Football Wonderkid Scout

The Fifa World Cup in South Africa 2010 displayed evidence of a new 'golden generation' of football talent in Germany. The 4-1 thrashing of England at Bloemfontein in the second round was a perfect testimony of the fortunes and youth philosophies between these two great footballing rivals. Ever since England lost a heartbreaking semi-final to West Germany in Italy in 1990, the two countries have enjoyed contrasting fortunes at international level. Since the Premier League was established in 1992, the English game has undergone a commercial revolution which has made it the richest league in the world. The improved finances and relaxed rules on ownerships have allowed new billionaire owners to buy clubs and play fantasy football, bringing the worlds best players to the country. At youth level, academies are littered with the cream of the worlds most talented youth players, all lured their from parent clubs for vast amounts of money, moving away from the traditional concept of developing home grown players. In recent years Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United have all been guilty of signing some of Barcelona's most promising players from the famous La Masia academy, including Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique. While the English Football Associated has enjoyed a significant increase in revenues, the national team has gone backwards and have made the quarter final stage just once since 1990, in contrast to Germany who have gone from strength to strength, despite not winning the World Cup since 1990. While the Bundisliga is one of the wealthiest leagues in Europe, it makes £500m a year less than the Premier League yet invests £20m more in its youth academy system and in 2009 its 18 clubs made an operating profit of £146m, which is £66m more than the combined operating profits of the 20 Premier League clubs. The approach to financial regulations and ownership is much stricter than its English counterparts and German clubs operate on the basis that no single person or entity can own more than 49%, as 51% must be owned by its members. Further to this, debt levels in the English game have exploded and loans from owners and directors total £3.3bn according to Deloitte, while German clubs owe just £30m, though they do not own their grounds. This is largely down to the influence and control of Deutscher Fussball Bund (DFB) where a far healthier balance exists between clubs and the national team.

In the Bundisliga, German clubs must pick 12 home-grown players in their matchday squads, compared to Premier league clubs which conform to Uefa's rule of eight players in a 25-man squad and even some of these can include foreign nationals so as they have been at the Premier League club's academy for three years. The German academy system itself educates 5,000 players between the age of 12 and 18 and as a consequence the number of German under-23-year olds playing regularly in the Bundisliga is 15%, up from 6% a decade ago. This is perhaps reflected in the youthful make up of the current German national team, the youngest team they have sent to a World Cup since 1934. The emphasis on youth development has been the cornerstone of the national team's continued success and the slow and steady rise of the Bundisliga through the ranks of the European leagues. Bayern Munich narrowly lost this years Champions League final to Inter Milan, with a predominately home grown side, including the likes of Müller, Bastuber, Lahm and Schweinstiger. Last year, Die Mannschaft completed a hat-trick of youth level European Championships, winning the U17, U19 and U21 tournaments. This success indicates that the future of the Bundesliga is bright and with Serie A in decline, the Bundisliga could regain its place amongst the top three leagues in Europe. The recent domination of youth competitions by Germany may not have been possible without the complete revamp of the youth structure after poor showings at the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championships. The combination of trainings centres run by the Bundesliga clubs and the regional training centres organised by the DFB have helped develop a sizeable amount of youth talent within Germany. Bundesliga clubs are inwardly investing a total of 44 million euros in youth academies and German clubs are now obliged by the DFB to manage and maintain youth academies in order to be eligible for the licences they need to operate in the league. The DFB regularly does spot checks on Bundesliga clubs to ensure they meet its strict criteria which includes fielding a sufficient number of youth teams in a variety of age groups, maintaining adequate training facilities and a good quality of sporting, medical and educational care for the youngsters. The Bundesliga clubs are aware of the importance of youth development and Bayer Leverkusen fielding an average age of just 23 in the 2009/2010 league campaign. As part of the German youth philosophy, youth development is not only about skills, training and fitness but also leadership qualities, handling pressure situations and learning a winning mentality.

