Sami Khedira stretches the World Cup trophy towards the night sky in Rio de Janeiro. That’s what happened on July 13, 2014. The world champion and former DFB star is coming to Borussia Mönchengladbach’s youth tournament in Borussia Park.
Copyright: imago/Moritz Müller
World champion visit for the youth! From September 23rd to 25th, 2022, the second edition of the “Porsche Football Cup” will take place in Borussia Park.
In the U15 tournament, Borussia Mönchengladbach will play against four other partner clubs of the car manufacturer. Brand ambassador and world champion of 2014, Sami Khedira (35), will also be there and will present the winner’s trophy on Sunday (September 25), among other things.
Gladbach: world champion Khedira visits youth tournament in Borussia Park
At the “Porsche Football Cup” next weekend (September 23 to 25, 2022), Borussia Mönchengladbach’s U15s will meet RB Leipzig, Erzgebirge Aue, the Stuttgarter Kickers and the RB Salzburg Academy.
Gladbach is hosting the tournament for the first time, in which the teams compete in the games, each of which lasts 20 minutes twice. First of all, a group phase will be played “everyone against everyone”, before the game for third place and the final will be played on Sunday afternoon.
Mirko Sandmöller (39), youth director at Borussia Mönchengladbach, expects a top-class tournament at Borussia Park.
When asked by our editors on Thursday (September 22), he described the U15s as an “exciting age group” in which, due to the different stages of development of the youngsters, there were many duels but also nice plays.
Mirko Sandmöller, head of the youth department at Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach. In this photo he can be seen on April 23, 2022 in Rheydter Grenzlandstadion.
Copyright: IMAGO/Fotostand
“We’re happy every time it’s possible to give our boys and talents playing time,” said Sandmöller. “The players are happy about the challenge and the sporting comparison with other talents.”
As a highlight for players and spectators, a world champion will come to Borussia Park. As a Porsche brand ambassador, Sami Khedira will, among other things, conduct the award ceremony and be available for a question and answer session.
World champion Sami Khedira, seen here on September 22, 2022 on the sidelines of a friendly between VfB Stuttgart and Grasshopper Club Zürich.
Copyright: IMAGO/Sportfoto Rudel
As part of the “Beat the Legend” challenge, the young players and spectators can measure themselves against the former professional from Real Madrid and Juventus Turin.
In addition to the sporting competition, the tournament also has a good cause, as Marc Lieb, Team Leader Sports Communication at Porsche, explained: “With ‘Tore für Charity’ we support two non-profit organizations. We donate 500 euros for every goal scored.” At the first edition of the tournament in 2021 in Stuttgart, almost 19,000 euros were collected.
Sandmöller did not want to reveal which foals the viewers should keep a special eye on at the weekend in order to possibly see them again in a few years on television.
“I don’t like putting a single talent on stage, the way is simply too far for that,” said the 39-year-old, who succeeded Roland Virkus (55) in March 2022. “But we have exciting talents in the team. It’s true that you can see players in the U15 age group who maintain their quality and continue to assert themselves.”
After a 2-0 final defeat against RB Leipzig last year, the Foals are aiming for victory in the tournament this year. “Of course, the focus for us is how the team plays and how they perform,” emphasized Mirko Sandmöller. “It would be icing on the cake if she can finally prevail.”
The duel with Leipzig in particular is explosive due to the recent events surrounding the Bundesliga duel (3-0), Max Eberl’s change and the fan reaction to it.
In the youth field, however, this is not an issue for Sandmöller: “We do not experience such explosiveness in this form.”
But: “Of course we have games where the boys are a bit more emotional,” such as the league duels in the West with Borussia Dortmund or 1. FC Köln. “Even there, there are hardly any differences.”
