Manager Lucien Favre now knows every young talent from the U17s upwards, as well as each stage of development. There is a tight bond and close connection from the U9s right up to the professional squad. A group of so-called “top talents” train regularly with assistant manager Manfred Stefes, so they are ready to be called upon by the first team whenever they are needed. “With Tony Jantschke, Marc-André ter Stegen or Patrick Herrmann, for example, we have created quality. You can’t buy that”, said Virkus.
Three stars for the youth talent
It’s no wonder then that Borussia’s youth academy once again received three stars. Eight different categories were examined by experts from the DFL-commissioned company Double Pass, among those included things such as staff, strategy and finances, communication and cooperation, as well as effectiveness and penetrability.
Following his professional debut in May 2012, he only featured for the U23s in the Regionalliga during the following season. In the summer of 2013 there was talk of a loan, but that was quickly squashed because of how well he was performing in training.
After that things began to move very quickly. The right back finally broke into the Bundesliga in autumn and since then has been an important part of Favre’s team. In March 2014 he celebrated his debut in the U21s and is currently in the squad for the European Championship in the Czech Republic (17th-30th June). He has also extended his contract until 2018.
What has Korb learnt over the years, what can he offer to other young talents following in his footsteps? “It was very difficult to stay patient, because you always want to play and push yourself further. So it’s important that you have good people around you to advise you. The most important thing is patience, but there is also a little luck involved.” And for motivation, there’s always the names that feature around the entrance to the changing room.
Borussia Mönchengladbach’s academy has had three stars for years now. In total, 20 players have made the step up to the first team since the club moved to Borussia Park, among which is Germany U21s player Julian Korb. Here’s a profile of the Fohlenelf’s young star.
The entrance to the changing room is not just for decoration. Huge, framed photos of former youth players pave the walls on the way to most holy place at Borussia Mönchengladbach. They’re intended to motivate. And most importantly, they should show the young players what is possible at the five-times champions. “One day this could be you on the wall”, the pictures seem to shout to the players.
It worked for Julian Korb. “There were many moments in which I thought “you are going to hang there at some point””, said the U21 player, who moved to Borussia from MSV Duisburg’s youth academy in 2006. “When I came to Borussia back then, everything was all still relatively new. Borussia are one of the best clubs in Germany for developing youth”, explained Korb.
Since 2004, 20 talented young Gladbach players have made it into the Bundesliga from the academy. This was all made possible as a result of the clubs move to the new stadium eleven years ago and current sporting director Max Eberl. “The stumbling block back then was that Borussia wanted to revive their old quality. We want to eventually have a third of our squad made up of academy players. That has been made possible because of Max Eberl”, said Roland Virkus, who made Eberl youth academy director in 2008.
Short distances, exemplary infrastructure.
Back in the Bökelberg days, the youth players used to train on ash pitches without floodlights. The managers changing room was fourth square metres big. It definitely had charm, there’s no doubt about that, no real prospects for the future. But now the conditions are much more professional at the new stadium, the distances shorter and the infrastructure is exemplary.
“Borussia Park was the most far-reaching decision the club has made in the last 20 years. Because it offer outstanding infrastructure to be competitive”, said Eberl who, before Virkus, led the youth academy for four years.
Part of the infrastructure is the boarding school at Borussia Park, for up to twelve young players, that allows them to develop their sporting skills, as well as receiving their equally-important academic education. In 2013, Borussia and a total of three other schools in Mönchengladbach received “Elite Football Schools” status from the DFB because of their cooperation and close interlinking between competitive sport and schooling.
Marko Marin provides the initial spark
The initial spark, alongside the infrastructure, was the signing of former Germany international Marko Marin in 2005 and his subsequent rise into the first team. It convinced other youth talents of the opportunities for them in the first team and to sign themselves. At the same time m ore money was being invested into the high performance training centre.
Manager Lucien Favre now knows every young talent from the U17s upwards, as well as each stage of development. There is a tight bond and close connection from the U9s right up to the professional squad. A group of so-called “top talents” train regularly with assistant manager Manfred Stefes, so they are ready to be called upon by the first team whenever they are needed. “With Tony Jantschke, Marc-André ter Stegen or Patrick Herrmann, for example, we have created quality. You can’t buy that”, said Virkus.
Three stars for the youth talent
It’s no wonder then that Borussia’s youth academy once again received three stars. Eight different categories were examined by experts from the DFL-commissioned company Double Pass, among those included things such as staff, strategy and finances, communication and cooperation, as well as effectiveness and penetrability.
Following his professional debut in May 2012, he only featured for the U23s in the Regionalliga during the following season. In the summer of 2013 there was talk of a loan, but that was quickly squashed because of how well he was performing in training.
After that things began to move very quickly. The right back finally broke into the Bundesliga in autumn and since then has been an important part of Favre’s team. In March 2014 he celebrated his debut in the U21s and is currently in the squad for the European Championship in the Czech Republic (17th-30th June). He has also extended his contract until 2018.
What has Korb learnt over the years, what can he offer to other young talents following in his footsteps? “It was very difficult to stay patient, because you always want to play and push yourself further. So it’s important that you have good people around you to advise you. The most important thing is patience, but there is also a little luck involved.” And for motivation, there’s always the names that feature around the entrance to the changing room.