Germany's Under-21 side which won the European Championships last summer, thrashed England 4-0 in the final and four of those players were part of the team that went on to comprehensively defeat England 4-1 at the World Cup in South Africa. While Joachim Loew has not always been universally liked in his country, by changing his country's formation from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1, he has afforded his centre-backs much greater protection while giving Mesut Özil the freedom from defensive responsibility to wreak havoc amongst the opposition. Low's youth side are still a work in progress and should come into their own by the 2012 European Championships. The younger players displayed great tactical versatility allied with a superior work ethic and team spirit. Between the posts for Germany, Rene Adler was looking to cement his place as number one but a rib injury ruled him out of the World Cup and Manuel Neuer came in and will now contest the Bayer Leverkusen shot stopper. In defence Germany's Under-21 winning side produced a number of outstanding talents. In the centre of their title winning team of 2009, they had Schalke's Beneditkt Howedes and Hamburg's Jerome Boateng who displayed pace, strength, composure and maturity. Boateng who is now a regular fixture in the senior national team, recently completed a big money move to Manchester City and is arguably one of Germany's best defensive prospects. Former team-mate of Boateng, Dennis Aogo is a highly promising left-back with pace and strength. Aogo who is of Nigerian descent ha risen through the youth ranks at international level and this year helped his club side to the semi-final stages in the Europa League Holger Badstuber, who is a product of the Bayern Munich youth academy can play at centre-back or left back and was a key member of the double winning side which went on to reach this years Champions League final. With calmness on the ball and good aerial prowess, Badstuber has become one of Bayern's most reliable performances in the past season. In the middle there is also Serdar Tasci who is considered of Germany's greatest hopes. With excellent positional sense and solid tacking, Tasci is good on the ball and has Champions League experience. Tasci will be looking to prove his international pedigree on the world stage and focus his attention on cementing his place in the national team at the heart of the defence. At right-back is Hoffenheim's Andreas Beck who has a wealth of experience at Under-21 level and was a surprise omission from the 2010 World Cup squad, and at left-back for Germany's Under-21s was Werder Bremen's Sebastian Boenisch.

In midfield, Germany are blessed with up and coming talent. Recent graduates of the successful Under-21 side to make the transition to the full senior side include Sami Khedira, Thomas Müller and Mesut Özil. After the loss of experienced talisman Michael Ballack prior to the World Cup, Germany's hopes rested on the youthful Khedira who has impressed consistently at club level for VfB Stuttgart. Captain of the Under-21 side, Germany needed someone to replace Ballack who could defend, contribute to the teams attack and work tirelessly in the middle and Khedira proved the ideal candidate for the job. The 23 year-old has shined in Ballack's absence and has good physical presence, acting as the link between defence and attack. With the ability to deliver precise passing and break up play, Khedira has all the attributes needed to make it to the top and has been a key figure in the heart of Germany's midfield at the World Cup. Müller is a rising star in the game and has already been compared to the legendary Gerd Müller due to his style and stature. Blessed with vision, pace and an eye for goal, Müller occupy several positions in midfield or as a secondary striker. A native of Upper Bavaria, Müller joined Bayern at the age of just ten. The German FA (DFB) quickly spotted his goal-scoring ability and highly effective playing style, handing him frequent appearances at junior international level. This season Müller starred for Bayern in the hole behind the central striker, scoring 13 goals in his first full season to reward Louis van Gaal's faith in the youngster. At the World Cup, Müller's rising stock continued after a series of impressive performances, including scoring twice in the 4-1 thrashing of England in the second round. The most promising player in Germany's new 'golden generation' is Mesut Özil who is a technically gifted playmaker who does not come along very often.The attacking midfielder brings invention and guile to the team and quickly made the step up to the senior national team with a string of outstanding performances. Born in Gelsenkirchen withTurkish roots, Özil has been starring for Germany at various youth levels on the international stage, but did not make his name until he moved to Werder Bremen in 2008 to replace the departing Brazilian Diego. Making an instant impact in his first season at the northern club he led them to 2009 German Cup glory with a win over Bayer Leverkusen in Berlin’s Olympiastadion, scoring the winning goal. At the U21 European Championships, Özil was arguably the best player of the tournament and was named man of the match in the 4-0 final triumph over England, scoring one goal and providing two assists. He is now an instrumental part of Joachim Low's talented young German side.

