The achievements of shooting star Soichiro Kozuki have so far been one of the few highlights at FC Schalke 04 in the new Bundesliga year. The director of Knappenschmiede, Mathias Schober, has now revealed how the Royal Blues discovered the youngster.
“Our scouts are always on the go. We got a tip from Kozuki. We were so convinced of Soichiro that we said: We absolutely have to take him on!” said the 46-year-old, who is responsible for talent development at S04. in an interview with the “WAZ”.
Last January, Kozuki moved from Japan to Germany from Kyoto Sanga on Schalke’s initiative. In order to gain a foothold, however, he initially played for FC Düren in the Regionalliga West in the first half of the year. The move to FC Schalke U23 followed in the summer, and Thomas Reis even promoted him to the pros after the first half of the season.
It almost didn’t get that far, says Schober. Because Kozuki’s ex-club from Japan was “a difficult negotiating partner”.
Only after a tough exchange via email was a solution found. “Kyoto objected at first, but we told them very clearly: don’t spoil the youngster’s chance. It’s a huge dream for him to gain a foothold in Europe. Please let him play for Schalke, at this traditional club,” Schober described the persuasion work.
FC Schalke 04: You can also tell that the cash register is empty when you are young
Attracting talented players from outside the Knappenschmiede is anything but an easy task anyway. Also because the cash-strapped miners often cannot hold back financially and have to find other arguments.
“If it were only a question of finances, we would hardly have a chance compared to other academies for young people. Insane sums are sometimes paid,” said the ex-goalkeeper.
Instead, Schober points to Schalke’s successes in developing youth players – and not just absolute world stars:
“We can’t always just say that we used to have Leroy Sané, Julian Draxler and Manuel Neuer,” but “there are many other players who have made it to the top with us lately: Besides [Malick, d.Red.] Thiaw also Weston McKennie or Kerim Çalhanoğlu and Levent Mercan. They are often forgotten in lists like this. They don’t have that great appeal, but they still managed to make the leap into licensed football with us via the Knappenschmiede. We bring these arguments into the contract talks.”
However, Schober would prefer it if a youth player from the U8 were trained by S04 himself. “If a boy like that goes through here and plays in the Veltins Arena, that’s a success for the whole club. That makes me proud!”