U17 European Championship, Azerbaijan: DFB-Team sporting director Hansi Flick has followed Germany’s U17s from the start and seen them develop. He expects a closely contested semi-final against Spain on Wednesday (18:00 CEST). How have the team developed throughout the course of the tournament? What distinguishes the current crop of U17s? And what’s it like seeing some former youth team players making the jump up into the Germany squad for EURO 2016 in France? DFB.de and Ronny Zimmermann sat down with Hansi Flick to get the answers.
DFB.de: Mr Flick, Germany’s U17s topped the table in the group stage and are now in the semi-final of the European Championship in Azerbaijan after a 1-0 victory over Belgium. What do you think of their performances and progress so far?
Hansi Flick: We can be very pleased with how the tournament has panned out so far. The team are very focused and are playing to their strengths. They’re doing exactly what the manager has asked of them are extremely keen to learn. Additionally, the team have developed even further during the tournament. It’s a great achievement to make it to the semi-final of a European Championship and to be among the four best teams in Europe in this age group. However, the journey is not yet over. Everyone knows that.
DFB.de: As DFB-Team sporting director, you follow all games and performances and know the players best. How would you describe the current U17s?
Flick: It’s a very balanced team. There are several options in each position. They also have a fantastic team spirit, which has been visible on several occasions. For example: when we scored against Belgium (1-0) in the quarterfinal, all players ran over to the bench to celebrate together. The boys get on brilliantly and work together very well. That’s also the case for the team behind the team. All the different areas come together. It’s really important to have this team spirit in order to succeed.
DFB.de: It’s striking that four big footballing nations – Spain, Portugal, Holland and Germany – are in the semi-final. What have you made of the overall level of play at the tournament?
Flick: The games have all been contested at a high level and there’s been an abundance of quality at the tournament. In France, England and Belgium, several very good teams have already been knocked out. It’s therefore already an achievement for our U17s to make it to the semi-final but we obviously want to win our next game and make it to the final.
DFB.de: Germany face Spain, one of the top teams, in the semi-final. How do you rate your opponents?
U17 European Championship, Azerbaijan: DFB-Team sporting director Hansi Flick has followed Germany’s U17s from the start and seen them develop. He expects a closely contested semi-final against Spain on Wednesday (18:00 CEST). How have the team developed throughout the course of the tournament? What distinguishes the current crop of U17s? And what’s it like seeing some former youth team players making the jump up into the Germany squad for EURO 2016 in France? DFB.de and Ronny Zimmermann sat down with Hansi Flick to get the answers.
DFB.de: Mr Flick, Germany’s U17s topped the table in the group stage and are now in the semi-final of the European Championship in Azerbaijan after a 1-0 victory over Belgium. What do you think of their performances and progress so far?
Hansi Flick: We can be very pleased with how the tournament has panned out so far. The team are very focused and are playing to their strengths. They’re doing exactly what the manager has asked of them are extremely keen to learn. Additionally, the team have developed even further during the tournament. It’s a great achievement to make it to the semi-final of a European Championship and to be among the four best teams in Europe in this age group. However, the journey is not yet over. Everyone knows that.
DFB.de: As DFB-Team sporting director, you follow all games and performances and know the players best. How would you describe the current U17s?
Flick: It’s a very balanced team. There are several options in each position. They also have a fantastic team spirit, which has been visible on several occasions. For example: when we scored against Belgium (1-0) in the quarterfinal, all players ran over to the bench to celebrate together. The boys get on brilliantly and work together very well. That’s also the case for the team behind the team. All the different areas come together. It’s really important to have this team spirit in order to succeed.
DFB.de: It’s striking that four big footballing nations – Spain, Portugal, Holland and Germany – are in the semi-final. What have you made of the overall level of play at the tournament?
Flick: The games have all been contested at a high level and there’s been an abundance of quality at the tournament. In France, England and Belgium, several very good teams have already been knocked out. It’s therefore already an achievement for our U17s to make it to the semi-final but we obviously want to win our next game and make it to the final.
DFB.de: Germany face Spain, one of the top teams, in the semi-final. How do you rate your opponents?
Flick: Spain are very technically adept. They’re solid in defence and adjusted well to their opponents England in the quarterfinal. Therefore the semi-final will be a real challenge but we have a team that has developed lots and played brilliantly so far. I’m expecting an even game. It will be decided on the smallest of details.
DFB.de: You use the U17 European Championship to watch several games and also observe Germany’s training sessions. How important is it for you to be able to see all this?
Flick: The exchange with our team, other countries and UEFA – this is all very important in order to recognise trends and tendencies. I attach great importance to having these insights and personal conversations. We already have a very good set-up and training in Germany but we cannot rest on our laurels. We want to develop to succeed – that’s our approach. This means that it’s always interesting to see how other countries work and how we implement our own strategies and guidelines.
DFB.de: Germany women’s U17s appear to have grasped this philosophy at the tournament in Belarus. Anouschka Bernhard’s side won the European Championship on Tuesday evening. What does this success mean for Germany?
Flick: The U17 women’s victory in the European Championship is a fantastic performance and a brilliant success for the entire DFB. Women‘s football in Germany is very highly regarded. We are one of the leading countries in this field. I was very pleased that the men’s U17 team here in Azerbaijan could watch the game live. It bordered on a small public viewing and the boys were very pleased for the girls.
DFB.de: Another important topic is today’s announcement of the preliminary squad for EURO 2016 in France. As DFB-Team sporting director, how pleased were you to see Julian Brandt, Joshua Kimmich, Leroy Sané and Julian Weigl, who up until recently were still in the youth teams, receiving call-ups?
Flick: We want to continually train and produce good players so that Joachim Löw is spoiled for choice. It speaks volumes for our youth set-up and work that several players, who were involved with the youth teams not too long ago, have now received call-ups and are becoming key players. We hope to keep contributing to the success of the national team.
