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Make U21 Saudi Arabia great - again & again !

Written by Robin-Bird

Franz-CB, the coach of the U21 of Saudi Arabia comments on the current situation of his selection team. He evaluates the quality of the players as well as the training possibilities in the country. Despite the relatively low number of potential players - there are only about 65 youth academies in Saudi Arabia - it seems possible to him to build a competitive U21 through continuous work and a joint effort.

Franz-CB (9845143), current coach of Saudi Arabia U21, is conducting an interview today with Robin-Bird, the roving reporter.

Robin:
Franz, despite a decent run at the continental championship, it seems your team was somewhat unlucky to be knocked out in the wildcard games. How do you see that?
Franz:
Yes, unfortunately we were very unlucky in the first Wildcard match (23631712). The odds with 58-17-25 (score 2,1:1,2) were in our favor. And since Azərbaycan lost one player in minute 63 we had even better chances. Chance distribution was good for us (9:3) but we didn't mark. After this defeat it was difficult to turn the tide again. And unfortunately, we then lost our counterattacking game (23631724). This time the odds were clearly in our opponent's favor.
But I would also like to say that my staff and I have prepared the games as well as we could, too bad we had so many injuries!

Robin:
Are there enough players of U21 age in Saudi Arabia who meet the requirements? There are only 85 active managers - and of those, only 65 teams also have a youth academy.
Franz:
Absolutely not ... We are scouting from scratch; there are many generational holes, also there are only few strong players with specialties. In addition many of the managers are not always willing to follow the training plans for the U21! So it is hard to find enough good players.
We are working to enlarge this player base. Here I would like to say a big THANK YOU for my staff's help. We'll go on working hard. I believe that if I have your confidence and the possibility to stay for several terms in U21, we can succeed at making Saudi Arabia competitive.
Thanks also to Slayermosca (7018870) coach of Saudi Arabia NT!
The good results of NT also help to increase the mangers' interest in U21 players.

Robin:
What are the training conditions like? Are there enough managers who are willing to train players for the U21 team?
Franz:
The youth teams are a big problem because the coaches do not train their seventeen-years-old youngsters well enough. On the contrary they fire good talents very often, although we ask them to sell youngsters so that we could save them for U21! In short, unfortunately there are very few managers who are willing to train for U21 - but my staff and I are trying to raise the awareness of as many managers as possible.
Some managers don't even see the benefits that consistent U21 training can bring to their club as well. Especially when building up a young team, we (my staff and I) could - if desired - accompany the training in an advisory capacity.

Robin:
Fortunately, you are not alone with the leadership of the U21. How are the roles distributed in your team?
Franz:
My Assistant Coach Buccinu-UHS plays a very important role; together we prepare the tactical part and the set up of the matches.
Scouting - that means looking for players, conversation with managers, working out training plans - is made by the scouts mentioned on the following page:
(https://www85.hattrick.org/Club/NationalTeam/NationalTeam.aspx?LeagueID=79&LeagueOfficeTypeID=4)
Feel free to contact them if you think you found a prospect or if you need help with training plans regarding U21 players.

Robin:
Do you have any wishes for the managers in Saudi Arabia as to how they could effectively support the U21?
Franz:
U21 can be supported by all managers with a willingness to follow or buy players who have the potential to reach the national target! Saudi Arabia can grow only with constant and effective scouting.
A first and easy step for all managers is the following:
Please register your team on our tracker: (https://hattrickportal.pro/)
also if you have a youth academy
Please register your youth team in HYC: (https://www.hattrick-youthclub.org/)
Both would be a big help to find players for Saudi Arabia U21.

Robin:
Thank you very much, Franz, for your detailed answers to the questions and the presentation of the current situation of our U21.
I wish you continued success - building a competitive team takes time - I hope you will have it and the necessary perseverance.