Toni Kroos who has been billed as the jewel in the crown of youth football in Germany, is still just 20 years-old and already boasts an enviable career record. He first burst on to the world scene at the Fifa Under-17 World Cup in Korea when he helped Germany to third place, winning the Golden Ball award for best player of the tournament and winning the bronze shoe after scoring five goals. Making his debut for Bayern Munich on 26 September 2007, Kroos made an instant impact in their 5-0 win over Energie Cottbus, providing two assists for the goals scored by Miroslav Klose. With Bayern keen to carefully nurture Kroos in hope of having the next German superstar, the arrival of Jurgen Klinsmann led to the gifted midfielder's development being stalled and he was sent out on loan to Bayer Leverkusen. However, Kroos started to fulfil his potential last season and helped Leverkusen to arrive at the midpoint in the season unbeaten at the top of the league. Scoring 9 goals in 33 games, he was one of the best players in the Bundisliga last season and was recognised by Joachim Loew who called him up in January to train with the first team at Sindelfingen. In March 2010, Kroos won his first cap after coming on a substitute against Argentina in a friendly. Kroos will return to Bayern from his loan period this summer and while he did not feature at the World Cup in South Africa, he will be a key part of the national team in the forthcoming years. Described as an uncut diamond, Marko Marin is a highly talented attacking midfielder who mostly operates on the wing. He first came to the attention of German football fans when he was called up by national coach Joachim Low into the preliminary squad for the Uefa European Championships 2008, who was then playing in the second division. Although he did not make the final squad, Marin is seen as a key player for the future and was part of the South Africa World Cup squad.

In attack, Germany have a number of rising stars. 22 year-old Sandro Wagner was one who led by example at the Under-21 European Championships and his good form and rising reputation saw Werder Bremen complete the transfer of the promising attacker in January's transfer window. During the tournament he led the front line and scored twice in the final in their 4-0 victory over England. A product of the Bayern Munich youth academy, he left the German giants in search of first team opportunities and joined second division side MSV Duisburg. There is also Ashkan Dejagah who currently plays for VFL Wolfsburg can operate as a striker and winger, and has a wealth of international experience, having won his first cap for the Under-17s in 2004. For the Under-19 side he scored 7 goals in 15 games and he was also part of the title winning Under-21 side. Of the German side which won the UEFA U-19 European Championship 2008, key players include striker Richard Sukuta-Pasu who is currently contracted to Bayer Leverkusen and the Bender twins. Lars and Sven Bender are considered as two of the most promising young central midfielders in Germany. The twins have represented Germany at every level since their Under-17 debut and were vital to their country winning the European Under-19 Championship in the Czech Republic in 2008. Lars is regarded to be the more talented of the brothers and is seen as a box-to-box midfielder, while Sven operates in more of a holding role. Both products of 1860 Munich's youth academy, they have both left after exploding on the scene at international youth level, with Lars joining Bayer Leverkusen in 2009 and Sven joining Borussia Dortmund. The World Cup in South Africa has given German football fans hope and insight into a potentially successful future. The midfield trio of Sami Khedira, Thomas Müller and Mesut Özil look every inch the superstars of tomorow and providing they are nurtured in the right way, will make Germany a competitive force once again on the world stage. With the likes of Metzelder, Friedrich, Ballack and Klose all entering the final acts of their national team career, it is a safe bet to say that the talents of Howedes, Beck, Khedira, Ozil, Marin and Kroos will be there to fill their places. The future is bright for the German national team, helped by significant investment in youth development and the influence of the German Football Assocation (DFB). As other leagues in Europe face problems with finances and nurturing new talent, the Bundisliga will look to regain its place as one of the three best leagues in the world.