Opinion
“Too gentle and soft”
Children’s football without a table: why the criticism of the DFB reform is completely exaggerated
The old system frustrated and overwhelmed too many of the little ones
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Criticism of the DFB reform in children’s and youth football is getting louder: Recently, coaches such as Steffen Baumgart and Ralf Rangnick have expressed serious doubts about the new forms of play because the idea of performance is said to be undermined. But that’s nonsense.
The criticism from Ralf Rangnick, currently national coach of Austria, and from ex-national player and TV expert Dietmar Hamann blows the same horn. Accordingly, winning and the result must always be in the foreground. Thomas Helmer, also a former national player, called the reform grotesque because the idea of performance hardly comes into play. If you don’t allow young people “to make mistakes, to develop a personality, I think that’s going in the wrong direction”.
Reform is the right way
What gets these old gentlemen, who cannot be denied a certain football competence, so excited is thatDFB-Reform in children’s and youth football. In short, it provides for the classic league system to be abolished from the G youth (U7) to the E youth (U11). No more games in the classic sense, no final results, no tables. Instead, the DFB writes binding so-called festivals with several teams that compete against each other in short games. Every player should get the same amount of playing time. But progress is difficult: the new forms require more organizational effort. That is also clear.
Nevertheless, the reform makes sense: it should be about more fun in football, about more justice and simply about introducing forms of play that are more child-friendly. Parents who have experienced an 18:0 in the F-Youth know from their own experience that this has little to do with football, because children of that age are not able to actually play football properly, neither physiological nor cognitive. The old system frustrated and overwhelmed too many of the little ones. Football-mad fathers (especially them!) and mothers like to overlook something like this.
Apparently, the critics lack knowledge
What makes the criticism of Baumgart and Co. particularly annoying is the impression that they have not really dealt with the reform. For example, the idea of performance is not exposed. There are still winners and losers, goals are scored. Even in the new format you have to be able to deal with defeats. All of this only happens in an age-appropriate way. It has nothing to do with “soft and gentle”, as Baumgart disparagingly described the new path. The criticism of it sounds a lot like “everything was better in the past”.
Perhaps a look at Berlin will help the gentlemen. The state association there is a pioneer and introduced the system for the G youth two years ago – with success. This year the F youth will follow. A look at the bigger picture abroad is also helpful for understanding: Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and England have long since switched over. A certain Jamal Musiala developed his talent on the island. He told the BBC last year: “In Germany there is a league system for under-tens, whereas in England it’s not common up to U18. There’s a lot less pressure and more time to develop, you can play a lot more freely .”