, who moved from SC Freiburg’s youth setup to Barcelona’s academy in August.
Unknown future
Some of them will likely develop into good Bundesliga pros. Perhaps one or two of them will even make it into the semior national team. But they may also end up like the majority of their predecessors from 1985, the last time a German U17 team reached a World Cup final.
That team lost the final 2-0 to Nigeria and of the 13 players who played, only three — Marcel Witeczek (410 Bundesliga games), Martin Schneider (379) and Detlev Dammeier (248) — made a lasting impression in Germany’s top flight, and none of them played for Germany’s senior team.
This article was originally written in German.
Edited by: Jonathan Harding
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