The Chinese U16 national football team experiences German football education in the "Bundesliga Dream" initiative, fostering intercultural ties and gaining valuable insights into the daily procedures of a top-tier club.
by Oliver Trust and Liu Yang
BERLIN, March 3 (Xinhua) -- The calls on the football training pitches come in English and Chinese, and occasionally the VfB Stuttgart youth coaches, Nico Willig and Matthieu Delpierre, forget about the language barrier and accidentally use German commands.
Despite this, training sessions run smoothly, combining languages and gestures seamlessly.
These sessions are conducted within view of the imposing 60,000-seat MHP Arena, home to VfB Stuttgart's top-tier professional matches.
Willig, a former first-division coach who is in charge of the club's under-19 squad now, and Delpierre, a former professional and current youth coach, are hosting a unique initiative named "Bundesliga Dream."
The Chinese U16 national team is on a Germany tour, paying visits to Bundesliga sides of Moenchengladbach, Stuttgart, and Leverkusen to gain inside knowledge of German football education, a collaboration forged in November 2023 between the German Football League (DFL) and the Chinese Football Association (CFA).
"We are running the training days as we do in our youth academy to provide inside knowledge about the usual daily procedures of a first-division side," said Rouven Kasper, a Stuttgart board member for marketing and sales.
"Sportive nutrition, training methodology, and scouting procedures are part of the work aside from strengthening the intercultural ties as we see great potential in Chinese football," Kasper added.
The Chinese delegation, comprising 20 youth players and five coaches, is going through position-specific training, group action, education workshops, and test matches against local youth squads.
The first encounter this week ended with a 2-0 win for Stuttgart's U17 squad.
The Chinese youth side is meeting Bundesliga legends, such as former German international and Stuttgart striker Cacau, aside from watching first-flight encounters, such as Stuttgart vs Cologne and Cologne vs Leverkusen.
The Stuttgart officials spoke about "a vital added value experience to be in the middle of professional procedures providing alternative ways of development."
Stuttgart's chairman Alexander Wehrle and the club's Asia expert Rouven Kasper paid a visit to the Chinese training sessions and games.
Kasper can count on substantial connections to China after having supervised Bayern Munich's Asia activities for several years while living in Shanghai with his family.
Both spoke about their intention to repeat and increase the knowledge exchange and "invite more Chinese teams to Stuttgart." ■
