An international quarter-final, a West German title and four U17 European champions – Lars Ricken, the director of the Borussia Dortmund youth performance centre, reviews the youth teams’ season and gives an insight into the Black & Yellow training philosophy.

Lars Ricken on the BVB U19s’ season:
“It was another exciting season. The team played fantastically, reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Youth League and also became West German champions. Identity and identification with the team as well as Borussia Dortmund are what sets this squad apart. Unfortunately, it is two defeats that especially stick in the memory. The Youth League quarter-final against Hajduk Split and the German Championship final against Mainz 05. When the boys are lying on the pitch and crying in those moments, then it becomes clear to you what they have achieved in recent years and the hardships they have put up with. By showing this attitude, they have represented BVB extremely well in recent years.”

…a year without the German Championship:
“The fact that we cannot call ourselves German champions at U17 or U19 level for the first time since 2014 is not a bad thing at all. Ultimately, we want to help the boys become the best players they can be. It’s also part of our training philosophy to play successful football and win titles.”

…BVB’s four U17 European champions:
“It is great that our U17s became European champions with four BVB players (Almuger Kabar, Paris Brunner, Charles Herrmann and Kjell Wätjen). Paris Brunner was crowned as the top goalscorer and the best player at the tournament. It is often said that we are not competitive in German youth football and that no new talents are coming through. We’re very proud of the boys and I think that this will give them a big motivational boost.”

…training the youngest BVB talents:
“At the foundational level of U9s-U11s, we want to see lots of playing time, lots of touches of the ball and lots of goals on many pitches. We want to move away from results and tables. That way, there is no danger of working on the opponent during the week. Other training content is important and this allows the boys to keep developing. We want them to have fun and enjoy playing and they should be brave enough to make mistakes. That’s important in their age category.”

…the approach in the future:
“We would never say that everything is super and that we will keep going in exactly the same way. It doesn’t matter whether we become German champions or promote players to the first team – we also have doubts and look at what other clubs are doing. Some of our coaches also spend time abroad. We want to always keep developing in all areas and these doubts also drive that process forward.”