German youth coaching needs modernizing, says Loew

German head coach Joachim Loew is demanding radical changes to the country's youth coaching program.

"We've got to improve the cognitive aspects. As for the physical aspects, we've reached the limits in football. But when it comes to the cognitive part there's still a lot of room for improvement," said the 57-year old in a recent interview.

For the 2014 World Cup-winning coach, Spain is still the leading nation when it comes to both bringing on talented youngsters and using the best training methods. "People who believe that have the talents with the most potential should visit Spain," Loew said in a recent interview.

After visiting the El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid, Loew took a close look at the Catalonian club's youth teams and was immensely impressed by the performance of Barca's under-10 team.

According to Loew, he had never seen a similarly well-coached side in Germany. "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," Loew reported. The Barcelona youngsters had developed a mature game watching their opponents' and teammates' movements long before getting possession of the ball themselves.

Lowe said he saw a youngster control and pass the ball with his left foot "without even watching the ball for a second."

In Loew's eyes, what the youngster did was more like chess than football, since chess players think 10 or 20 moves in advance.

"Football players in the future will have to do the same," the former striker said.

He said the area with the biggest potential for improvement is cognitive coaching. Distances covered or possession can be neglected, but the ability to think ahead and play proactively is of paramount importance.

Loew said that new coaching methods are essential for the German Football Association's (DFB) academy, which is due to be built near their headquarters in Frankfurt. Cognitive coaching also needs to be transported to the nation's clubs, both at the professional and grassroots levels.

For Loew, the association's new academy must lead the way in defending Germany's top position in world football. "We desperately need a academy like that."

The German coach also stressed the need to start the coaching process between the ages of six and 12, adding that coaching methods concentrating on coordination and orientation are needed.

For Loew, it is common-sense knowledge that, in the near future, football will start with the goalkeeper. Germany and Bayern Munich No. 1 Manuel Neuer "is our first ball distributor" and a cornerstone in the team's game, Loew noted.

Of course, doors of the national team will always be open to new talents, but Loew pointed out that talents may not be so abundant in the near future. "The majority of people around the world assume we have talents everywhere, but we are talking about talent on a world-class level, not just at the level of a top Bundesliga player," Loew emphasized.

"In the last 10 years, I have seen highly talented players who in the end could not help the team win a title or perform well in knock-out games," Loew said.

The Confed Cup, to be played in Russia this summer, is set to give many German talents the opportunity to gain important tournament experience. For this reason, Loew plans to nominate several up-and-coming youngsters to that squad.

"We will carefully consider who will be with us (at the Confed), and for whom it is better to join the U-21 European Championship in Poland and get play time and experience that way," Loew said. Enditem