Germany's hottest young talent
Thursday, December 31, 2015
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Germany's established stars need to be on their game in the run-up to UEFA EURO 2016; UEFA.com's Axel Ruppert picks out five starlets angling for a trip to France.
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Germany won the FIFA World Cup in 2014, but Joachim Löw's heroes of Brazil are already coming under pressure, with a raft of exciting young hopefuls impressing in the Bundesliga. Will any of them make the cut for UEFA EURO 2016?
Joshua Kimmich (midfielder, Bayern München)
Since his €8.5m transfer from Leipzig to Bayern, the 20-year-old has played just ten Bundesliga games – only three of them for the full 90 minutes – but Josep Guardiola is convinced of his class, saying: "He will be one of the best German footballers of the next decade." The immensely versatile Kimmich is certainly one of his coach's favourites. "Kimmich is almost like my son," the Spaniard once said. Kimmich replied: "I talked to my mother, but she didn't know anything about that. Hopefully my father won't worry too much."
Julian Weigl (midfielder, Borussia Dortmund)
Another 20-year-old, Weigl has played in 29 of Dortmund's 30 competitive games this season, showcasing his vision, strength and poise in possession under Thomas Tuchel. "It has all gone a lot faster than I expected," said the summer signing from 1860 München. "I came from a second-tier club and there are top players in this squad. I just wanted to drink it all in and learn." His horizons have broadened since. "Now I have new targets," he said. "I want to stay in the team and reach the UEFA Champions League."
Leroy Sané (winger, Schalke)
The 19-year-old made his senior debut in 2014, and scored a tremendous goal in Schalke's 4-3 win at Real Madrid last term, prompting his father Souleyman Sané – a decent Bundesliga striker with Wattenscheid and Nürnberg, and a team-mate of Joachim Löw's at Freiburg – to say: "He didn't get that from me." Speedy and skilful, he has impressed Schalke boss André Breitenreiter, who said: "At some point, every club in the world will want to have him." Team-mate Pierre Højbjerg added: "You look at him and think: 'Oh blimey!'"
Maximilian Arnold (midfielder, Wolfsburg)
The poster boy for Wolfsburg's youth set-up, Arnold was the club's youngest ever player , their youngest Bundesliga scorer, and the youngest Wolfsburg player ever to be sent off – a measure, perhaps, of his will to win. Now 21, he had problems getting a regular start earlier in the season, but played the full 90 minutes of every league match in November and December. He has certainly made sacrifices for success, saying: "Aged 12, I left home to go to a football school in Dresden. I have not lived at home since. That was not always easy."
Mahmoud Dahoud (midfielder, Mönchengladbach)
Dahoud was even younger when he first left home, his parents bringing him from Syria to the Rhineland before his first birthday. Schooled in street football – "I almost always had bleeding knees and elbows, but we just kept on playing" – he came through Gladbach's academy and at 19 is now providing a midfield foil for Granit Xhaka, who believes "Mo has huge potential". Dahoud, meanwhile, is living for the moment, explaining: "I always imagine every game is my last so I know that I have to cherish every minute."