Silver Fritz Walter Medal

The German Football Association (DFB) announced the winners of the Fritz Walter Medal for the country’s best young players on Friday. One Wolfsburg player was among those honoured in the 2005 age group, with Dzenan Pejcinovic – currently on loan at Fortuna Düsseldorf – being recognised for his performances last season.

Pejcinovic made four cameo appearances for the first team in the 2023/24 campaign, was the top scorer across the U19 Bundesliga with 28 goals in just 18 games, and also demonstrated his qualities in the Germany U19 shirt with nine goals. However, it wasn’t just on the pitch that the Munich-born striker shone but also off it, which is why he was awarded the Fritz Walter Medal in silver. Alongside him on the podium from the class of 2005 were Tom Bischof (gold, TSG Hoffenheim) and Elias Baum (bronze, SV Elversberg on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt).

Göz Atın

Final say: Bochum

Travelling dozen

Positive stats

“Receiving the Fritz Walter Medal is both a great honour and an incentive to me,” said Pejcinovic. “The past year was marked by highs and lows – on the positive side is my goalscoring rate in the U19 Bundesliga as well as in the national team, on the negative side is my injury on the penultimate Bundesliga matchday of the 2023/24 season. I’d like to thank VfL and the DFB for their trust and support, and hope to be able to repay that with many goals soon.” As a winner of the Fritz Walter Medal, the 19-year-old follows in the footsteps of former Wolfsburg players such as Luca Itter (gold, 2017) and Julian Brandt (silver, 2014).

“The Fritz Walter Medal is the highest accolade for young talents in Germany,” said VfL sporting director Sebastian Schindzielorz. “The fact that Dzenan has taken the silver medal in his age bracket underlines once more his undisputed qualities as a player and person. He joins the ranks of illustrious names who are now firmly established in professional football. We are therefore very happy for him and hope to see him back on the pitch soon.”