Playerwatch 2004: Germany

By Ben Gladwell

VfB Stuttgart coach Felix Magath's policy of having faith in youth is paying dividends with his young side currently setting the pace in the Bundesliga - and the future looks very bright for the German football scene as a whole.

Storming season
Among the ranks at the Swabian club are the 21-year-old duo Kevin Kuranyi and Andreas Hinkel. Both have successfully made the step up from the Under-21 side to the full Germany squad on the back of their achievements in Stuttgart. Born in Brazil to a Panamanian mother and the holder of three passports, Kuranyi stormed on to the scene in the 2002/03 season, his 15 goals helping Stuttgart to a surprise second-place finish in the Bundesliga.

Successful product
Like Kuranyi, Hinkel has eased into Rudi Völler's plans, making the right-back berth his own during five appearances at international level. Hinkel is probably the most successful product of Stuttgart's youth academy having joined the club as a ten-year-old and worked his way up through the youth ranks to a full debut at the age of 18 in a UEFA Cup tie against RC Celta de Vigo.

Two-year loan
Stuttgart's brightest discovery of the season so far is arguably Philipp Lahm, who spent much of the previous two campaigns in FC Bayern München's amateur side. With his chances of ousting experienced French full-backs Bixente Lizarazu and Willy Sagnol or Germany's Tobias Rau in the Bayern senior ranks very slim, Lahm was made available on a two-year loan and Magath seized his opportunity. A modest sum of €200,000 swapped hands and, with no prior Bundesliga experience, the 19-year-old was thrown straight into the Stuttgart first team, where he has excelled.

Görlitz greatness
Stuttgart are not the only side nurturing talent in Germany, as TSV 1860 München are proving with their young charges. Besides the emergence of teenagers Daniel Baier and Lance Davids, the 21-year-old Andreas Görlitz has impressed so greatly that he has virtually displaced Martin Stranzl from the right-back position. His pace and ability on the ball have often seen him gallop so far up the pitch that he has been mistaken for an auxiliary winger.

Ready-made replacement
When Brazilian striker Ailton announced that he was leaving SV Werder Bremen to join FC Schalke 04 at the end of the season, coach Thomas Schaaf knew a replacement was already being nurtured through the club's youth set-up. Paraguayan Nelson Haedo-Valdez first took his place in the Bremen squad two years ago as an 18-year-old and is yet to make the step up to the first team more permanent. Once Ailton leaves in the summer, though, Haedo-Valdez is expected to flourish.

Young strikers
Ailton's arrival in Gelsenkirchen may usurp another bright youngster. Mike Hanke has impressed the Parkstadion regulars with his talents, although he has found the net more frequently in the U21 set-up than for Schalke. Other fresh-faced strikers battling for regular football include Sahr Senesie at BV Borussia Dortmund and Czech forward Vaclav Sverkos at VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Familiar figures
Two midfield players with the world at their feet are Hanno Balitsch and Bastian Schweinsteiger, plying their trades at Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Bayern respectively. Schweinsteiger is only 19 but has not looked out of place when deputising for Michael Ballack, Mehmet Scholl or Sebastian Deisler this season, while U21 captain Balitsch, who turns 23 on 2 January, is developing into the sort of tough, uncompromising midfield general synonymous with successful Germany sides over the years.