Last German representative
©IMAGO
1. FSV Mainz 05 was the last German representative in the UEFA Youth League to be eliminated in the quarter-finals. After FC Bayern’s 1:3 loss against Olympiakos on Tuesday, the Rheinhessen U19s lost clearly to FC Porto 1:4 on Wednesday evening.
In front of a sold-out crowd at the Bruchwegstadion, João Teixeira put the 2019 tournament winners in front in the 18th minute. Rodrigo Mora increased the score to the final score in favor of the Portuguese (32′) before half-time. The 16-year-old midfielder scored again in the 73rd minute, beating Louis Babatz from a distance. Striker Anhá Cande went one better in the 83rd minute before Mainz’s Fritz Engel made a cosmetic mistake (87′).
Defending champion Alkmaar: All Youth League winners since 2013/14
The FSV juniors, trained by Benjamin Hoffmann, had previously sensationally eliminated FC Barcelona (8:7 nE) and Manchester City (2:1). The fact that the Mainz team was allowed to compete in the junior premier class is due to the mode. This will be carried out on two tracks. On the one hand, there is the group phase, in which the youth teams of all 32 Champions League starters are represented. On the other hand, there is the championship path, on which the national champions duel in the U19 classes. This is where Mainz comes into play, which defeated Borussia Dortmund in the final of the German championship last season and triumphed for the second time since 2009.
The champions of the 32 strongest nations according to the UEFA club coefficient qualify for the championship route, but if the men’s team takes part in the Champions League and thus also the youngsters in the Youth League, the best-placed team from another country will move up. Eight teams make it into the main field over two qualifying rounds, and from then on the mode is single-track. In an intermediate round, the eight winners of the championship path meet the runners-up in the group phase. The first placed teams are already in the round of 16.+
In addition to Porto and Olympiakos, FC Nantes, who won 8:7 against FC Copenhagen on Tuesday, and AC Milan are in the semi-finals. The Italians beat Real Madrid 5-4 on Wednesday, also on penalties. Former Stuttgart player Jan-Carlo Simic was also part of the Rossoneri defense. The round of the last four teams will take place one after the other in the same stadium on April 19th in the Final Four format, with the final following on April 22nd.
Mainz’s A youth coach Jan Kirchhoff in an interview (read here)
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