Schaffran: “Professional debuts are the measure of our work” | OneFootball

Paul Schaffran on the current start to the 2026/27 season: “Some teams are still in the process of leaving the club. At the same time, however, the U17, U19, and U23 competitive teams have resumed training. We’re in a phase where we’re analyzing and reviewing a great many things while simultaneously building a strong sense of optimism for the new season.”

… the latest developments at the NLZ: “I’m pleased that we’ve had four professional debuts and that these players have made it to the top. Ultimately, that’s the measure by which we evaluate our work at the NLZ. At the same time, we see that the pull the lads create means we’re fielding very young teams in the U23, U19, and U17 divisions, as well as in the age groups below them. This forces us to take different approaches, especially when it comes to managing the players’ workload.

Last year, we had a small U19 team and a small U17 team—simply in terms of the number of players. That’s why we’ve made the rosters a bit broader and more balanced this year. When it comes to player flow, we’re well on our way to reaching the numbers I envision.

In addition, we’ve further expanded the rosters with a few new external signings so that, during this phase with so many competitions, we don’t end up short-handed again and have to make certain players play through periods when they’d actually be better off taking a break.”

… the importance of international competitions for the U19s: “We were the youngest team in the Youth League, the Youth League, and the Premier League International Cup. In the winter, we made a conscious decision to move players like Samuele Inacio, Luca Reggiani, and Mathis Albert up to the U23s or the first-team squad early on. That has an impact on the team during the winter. It means the team has to find its footing again. New players get a chance, but at the same time, they face the challenge of stepping into the shoes of the already established youth players.

That was the phase in which the U19 team certainly faced the greatest difficulties—both in terms of results and performance. But we can say: We made it. That was ultimately proven by winning the Premier League International Cup.”

… the importance of the U23 team in the new season: “The U23s are quite clearly the final development squad, the last youth team. At the same time, we aim to be competitive and pursue sporting ambitions at the team level. I expect everyone to do their part to help the team gel very quickly. As is always the case with the U23s, we have a high turnover of players. I hope that the sporting elements of our game model will be implemented quickly.”

... the composition of the U23 team compared to last year: “The U23 team is in a state of constant change. It consists of several pillars. One pillar is the anchor players—that is, players who are already established and have gained experience in this age group. With Jesper Verlaat, we’ve made a change here because we decided: We definitely want another player who knows the 2. Bundesliga and 3. Liga and brings that level of athletic ability to the team.

Then there are the young players coming up who we see as having an immediate path to the pros. We already had a few of those last year. And finally, there’s a whole group of exciting prospects whom we’ll continue to bring in from outside the club.

We’ve signed some very promising development players for the U23 team, whom we believe will benefit the team. At the same time, we’re hopeful that they can take another big step forward in their development with us.”