Krösche and Khedira’s project: where HSV stand on the U21 league | OneFootball

The criticism was unequivocal. When Markus Krösche spoke at the Spobis Conference in Hamburg at the beginning of the month, he gave a poor assessment of German youth development.

"We simply train too poorly," was the damning verdict of the Frankfurt sports director. Krösche is by no means alone with this criticism. Consequently, the decision-makers in German football have addressed the issue.

Against this backdrop, an eight-member expert group – including World Champion Sami Khedira and former coach Jürgen Klopp – is working on structural reforms. A key result is the introduction of a national U21 league starting in the 2026/27 season, which aims to create playing time for talents.

Participation is voluntary and serves as a supplement to the existing competition of the second teams. The goal is to provide talents with more matches at a higher competitive level. The model is the English Premier League 2.

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Favé: "We at HSV find it positive that..."

This concept is quite positively received at HSV. NLZ director and professional co-trainer Loïc Favé clearly positions himself to the Hamburger Abendblatt: "If the decision goes through, we will definitely participate to give the new idea a chance." He further states: "We at HSV find it positive that a lot of thought has been put into further improving the development of talents and giving them more games at a higher competitive level."

However, the approval is not without reservations. Favé points to open questions of detail, such as compatibility with the everyday life of the regional league. It is clear that HSV's second team will remain.

Regarding the currently much-discussed structural deficits in German talent promotion, Favé says: "Some clubs have already recognized the problem and have thought about improvements. Changes in youth development, however, take time until the results are measurable at the professional level."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.