Sané: The young star set to cause Bayern problems

DFB.de periodically present a Germany international ahead of a big weekend for the respective player. Today, it’s the turn of Leroy Sané, who faces Bayern München on Saturday with FC Schalke 04 (18:30 CET).

Too much pressure, too easy to compare, too higher expectations – children of famous parents often have a lot of pressure on them due to the status of their mother or father. The footsteps are too big, and any success you achieve is immediately compared to that of your parents. There was a danger of this happening with the children of Regina Weber – theoretically at least. Regina Weber was a star in Germany in the 80s, winning awards and German championships time and time again. She has 32 titles to her name, and won bronze in the Olympics in 1984 in Los Angeles. She was regarded as one of the best internationally, and there was no one more successful than Regina Weber nationally.

Sané: "I always wanted to play football"

After her career, she married and had three sons, amongst them a certain Leroy. He did not follow in the footsteps of his mother, but not because he feared not living up to her success. Reina Weber won her titles in rhythmic gymnastics, but her son never had the desire to follow his mother into this area. He wanted something else: "I always wanted to play football, I was never interested with anything else," said Germany international Leroy Sané. The sporting success of his mother certainly didn’t do him any harm. He inherited a lot from his mother Regina Weber. What exactly? "Athleticism, and agility," said the 19-year-old.

The young Leroy Sané played a lot of football, and the fact that he had famous parents changed very little. Not only his mother, but also his father was a big name: Souleyman Sané. 174 Bundesliga matches and 152 second division appearances to his name, Sané senior scored 116 goals in the league. He also recorded many goals and appearances for his national side Senegal. The prominence of his father was not a burden to Leroy, in fact quite the opposite. "Of course at some point I realised that people knew and respected him for his achievements. I was proud of my father as his son," he says. "My friends were always excited when they say him, but as a child he was just my dad." This acted as motivation for Sané. "I benefitted from his experience as a professional in my own career," he says. "We talked about my games, and he was able to prepare me for my future because of his past."

Sané: "I don’t think it’s gone too quickly"

This 'future' has brought Sané to where he is now – a Germany international. Joachim Löw called Sané up to the squad a week ago on Thursday. For Leroy Sané, the phone call was a new experience, for Löw on the other hand, more of a Déjà-vu. Löw used to hold talks with Sané quite regularly, with Souleyman, that is – Leroy's father. The two of them played together at SC Freiburg. From the 1985/86 season onwards, Löw and Sané scared defences across the country at the head of the Freiburg attack. The partnership worked fantastically, the pair of them worked together perfectly. Often it would be Löw providing the assist for Sané to score – and now, three decades down the line, Löw phones his former strike partner’s son. Sané was "very pleased about the phone call," especially about the reason – Löw had called Sané up to the Germany squad.

It was the high point of a meteoric rise for Sané. He's been a revelation this season for the Bundesliga and for Schalke 04 with four goals and three assists in the Bundesliga and one goal and one assist in the Europa League. His figures and his performances back up the claim that he is a rising star. He made his first games in the Bundesliga and the Champions League and made his international U21 debut all in the space of a few months. His development has been quick, but not too quick. Not for him, as Sané has no problem with tempo and speed. He said: "It's true that a lot has happened recently, but I don't think that it's gone too quickly. I don't think about that. I just take things as they come, and for that reason I don't have any issues with the pressure and the rising expectations."

This is what he said shortly after he received a call-up from Joachim Löw and arrived in Munich at the national team meeting point. Sané was given his debut in Germany’s friendly against France on the 13th November, but on the whole, it was a night to forget, something Sané will not enjoy recalling. Despite being substituted on the last half an hour of the game, the Paris attacks became apparent and the team spent the night in the stadium. The thoughts of the team were with those lost and their families. It was, unfortunately, not an enjoyable experience.

Austria U21 coach praises: “An unbelievable player”

After returning to Germany, Sané joined up with the U21 squad as previously agreed. He missed the second night of terror as he was in Fürth whilst the senior side saw their game in Hannover called off. Unlike his new senior teammates, Sané was able to respond to the events in Paris with his feet, and he did exactly that! In the qualifying match for the 2017 European Championship in Poland, Horst Hrubesch's side took on Austria in a top-of-the-table clash. Sané was a central figure as Germany won 4-2, and he crowned his performance by scoring his team's fourth and final goal. He was so good that even the opposition manager was full of praise for him. "He's an unbelievable player, I have to be honest and say that," said Werner Gregoritsch.

The unbelievable player is back in action on Saturday, with a particularly special affair lying ahead. His Schalke side take on FC Bayern at 18:30 CET and Sané will come face-to-face with three players he can now call his teammates: Manuel Neuer, World Cup winner and goalkeeper of the year, Jérôme Boateng, World Cup winner and for many, the best defender in the world, and Thomas Müller, World Cup winner and quite simply a world beater. In amongst the bad experiences of his international duty last week, the days he spent in Munich can be counted as much more positive. Munich came before Paris and before the terror, and Sané enjoyed his time in the Bavarian capital. After his first training session with the DFB senior side, he said: "It was obviously something very special. I got to stand on the training pitch with the national side and some absolutely huge players. I would have said only recently that I'd never achieve this dream so quickly."