Two days to go. Then the big adventure begins. From the 5th to the 21st May, the Germany U17s will be competing at the European Championship in Azerbaijan. On Thursday, the opening game of Group B sees the DFB side take on Ukraine. The following two group-stage fixtures take place on the 8th May against Bosnia-Herzegovina and on the 11th May against Austria. U17s’ manager Meikel Schönweitz has called up 18 players for the finals.
At training, the coach is perfecting the small details with his players. On the training pitch, he sets out guidelines, demands the right pass accuracy and wants to see clinical finishing. The atmosphere is good, the concentration high. In an interview with DFB.de, Meikel Schönweitz talks to Ronny Zimmermann about the preparation ahead of the first game, their aim in the tournament and the reading material on the flight from Frankfurt to Baku.
DFB.de: Mr. Schönweitz, on the flight to Azerbaijan you read the Zlatan Ibrahimovic biography. What can your U17 players learn from the Swedish striker?
Meikel Schönweitz: That a lot of work goes into every goal. Obviously Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not known for being a star pupil, but he is a footballer with exceptional abilities, whose development interested me. Even a Zlatan Ibrahimovic had to discover that aside from the natural technical ability one acquires playing out on the street, a lot of training and determination is necessary in order to play successfully at the highest level.
DFB.de: Since Sunday, 1st May, your Germany side has been residing in the Azerbaijan capital, Baku. What are your first impressions?
Schönweitz: We gained several impressions while on the way from the airport to the hotel. The town comes across very classy, modern and shaped by numerous colourfully-lit landmarks. Baku is an interesting place. Furthermore, you can sense how big the excitement ahead of the U17 European Championship is. As far as the sporting situation here goes, I have only good impressions as well: our training pitches are in very good condition.
DFB.de: The focus is shifting further and further onto the opening game on Thursday against Ukraine. What are you expecting from your team?
Schönweitz: We want to play bravely. We will come up against a defensively-orientated opposition who are strong on the counterattack and in very good form - they are 18 games unbeaten. For us it’s important that we bring our strengths out onto the pitch. We want to be confident and take the game into our own hands, staying focused in the face of all the excitement and the large number of spectators in the ground.
DFB.de: How are you structuring the preparations leading up to this first game at the U17 championship?
Schönweitz: First of all we have become acclimatised to the conditions here. We have intentionally given the players some space to soak up the atmosphere and realise the magnitude of being able to play at such a huge tournament. Over the two days prior to the first game, we will turn all our attention to the footballing side of things. The lads know what it’s about and what our aims are. They work very well together, have known each other for a while and have all the qualities to have a successful tournament.
DFB.de: What aims have you set out for the tournament?
Schönweitz: We want to push ourselves to our limits in every game. If we put in our best performance, we can beat many teams. The boys have this one chance to test themselves against the best teams in Europe. We are so pumped for this challenge.
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Two days to go. Then the big adventure begins. From the 5th to the 21st May, the Germany U17s will be competing at the European Championship in Azerbaijan. On Thursday, the opening game of Group B sees the DFB side take on Ukraine. The following two group-stage fixtures take place on the 8th May against Bosnia-Herzegovina and on the 11th May against Austria. U17s’ manager Meikel Schönweitz has called up 18 players for the finals.
At training, the coach is perfecting the small details with his players. On the training pitch, he sets out guidelines, demands the right pass accuracy and wants to see clinical finishing. The atmosphere is good, the concentration high. In an interview with DFB.de, Meikel Schönweitz talks to Ronny Zimmermann about the preparation ahead of the first game, their aim in the tournament and the reading material on the flight from Frankfurt to Baku.
DFB.de: Mr. Schönweitz, on the flight to Azerbaijan you read the Zlatan Ibrahimovic biography. What can your U17 players learn from the Swedish striker?
Meikel Schönweitz: That a lot of work goes into every goal. Obviously Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not known for being a star pupil, but he is a footballer with exceptional abilities, whose development interested me. Even a Zlatan Ibrahimovic had to discover that aside from the natural technical ability one acquires playing out on the street, a lot of training and determination is necessary in order to play successfully at the highest level.
DFB.de: Since Sunday, 1st May, your Germany side has been residing in the Azerbaijan capital, Baku. What are your first impressions?
Schönweitz: We gained several impressions while on the way from the airport to the hotel. The town comes across very classy, modern and shaped by numerous colourfully-lit landmarks. Baku is an interesting place. Furthermore, you can sense how big the excitement ahead of the U17 European Championship is. As far as the sporting situation here goes, I have only good impressions as well: our training pitches are in very good condition.
DFB.de: The focus is shifting further and further onto the opening game on Thursday against Ukraine. What are you expecting from your team?
Schönweitz: We want to play bravely. We will come up against a defensively-orientated opposition who are strong on the counterattack and in very good form - they are 18 games unbeaten. For us it’s important that we bring our strengths out onto the pitch. We want to be confident and take the game into our own hands, staying focused in the face of all the excitement and the large number of spectators in the ground.
DFB.de: How are you structuring the preparations leading up to this first game at the U17 championship?
Schönweitz: First of all we have become acclimatised to the conditions here. We have intentionally given the players some space to soak up the atmosphere and realise the magnitude of being able to play at such a huge tournament. Over the two days prior to the first game, we will turn all our attention to the footballing side of things. The lads know what it’s about and what our aims are. They work very well together, have known each other for a while and have all the qualities to have a successful tournament.
DFB.de: What aims have you set out for the tournament?
Schönweitz: We want to push ourselves to our limits in every game. If we put in our best performance, we can beat many teams. The boys have this one chance to test themselves against the best teams in Europe. We are so pumped for this challenge.
