THE LOWDOWN EPISODE #65 - RESHAPING GERMAN YOUTH DEVELOPMENT w/ MATTHIAS LOCHMANN

Germany has recently launched new regulations that will transform the way football is played in the country. The emphasis will be on fun and a player-centred approach, with Ronny Zimmermann, DFB Vice President responsible for children’s and youth football, saying: “We need to think like children, not like adults. Only children who develop fun and joy in the game will stay in football.” Some of the key changes revolve around small sided games and the introduction of festivals.

One man who has been advocating this change for a long time has been Matthias Lochmann. Matthias is a friend and colleague of the late Horst Wein who pioneered Funino which promotes the game intelligence approach. Doing less as a coach & players doing more, rules do the work for you, quality is independent of the coach. It is quite clear as to why there was such aversion to change for a long time. However through adopting a relentless attitude, covering thousands of air miles and lobbying from a few famous friends that change was realized over the past few weeks. Here Matthias gives us the lowdown on what the future of football can look like within Germany and beyond.

Among what we discussed included;

- Meeting Horst Wein for the first time.

- Detailed insight into the game intelligence approach.

- How to design a learning environment led by “rules of provocation”?

- Insights into how Hansi Flick implemented the game intelligence approach with Bayern Munich & Germany training sessions?

- What are the most common mistakes Matthias sees in youth development?

- Lobbying DFB head; Oliver Bierhoff for change and insights into how the DFB finally relented.

Timestamps;

00:00 - 04:50 - Intro

04:51 - 13:39 - Funino

13:40 - 23:58 - Change

23:59 - 31:57 - Criticisms

31:58 - 41:09 - Hansi Flick

41:10 - 48:27 - Common mistakes

48:28 - 51:59 - Advice