Dhe is the note taker Regional sports noted “eternal applause” after Schalke sporting director Frank Baumann announced a contract extension with the under-19 coach at the annual general meeting last weekend. These coaches are not ordinary junior coaches, but coaches from local and national institutions. Norbert Elgert, 68, plays professionally for Schalke 04 and has been grooming Schalke’s young talent for almost 30 years, but he not only deservedly earned the Royal Blue Order of the Garter, but also the Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon.
When Germany became world champion in Rio de Janeiro in 2014, Elgert also became one of the fathers of success: Manuel Neuer, Mesut Özil, Benedikt Höwedes and Julian Draxler emerged from his educational institutions – this term is not an exaggeration. Besides being a football expert, Elgert also sees himself as a lifelong teacher. His players often stayed in touch with him long after their careers outside Gelsenkirchen.
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On Monday evening, Elgert once again stood behind the national team like a silent godfather when Malick Thiaw, 24, and Assan Ouédraogo, 19, came on as substitutes in the final quarter of an hour. Both attended school in Gelsenkirchen. Just like Leroy Sané, 29, Elgert dropped into the professional team as instructed in 2014, where, as a very inexperienced teenager, he contributed to a 4-3 win at Real Madrid with a goal in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
In this case, Schalke really got their act together when Ouédraogo received an assist from Sané less than two minutes after coming on and made it 6-0. A goal in your international debut, especially at the age of just 19, is still something of a feat in the DFB’s long history – the last time that happened was in 1954 – and was appreciated with glee by those affected: “I didn’t think it would go so well,” he said, “but I’m not complaining. I’m very proud of the moment and very happy.”
FC Bayern is also interested in 2024
These were good times for Assan Ouédraogo, who was born in Mülheim an der Ruhr – finally, as one might say. He started playing professional football two years ago and his first appearance earned him a regular place at Schalke, where he started at the age of eight. As with the national team, he also scored a goal on his debut for the club (against Hamburger SV). But repeated injuries disrupted his development; in the second half of the season he made only half a dozen appearances. However, Ouédraogo, who is versatile in midfield and attack, is attracting great interest not only in the domestic transfer market. In the summer of 2024 he moved to RB Leipzig for ten million euros after FC Bayern canceled his rights.
Ouédraogo also had to deal with injuries at Leipzig, but the club had the necessary patience during his recovery and introduced the talent into constant, well-prepared games. Ten highly successful part-time appearances in the current Bundesliga season are enough for a promising debut in the national team.
