Pre-Match Report
U19s travel to Düsseldorf for headline match
Mike Tullberg has confirmed that there will be a number of changes to the team for the game in Düsseldorf. The UEFA Youth League will take priority in the weeks leading up to the winter break. "We have an 11-point lead over fourth place after six rounds in the DFB Youth League, in which the top three teams progress, so we should definitely qualify for the A League. This new league format, in which we play two or three games on equal terms, makes little sense for the development of our players. The UEFA Youth League is a completely different challenge."
Tyler Meiser, Nick Cherny, Mussa Kaba, Samuele Inacio and co. will have to take the next steps in their development in Europe's elite club competition at junior level. They learned quickly after a poor first half against FC Brugge. "I stayed calm at half-time because I didn't want to overburden the team, which, after William Rashidi's early exit, only had two U19 players left on the pitch in Kjell Wätjen and Cole Campbell," Tullberg revealed, adding: "It was good to see that we were able to give them energy, belief and courage. The job requires a lot of patience, but it's a lot of fun working with the boys."
Ultimately, the Black & Yellows were redeemed when Kjell Wätjen, who received special praise from Tullberg, scored the equaliser: "It's great how he supports our U18 and U17 players off the pitch too. But Kjell can't take all the responsibility on his own. He's only 18 years old too." The young pro was grateful to get some match practice after his return from injury: "Personally, it's very important for me to compete against the best teams in the UEFA Youth League. This is the highest level in youth football and considerably more intense than the domestic league," he said
Tullberg: "We remain a young team"
His teammates quickly learned this lesson in Bruges. "Now they know what it feels like to play in the Youth League. But this encouraging result should give them a boost," smiled Tullberg, who is focused on the next few games: "The team we field will continue to be a young one. Maybe Filippo Mane and Almugera Kabar will join the squad to play against Celtic. We have to somehow manage to finish in the top 22 teams so that we have another European game in January or February. That's the goal."
Achieving that will be hard enough. The next three opponents celebrated wins on the first matchday: Celtic won 4-0 against Bratislava, Real Madrid 1-0 against VfB Stuttgart and Sturm Graz 4-1 in Brest. But first, it's off to Düsseldorf and then a week later (Friday, 27 September, 18:30 CEST) to RW Essen for the first game of the second round of fixtures in the DFB Youth League. The next game in Europe is on Tuesday 1 October, when the Black & Yellows will host Celtic at the Youth Performance Centre (kick-off 16:00 CEST).
(wiwi)