China's U16 national soccer team experiences German soccer education with the 'Bundesliga Dream' initiative, fostering cross-cultural connections and gaining valuable insight into the day-to-day operations of top-flight clubs.
Written by Oliver Trust and Liu Yang
BERLIN, March 3 (Xinhua) — Calls at soccer training grounds are made in English and Chinese, and VfB Stuttgart youth coaches Nico Willig and Mathieu Delpierre sometimes face the language barrier. Sometimes you forget and accidentally use German commands.
Nevertheless, the training session flows smoothly with a seamless combination of language and gestures.
These sessions will take place in full view of VfB Stuttgart's imposing 60,000-seat MHP Arena, where top-level professional matches are played.
Willig, a former first-division coach who currently leads the club's Under-19 team, and Delpierre, a former professional and current youth coach, are hosting a unique initiative called Bundesliga Dream.
China's U16 national team is currently on tour to Germany, visiting Bundesliga teams in Mönchengladbach, Stuttgart and Leverkusen to gain inside knowledge of German football education. This cooperation was signed in November 2023 between the German Football League (DFL) and the Chinese Football Association. Association (CFA).
Stuttgart's director of marketing and sales, Reuven Kasper, said: “We run training days similar to youth academies in order to provide an inside look at the normal daily procedures of a first-division team.'' I'm doing it,” he said.
“We see that Chinese football has great potential, so sports nutrition, training methodologies and scouting procedures are part of our efforts, apart from strengthening cross-cultural connections,” Kasper said. added.
The Chinese delegation is made up of 20 youth players and five coaches and will be conducting position-based training, group action, educational workshops and test matches against local youth teams.
The first match of the week ended with a 2-0 victory for the Stuttgart U17 team.
As well as watching opening matches such as Stuttgart vs. Cologne and Cologne vs. Leverkusen, China's youth teams also play against Bundesliga legends such as former Germany international and Stuttgart striker Cacau.
Officials from Stuttgart spoke of “being in the middle of a specialized procedure that offers an alternative development method, an extremely important value-added experience.”
Stuttgart president Alexander Wehr and the club's Asia expert Reuven Kasper visited China for training sessions and matches.
Kasper has been overseeing Bayern Munich's activities in Asia for several years while living in Shanghai with his family, so he expects to have strong ties with China.
Both sides expressed their intention to repeatedly increase knowledge exchange and “invite more Chinese teams to Stuttgart.” ■
