Examining look from national coach Nagelsmann: “In Belgium,” says Christoph Henkel, “football is not so exaggerated.” Image: picture alliance/dpa/Kessler-Sportfotografie
Christoph Henkel is an expert on youth football. He knows what works better in Belgium than in Germany. In the interview he reveals how to find and promote stars like Kevin De Bruyne.
Mr. Henkel, when Hannes Wolf, the new director of youth, training and development at the German Football Association (DFB), took up his job a few weeks ago, he told an anecdote. A youth coach from North Rhine-Westphalia told him: “Whenever we play against Belgians, they are better than us.” Are you familiar with this phenomenon?
Youth football is a topic close to my heart. I worked in various positions in the youth department at 1. FC Köln for 24 years and helped shape the certification of the youth performance centers (NLZ) in the early 2000s. Then I came to Belgium ten years ago. To KAS Eupen, where everything is of course a few sizes smaller. When I watched a few youth games, I realized: Wow, they’re really good! Of course I asked myself why it is possible to produce such players with fewer resources. Players who have an incredible amount of fun playing, who are technically good and have a high level of motivation.
