After part one of the interview focused mainly on his work at Bayern Munich, Sauer now turns to youth development in Germany as a whole.
Mr Sauer, as a member of a specially assembled expert group that also included, among others, the new Germany head coach Jürgen Klopp, you were involved in the development of the "Bundesliga Talent Series". Since this summer, youth teams from the participating clubs have been playing three to six matches each in two separate half-seasons in autumn and spring (Bayern Munich will join at the start of 2027). How satisfied are you with the result?
Jochen Sauer: Based on all our experience, we in the expert group initially did not think it would be possible to launch a competition to give our youth players more playing time, including all the discussions, decisions, preparations and implementation, within ten months. Recent years had shown that in many constellations we discussed measures for a very long time, but mostly without a concrete result or decision. Keyword: Regionalliga reform. In that respect, we are highly satisfied with the implementation. As things stand, I am also satisfied with the basic idea. Whether it will prove itself remains to be seen.
Give us an insight into the thinking behind it.
Sauer: One starting point in the debate was that we saw room for improvement in the transitional area between youth and professional football. For me, this transition is one of the decisive but also most difficult areas in the entire youth development system, and I think this is where we in Germany have the greatest potential for improvement. In development up to U15/U16, we are no worse than other major nations. But at some point we fall behind, and we agreed that this happens in the transitional area between youth and professional football. We found that in the U17, U19 and U23 age groups we have players who, among other things, get too few minutes and too little match practice at a high level. At the same time, we believe playing time is a decisive factor in getting better. That is how the idea emerged of creating an additional competition. The competition is therefore called the "Talent Series" because it is not limited to one age group. Players aged 16 to 21 are allowed to take part.
IMAGOKlopp originally argued for a separate U21 league, like they have in England.
Sauer: During his time at Liverpool, he had good experiences with this competition in the English development system. And in his role at Red Bull at the time, he also had to keep a good solution in mind for clubs without U23 teams or with U23 teams below the Regionalliga. Within the expert group, however, we tried to look at the issue from every perspective. With a total of 58 youth academies, there are logically many different starting points. But the input on how other major leagues handle things was particularly important for the group.
How did you find working with Klopp?
Sauer: Great, as it was in the expert group as a whole. It brought together people from different backgrounds. Klopp as a coach with experience in England. Sami Khedira, who came through Stuttgart's academy and then played at many big clubs, who knows UEFA and has a European perspective. DFL board member Marc Lenz, DFB managing director Andreas Rettig, Markus Krösche and Andreas Bornemann with plenty of Bundesliga experience. Joti Chatzialexiou, who was responsible for youth development at the DFB and is now managing director of the traditional club 1. FC Nürnberg. I hope the expert group can continue to provide helpful impetus for the development of the German youth football and development system.
Talent drain a problem for the DFB team
For example?
Sauer: There are many topics that can still be looked at. There are many players born in Germany whom Jürgen Klopp cannot nominate for the national team. Just from Bavaria: Kenan Yildiz, Can Uzun? Turkey. Josip Stanisic? Croatia. Paul Wanner? Austria. Malik Tillman? USA. And other players from across the country. Here too, there is now competition among the national associations that we urgently have to face up to. We see at close quarters how many national team call-ups from a wide range of national associations come in for individual players. Munich-born Erblin Osmani is currently with the Kosovo senior national team.
What needs to change in Germany?
Sauer: I think many challenges lie in the transitional area we have been talking about. It is not easy for either the clubs or the association to keep an eye on every talent and every one of the 58 academies and to identify the talents beyond doubt. But there are also many opportunities for improvement here.
What else could help German football in the long term?
Sauer: In my view, the infrastructure and the substantive work in the German academies is good and at least on the level of many other football nations. But we must also give our developed players the opportunity to make the step into the men's game. Clubs from the Regionalliga to the Bundesliga must be even braver in using young players. Only then will these players improve and become options for the national team. And we certainly also need to think about the league system. The "Talent Series" is one small building block that can help with that. But the current discussions around the Regionalliga and also the 3. Liga show that there is dissatisfaction, or that room for improvement is being seen. In my view, we do not currently have an optimal competition pyramid.
Jochen Sauer on Bayern Munich's reserves and novice coach Dante
Bayern Munich's second team have been playing in the Regionalliga Bayern since 2021. What role do you assign to them?
Sauer: An essential one, so that talents come into contact with adult football for the first time. Talents have to gain that experience early these days. That is why we have turned a U23 into almost a U19. For Filip Pavic, Cassiano Kiala or Bastian Assomo, that is exactly the right development step at the moment.
How are you finding the new head coach Dante? The start to the new season has been rather mixed.
Sauer: He was a top player, has enormous presence and knows what is needed as a player to one day play in the Champions League. Of course, as an ambitious former professional, he is unhappy when the results are not right. It was no different with Martin Demichelis back then. But the boys first have to adapt to men's football. That is a completely normal development process. The last few games have shown that we are on a good path.
IMAGOTo what extent do you also see the Campus as a development centre for coaches?
Sauer: A coach who already knows Bayern Munich and is taking his first steps in coaching here at the club automatically already identifies with it. I am pleased about the careers of Sebastian Hoeneß, Miroslav Klose or Martin Demichelis, and I do think coaches can develop very well in youth football. There is not the pressure of professional football here, and coaches can also make mistakes in a calmer environment and steadily improve. Perhaps at some point one may even return to Bayern Munich. By the way, we also see Red&Gold and our international partner network as a development opportunity and next step for our talented coaches.
In recent weeks there have been rumours about Bayern Munich's alleged interest in JJ Gabriel, a 16-year-old top talent from Manchester United who wants to leave. How sensible do you regard such transfers in general?
Sauer: If such a talented boy wants to change clubs and all the top international clubs are after him, enormous competition arises at the top level and it is also about the financial aspects. In that respect, it is a matter for the professional side and not for the Campus.