U19 kick off Youth League against Villarreal, big games await | OneFootball

Starting point

The Black and Yellows were pleased with what was, in terms of the result, a successful dress rehearsal in the 5–1 win over RW Essen in the DFB Youth League. Now the focus shifts to the opening match in the UEFA Youth League. “We will give everything to impose our game and make a successful start to the Youth League,” Hirschnagl assures. To reach the round of 32, BVB would need to finish between 1st and 22nd in the final table after matches against Villarreal, Bodø/Glimt, Sabah FC, Real Betis, Arsenal and Inter Milan.

In his first Youth League season, Hirschnagl guided the Black and Yellows to 11th place, celebrating spectacular away wins at Juventus Turin (3–2), FC Copenhagen (2–0) and Manchester City (3–0). In the knockout stage, Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar proved to be the end of the road. Despite an impressive footballing performance, BVB lost 4–0. “We had to pay a lot of dues back then,” said Hirschnagl.

Squad

A large part of that team is also part of this year’s Youth League squad, which Hirschnagl can only put together at short notice and only after consulting first-team coach Niko Kovac and U23 coach Daniel Rios. “The biggest challenge is putting together a competitive team in this very limited time that can implement our ideas of how we want to play,” said Hirschnagl. Compared to the DFB Youth League, the coach will make changes in several positions against Villarreal and will be able to strengthen the squad with players from the U23s.

Opponents

Over the weekend, Hirschnagl was only able to get a vague impression of the Spaniards’ form and style of play from several video clips, as their league campaign does not begin until next weekend. Their current squad is exceptionally strong, even featuring a full international: 17-year-old striker Andero Kaares, who joined Villarreal in the summer, has already made four appearances for Estonia and scored one goal.

The Spaniards, who had celebrated a 2–1 win over BVB in the group stage last year, finished fifth in the final standings of the previous Youth League season and were only narrowly knocked out in the quarter-finals, losing 1–0 to Paris Saint-Germain. (wiwi)

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