Interview: "China is a sleeping giant in football" - Berti Vogts

Former German national team player and coach Berti Vogts have shared his experience of football education with Xinhua in an interview, with Germany and the United States as examples. He said China is a "sleeping giant" in football that needs to be patient and have a correct national strategy.

Vogts, 68, was youth coach of the German Football Association (DFB) from 1979 - 1990. The 1974 world champion initiated the education program of the German association that led to football academies every professional club had to set up.

After winning the 1996 European Championship with the German team as their national coach he advised the German association to proceed with it`s intense education program for young footballers. In every country Vogts worked as a national coach he initiated a special training program for youngsters.

Xinhua: Mr. Vogts, you are a salesman on behalf of football ...

Berti Vogts: ... and it's perhaps why I've caught a cold right now. Air conditioning everywhere when you catch a plane ..."

Xinhua: You still keep traveling around the world though. Why?

Vogts: Football is my life. I guess I still can't live without it.

Xinhua: You played over 400 games in the Bundesliga and won 96 caps for Germany. As a coach, you won the European Championship with Germany in 1996. We hope you can tell us something about the fascination of football.

Vogts: Just take a look at the World Cup. Football is a game that fascinates people around the World like nothing else. Take a look at the United States, a country of American Football, baseball, tennis, and basketball. I recently watches the match against Mexico together with 65,000 spectators. I knew at that point, the slogan "One Nation One Team" is alive and nothing artificial.

Xinhua: You work for the US coach Juergen Klinsmann, one of your former German players before you were in charge of the national teams of Kuwait, Scotland, Nigeria and Azerbaijan. How do you rate the US team in world football in comparison to others?

Vogts: The US is on the way to becoming one of the leading nations in world football. Nowadays it is far from being a developing country in football terms. The US have made ten appearances at the World Cup finals. They have had some good results against top football nations and what more they have a highly competitive national team and league.

Xinhua: What would your advice be to emerging countries like China?

Vogts: Not to be impatient in the first place. China is a sleeping giant if you just take a look at their experience regarding all kinds of sport, not football though, and the number of people that love sports. Chinese are eager to hit new shores and they are ambitious.

Xinhua: To develop as a country in football is it enough to have experience and a big population?

Vogts: Experience helps. I think in China, they know you have to have a solid nationwide plan. It does not help to have a football hotspot in the north or the south. Why do you think China is such a great table tennis nation?

Xinhua: Millions play everywhere ...

Vogts: That's it. And that' s the way for football in China too, it must be the way. But to implement a new sport aside your tradition takes time. You definitely need a strategy for the entire country. You need highly qualified coaches for all regions that work with the same concept. I have heard that football is now a part of the sports curriculum at elementary schools. It's an important start but you have to think about what you can do for 10, 12, 14 or 15 years old. You can't afford to lose them. China needs a table-tennis-like solidity in football.

Xinhua: What do you mean by "not to get impatient"?

Vogts: Progressing to where you can play a big role in football is nothing you can achieve in just two years. It will at least take five, six, well more likely seven years. A once-in-a-life-time success does not help you, constant quality is what you have to go for.

Xinhua: Looking at your job with Juergen Klinsmann and the US, how important is the national team for a country's development?

Vogts: It is maybe the most important part. But success is not winning the World Cup. It may be a goal in your mind but success is having a team that is improving all the time. Young people want to see a team that is developing and want to see there is a perspective for me in that kind of sport. Being successful means good results for the national team at first in the regional competitions like the Asian Cup and keeping in mind to go for Gold at a World Cup in the future.

Xinhua: What is essential for young players?

Vogts: You need experience around you when you are a young player. You need to know how to run a team, to lead a team and to play as a team which means, your team has leaders but you still function as a team. Without a healthy team spirit you won't get anywhere in football. If you have team spirit you can even beat better teams. As far as team sport is concerned China might need a change in attitude in comparison to the one in table tennis.

Xinhua: Help from abroad is needed if you are serious about developing the game?

Vogts: I think so. You need foreign coaches, not only for a few selected clubs but for the entire country. Future coaches need to be trained at first and there needs to be an academy system for talented youngsters. A concept is needed for the whole country and it should be seen as a national task and challenge. China has great potentials; the people are hard-working and focused. But they have to close the gap as far as the pace of the game is concerned. Football in the future will get faster and faster.

Xinhua: Speaking about football and emotion ...

Vogts: ... you need players that stand for emotion in football. Football today is a game for television. Your players need to get along with that. Look at the message of the German team at the 2014 World Cup: There were guys like Thomas Mueller or Manuel Neuer. But in the first place there was a team. "Team Germany" won the World Cup.

Xinhua: Do Chinese footballers need to go abroad to learn?

Vogts: First of all it is essential to have nationwide professional set-up in China. And if you bring in stars from abroad into your leagues, don't only take the older ones. They are not able to keep up with the pace of today's game. That does not help you and your development. For your national team you need talents from your own country. In many countries it seems to be a problem to install rules that a certain amount of native footballers are compulsory for your team. But that's essential. Native players give people the chance to identify with.

Xinhua: So what are your predictions regarding China's football?

Vogts: First of all, it would be great for world football to have a competitive Chinese team as China traditionally has deep relation to sports in general. I would like to see more constant successes as far as the Asian Cup is concerned, other Asian nations are still ahead of China. So there is a lot of work to do. But I see a realistic chance of catching up. So it would be a good thing for Chinese parents to instill enthusiasm among their kids for football. It's a great game, not only regarding the emotions behind it, but it's also a game for young people to gain experience of working in a bigger group and work to achieve goals.

Xinhua: Meaning it is essential for a strong national team to have a solid education system?

Vogts: For that we have a convincing example in German football. In 2009 the German U21 Juniors won the European title. You want to know some of the names of the German players at that time?

Xinhua: Well, yes!

Vogts: Neuer, Boateng, Hoewedes, Hummels, Oezil and Khedira.

Xinhua: Who in 2014 won the World Cup in Brazil.

Vogts: Exactly. The message is crystal clear: Give your youngsters a good education and you will be happy in the future with your national team. Endi