"Mentality beats quality," says Damir Dugandzic, referring to the most important factor during a footballer's development from youth to the professional stage. He should know. Dugandzic is the coordinator at DFB Baden base, where the likes of Timon Wellenreuther and Maurice Hirsch learnt part of their trade. Both players are now at Bundesliga clubs Schalke 04 and Hannover 96 respectively. "Both of these players have outstanding qualities from a sporting aspect," explains Dugandzic, "but they are also great personalities with the required mental strength."
Wellenreuther put in a solid performance during Schalke's 1-0 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach on Friday. It was only his second Bundesliga game and his first clean sheet. He made his debut in the Allianz Arena in Munich on Tuesday, coming on at half time for injured Fabian Giefer during a 1-1 draw with FC Bayern – a situation which would make most 19-year-old keepers quite nervous. But Wellenreuther kept his cool: "Our keeper coach told me that Fabi was injured and that I was coming on," he explained after the game. "I just smiled and said, ‘Sure, I'd be happy to’." If it were up to him, more appearances would follow: "I'm very proud to have played and hope I will continue to do so. I want to play, that's my goal."
Damir Dugandzic couldn't hold back a smile when hearing these statements: "Timon has always been very determined, ambitious and focused," remembers the 39-year-old. "He knew from very early on where this road was leading and it's paying off now." Wellenreuther arrived at the DFB base in Karlsruhe as an 11-year-old, playing for SVK Beiertheim. The base's coach became aware of his talents from scouting or from try-outs. Once a week, he was given an individual training session alongside his normal training routine at his local club. On top of that, he was able to compete with players on a similar level to him.
"Steady development"
Wellenreuther was talented, but had a disadvantage. He was born in December, meaning he was physically inferior to the other players in his age group. Therefore he was often only second or third choice in goal in the team trained by Dugandzic. But Wellenreuther didn’t give up. He was determined to become a first-team Bundesliga player one day and made this his priority. He left SVK Beiertheim for SpVgg Durlach-Aue, before eventually linking up with Astoria Walldorf two years later – all clubs that have an excellent youth department. "He took an ideal path and carefully underwent a steady development," says Dugandzic.
He stayed at the DFB base in Karlsruhe until 2010, then joined the youth setup at professional club Karlsruher SC. His father, Ingo Wellenreuther, was named KSC president the same year. Timon has a close bond with Karlsruher SC, but in 2013, he took on a new challenge by joining Schalke 04. He was looking to emancipate himself, to prove to himself that he could do it on his own. And it worked. He established himself as a regular and key player in Schalke's U19s. He was then handed a professional contract in 2014 and reached his ultimate goal in 2015 – Timon Wellenreuther is a Bundesliga goalkeeper.
His former coach Damir Dugandzic is certain that Wellenreuther will be around in the Bundesliga for a long time. "He might still need some time to establish himself fully, but he is an extremely determined individual. Once he has set his mind to something, it's pretty clear that he will achieve it."
Maurice Hirsch: Another DFB base success story
Hannover 96's Maurice Hirsch has a slight head start on Timon Wellenreuther – he has already played six Bundesliga games this season, but he is also two years older. The central midfielder spent two years at DFB's Pfingstberg-Hochstätt base in Mannheim between 2004 and 2006. "He was our captain," remembers Dugandzic. "Maurice already had a great personality back then; he was a true figurehead and always possessed great leadership qualities."
Hirsch joined Hannover 96 last summer and has now made his breakthrough there following spells with Waldhof Mannheim and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. Dugandzic always expected Hirsch to make that kind of development and not only because the now 21-year-old was always talented."His mental strength is outstanding," said Dugandzic. Hirsch already stood out during his time at the DFB base and now he has made the jump up becoming a professional Bundesliga player.