The DFB U19 side were able to celebrate a huge achievement on Monday evening, as they secured the Mercedes-Benz Elite Cup title with a 2-2 draw against Scotland. Earlier in the tournament, Marcus Sorg's team recorded an 8-1 win against the USA and a 1-0 victory over Scotland.
In an interview with DFB.de, the 49-year-old manager looks back on the way the tournament played out in the last few days, whilst naturally also looking ahead to the future. Next summer, a particularly special occasion lies ahead, with the home European Championship beginning in Germany on the 11th July 2016.
DFB.de: Mr Sorg – three games, two wins, one draw and the Mercedes-Benz Elite Cup title in the bag. How do you sum up this week?
Marcus Sorg: On the whole, it's been very positive. It was a very important week for us. Winning the tournament has given us a lot of momentum and self-belief, as we were playing against some tough opponents, but for me the most important thing is that I can see the team developing. We're making progress, but we also saw things that we need to work on.
DFB.de: What's pleased you?
Sorg: The boys have great character. We didn’t suffer any blows and everyone played to their full potential. In the tough game against Scotland last night, they showed heart and courage to come back from behind twice. That was particularly pleasing. It's good to see that the team don't fall apart in tough situations.
DFB.de: What still needs to improve?
Sorg: We need to be more consistent and stay calm, but we're getting there. We have ten months until the European Championship next year, so we want to use this time to get to the next stage in our development.
DFB.de: How important was it to have the Elite Cup take place in Germany?
Sorg: Very important. There's always more focus on the players when they're playing in their own country, and it'll be exactly the same next summer in the European Championship. We need to make sure the boys are prepared for that. As we've qualified automatically as hosts, we only have friendly games between now and then. We've made sure that they all take place on home turf – you can't underestimate the benefit of that.
DFB.de: Is it an advantage to have qualified automatically?
Sorg: 'Advantage' probably isn't the right word. We want to use it to positive effect. We have more chances to try some things out, and we began doing that in the last few days.
DFB.de: 8-1 against the USA, 1-0 against Mexico, 2-2 against Scotland – how do you assess these results?
Sorg: We played against some very strong opponents. I want to emphasise above all that this applies to the USA as well. The result was emphatic in the end, but we only took the lead after half an hour. It was only 2-0 at half time. Mexico demanded a lot from us, and the deciding goal came from a penalty. Scotland were the biggest challenge, with a draw being the right result. They were all hard tests.
DFB.de: Did any one particular player stand out?
Sorg: No, I wouldn't say that. The team showed themselves collectively in a good light. We have a lot ahead in the coming months. It's important for the team to have match practice, and I have a good feeling about each of them. I'm convinced that the side we'll have for the European Championship will be a few steps ahead of the team now. Hopefully a lot of the players will train regularly with the first teams at their respective clubs, travel with them to their training camps over the winter break and perhaps get some appearances in the Bundesliga. That would be ideal.
DFB.de: Is your complete focus therefore on the European Championship?
Sorg: It was always the case that we were working towards it. We want to be as best prepared as possible to get the best results we can.
DFB.de: And what is the best result?
Sorg: When the tournament is in your home country, the aim should always be to win it, but I should emphasise that a lot could yet happen. We don't even know yet who we'll be playing. The other countries still need to qualify, so it's too early to make any kind of prediction.
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The DFB U19 side were able to celebrate a huge achievement on Monday evening, as they secured the Mercedes-Benz Elite Cup title with a 2-2 draw against Scotland. Earlier in the tournament, Marcus Sorg's team recorded an 8-1 win against the USA and a 1-0 victory over Scotland.
In an interview with DFB.de, the 49-year-old manager looks back on the way the tournament played out in the last few days, whilst naturally also looking ahead to the future. Next summer, a particularly special occasion lies ahead, with the home European Championship beginning in Germany on the 11th July 2016.
DFB.de: Mr Sorg – three games, two wins, one draw and the Mercedes-Benz Elite Cup title in the bag. How do you sum up this week?
Marcus Sorg: On the whole, it's been very positive. It was a very important week for us. Winning the tournament has given us a lot of momentum and self-belief, as we were playing against some tough opponents, but for me the most important thing is that I can see the team developing. We're making progress, but we also saw things that we need to work on.
DFB.de: What's pleased you?
Sorg: The boys have great character. We didn’t suffer any blows and everyone played to their full potential. In the tough game against Scotland last night, they showed heart and courage to come back from behind twice. That was particularly pleasing. It's good to see that the team don't fall apart in tough situations.
DFB.de: What still needs to improve?
Sorg: We need to be more consistent and stay calm, but we're getting there. We have ten months until the European Championship next year, so we want to use this time to get to the next stage in our development.
DFB.de: How important was it to have the Elite Cup take place in Germany?
Sorg: Very important. There's always more focus on the players when they're playing in their own country, and it'll be exactly the same next summer in the European Championship. We need to make sure the boys are prepared for that. As we've qualified automatically as hosts, we only have friendly games between now and then. We've made sure that they all take place on home turf – you can't underestimate the benefit of that.
DFB.de: Is it an advantage to have qualified automatically?
Sorg: 'Advantage' probably isn't the right word. We want to use it to positive effect. We have more chances to try some things out, and we began doing that in the last few days.
DFB.de: 8-1 against the USA, 1-0 against Mexico, 2-2 against Scotland – how do you assess these results?
Sorg: We played against some very strong opponents. I want to emphasise above all that this applies to the USA as well. The result was emphatic in the end, but we only took the lead after half an hour. It was only 2-0 at half time. Mexico demanded a lot from us, and the deciding goal came from a penalty. Scotland were the biggest challenge, with a draw being the right result. They were all hard tests.
DFB.de: Did any one particular player stand out?
Sorg: No, I wouldn't say that. The team showed themselves collectively in a good light. We have a lot ahead in the coming months. It's important for the team to have match practice, and I have a good feeling about each of them. I'm convinced that the side we'll have for the European Championship will be a few steps ahead of the team now. Hopefully a lot of the players will train regularly with the first teams at their respective clubs, travel with them to their training camps over the winter break and perhaps get some appearances in the Bundesliga. That would be ideal.
DFB.de: Is your complete focus therefore on the European Championship?
Sorg: It was always the case that we were working towards it. We want to be as best prepared as possible to get the best results we can.
DFB.de: And what is the best result?
Sorg: When the tournament is in your home country, the aim should always be to win it, but I should emphasise that a lot could yet happen. We don't even know yet who we'll be playing. The other countries still need to qualify, so it's too early to make any kind of prediction.
