Germany has to undergo a radical change in terms of the youth coaching methods in order to prepare for the future, according to national team coach Joachim Loew.


He says that the players have been able to reach the full potential of their physicality. Hence, improvement can only come from the mental side of the game. A number of players are unable to take their game to the next level due to lack of understanding of the game.Loew reckons that it is primarily down to coaching methods. After having had first-hand experience about the youth coaching philosophy at Barcelona,Loew says that he is left speechless at seeing the under 10 team perform at such an exceptional level.

Barcelona are widely adjudged to have the best youth setup in the world. Several great players have come from the La Masia youth academy with the likes of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta amongst the few to remember.Loew says that the football players at Barcelona are trying to play the game like chess – seeing each move 20 or 30 times in advance.

As a result, they do not need to see the ball in order to make the move or pass. Even though the German national team has an incredible amount of youngsters,Loew says that a huge amount of improvement can be made in bringing up the youth.

“People who believe that they have the talent with the most potential should visit Spain. There were only little Iniestas on the pitch. I couldn’t believe that 10-year olds were able to play so well, both tactically and in their understanding of the game.I saw a youngster control and pass the ball with his left foot without even watching the ball for a second.What the youngster did was more like chess than football, since chess players think 10 or 20 moves in advance,” said Loew.