Hopefully, seven will be the lucky number for Germany’s Under-21s this year. Seven international fixtures is the maximum number the team can play in 2015. Five matches are scheduled already and two more are up for grabs: The semi-final and final of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in the Czech Republic. DFB.de has taken a closer look at the Under-21s fixture schedule for 2015.
Testing against the best
The European Championship does not start until 17th June, but that is no reason to take things slowly. The final two friendly fixtures will be played against top-notch opponents. On 27th March, the team will face Italy in Paderborn’s Benteler Arena. Three days later they will play the English Under-21s in Middlesbrough. “We’ve deliberately picked out two strong opponents for March in order to already get a taste of what the European Championship might be like,” explains head coach Host Hrubesch.
Prague… again and again
There will be no a “Road to Prague” for the Under-21s this year, but it will be more of a “Stay in Prague”. The team will play all three group matches in the Eden Arena in the Czech capital. If they emerge as winners from their group with Serbia, Denmark and the Czech Republic, they will play the second-placed team from Group B in Prague as well. The final will also be played in the “Golden City”. Coach Horst Hrubesch has set a clear goal: “Obviously, we want to battle for the title.”
Walking in the shoes of Neuer, Özil and Khedira
The last time Germany won the Under-21 titles was in 2009. A certain Sami Khedira captained the team then. Manuel Neuer was in goal and the team also included the likes of Mesut Özil, Benedikt Höwedes, Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng. You might already see what we are getting at: All six of them were key players in the World-Cup-winning side last summer. It was Horst Hrubesch, who guided the 2009 team to their success.
International experience
It would be foolish to assume that Under-21 players are merely inexperienced youth players. The statistics tell a different story. Goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen has played all of Barcelona’s Champions League fixtures this season, Schalke’s Max Meyer is only 19 but has already played European club football on 14 occasions and Emre Can has represented two different clubs in the Champions League – Bayer Leverkusen and Liverpool. Moreover, the team also includes experienced Bundesliga players such as skipper Kevin Volland, Moritz Leitner and Leonardo Bittencourt. This will surely give the team an edge in this tournament.
Long-term objective: Rio
Advancing to the European Championship semi-finals comes with a very special reward: All semi-finalists are eligible to participate in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Hrubesch admits that this is definitely a long-term objective and adds: “Apart from the World Cup, the Olympic Games are the biggest event an athlete can participate in. When I started coaching the Under-21s again in 2013, I said that I definitely want to qualify for the Olympics. That’s still the case. Of course we first and foremost want to be European Champions, but we’d surely be very excited about participating in the Olympics as well.” We’ll see you again in Brazil then!
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Hopefully, seven will be the lucky number for Germany’s Under-21s this year. Seven international fixtures is the maximum number the team can play in 2015. Five matches are scheduled already and two more are up for grabs: The semi-final and final of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in the Czech Republic. DFB.de has taken a closer look at the Under-21s fixture schedule for 2015.
Testing against the best
The European Championship does not start until 17th June, but that is no reason to take things slowly. The final two friendly fixtures will be played against top-notch opponents. On 27th March, the team will face Italy in Paderborn’s Benteler Arena. Three days later they will play the English Under-21s in Middlesbrough. “We’ve deliberately picked out two strong opponents for March in order to already get a taste of what the European Championship might be like,” explains head coach Host Hrubesch.
Prague… again and again
There will be no a “Road to Prague” for the Under-21s this year, but it will be more of a “Stay in Prague”. The team will play all three group matches in the Eden Arena in the Czech capital. If they emerge as winners from their group with Serbia, Denmark and the Czech Republic, they will play the second-placed team from Group B in Prague as well. The final will also be played in the “Golden City”. Coach Horst Hrubesch has set a clear goal: “Obviously, we want to battle for the title.”
Walking in the shoes of Neuer, Özil and Khedira
The last time Germany won the Under-21 titles was in 2009. A certain Sami Khedira captained the team then. Manuel Neuer was in goal and the team also included the likes of Mesut Özil, Benedikt Höwedes, Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng. You might already see what we are getting at: All six of them were key players in the World-Cup-winning side last summer. It was Horst Hrubesch, who guided the 2009 team to their success.
International experience
It would be foolish to assume that Under-21 players are merely inexperienced youth players. The statistics tell a different story. Goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen has played all of Barcelona’s Champions League fixtures this season, Schalke’s Max Meyer is only 19 but has already played European club football on 14 occasions and Emre Can has represented two different clubs in the Champions League – Bayer Leverkusen and Liverpool. Moreover, the team also includes experienced Bundesliga players such as skipper Kevin Volland, Moritz Leitner and Leonardo Bittencourt. This will surely give the team an edge in this tournament.
Long-term objective: Rio
Advancing to the European Championship semi-finals comes with a very special reward: All semi-finalists are eligible to participate in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Hrubesch admits that this is definitely a long-term objective and adds: “Apart from the World Cup, the Olympic Games are the biggest event an athlete can participate in. When I started coaching the Under-21s again in 2013, I said that I definitely want to qualify for the Olympics. That’s still the case. Of course we first and foremost want to be European Champions, but we’d surely be very excited about participating in the Olympics as well.” We’ll see you again in Brazil then!
