England’s Junior Team: “Wunderkind” Walcott has already appeared at a FIFA World Cup™

England is considered the motherland of football. The English founded their Football Association as early as October 26, 1883, became a member of FIFA in 1905 and of UEFA in 1954. Today there are 41,000 clubs and 85,720 teams in the country. The resources from which English football coaches can choose for their various selections are great. There are 5,500 professional players, 1,605,290 amateurs and 763,510 players under 18 years of age (as of December 2006).

However, it is not just tradition and quantity that makes English football strong in its entirety. It is the quality of conduct between the professionals and the so-called trainees in their clubs. Every professional, whether David Beckham, lately with Manchester United, or today Frank Lampard with Chelsea, had to take care of a trainee in the course of their careers. This close relationship between star and “godchild” does not exist anywhere else in the world. The young players sweep the locker rooms, clean the boots, but they also dine with the professionals and talk about their problems with the star players. This creates discipline, responsibility and confidence – and educates. The former German-England legionnaire Uwe Roesler, once in the “father position” with Manchester City, is enthusiastic about this system.

It could also be the reason why young English professionals reach international status early in their careers, and are so successful at a young age. In the list of champions of the UEFA European Under-21 Championships the English triumphed in 1982 and 1984. In the roll of honour of U18-U19 teams they were the first to win the UEFA Tournament in 1948, followed by 1964, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975 and 1980. They finally became European champions at those age-groups in 1993. Only in the UEFA U-16/U-17 age category have the English never been successful.

This season the English U21 selection qualified for the 2007 finals in the Netherlands. They won Group 8 by beating Switzerland 3-2 and a 2-2 draw against Moldova. On the road to Holland, the young English stars also eliminated the German team from the event, winning 1-0 in Coventry and 2-0 in Leverkusen.

The coach is the star of the team: Peter Taylor earned four caps in his career and is considered one of England’s most distinguished coaches. He took over the junior team in 2004, and has been Crystal Palace coach since 2006. His assistant for the UEFA Under-21 selection is Sammy Lee. In 2000, Taylor even acted as interim coach of the national team for one match.

Super talent Theo Walcott is the young star of the team. Arsenal FC ensured the services of the offensive all-rounder, who can be lightning fast, running the 100 metres in 11.52sec, for 7.2 million Euros. According to the number of matches played, the transfer sum the “Gunners” have to pay second division club Southampton could increase to 18 million Euros before 2010.

Without having played a single Premiership match, Walcott was selected for the England squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup™. Arsenal’s French coach Arsène Wenger, who suggests Walcott’s talent compares with the “excellent technical capabilities of Thierry Henry”, wants to build up the new Wunderkind of English football gently and protect him from the public. “We must be careful and give him time to adjust to the Premier League and the international stage”, said Wenger, who was not pleased when team manager Sven-Goran Eriksson nominated the talent for the FIFA World Cup™.

Germany’s footballers have already experienced the dangerous talent of this English Wunderkind. As a substitute, Walcott scored both goals in the last ten minutes of the 2-0 victory over Germany in Leverkusen, in the decisive match for participation in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship. That’s how stars are born.