At the DFB scouting tournament in Duisburg-Wedau, Berlin's U16 junior team had the opportunity to compete with the strongest teams in Germany for six days. Association sports coach Rudy Raab was without national players Kenneth Eichhorn, Daniel Mrohs and Fritz Gagzow as well as Mayson Grothe due to injury, which gave other players the chance to show themselves.
The tournament got off to a flying start for the Berlin team. Against the favored team from the Middle Rhine, peppered with top players from Bayer Leverkusen and 1. FC Köln, they clearly dominated the game after some initial difficulties. While the score was still 1:1 in the first period after a goal from Milo Goldszmidt, the team turned up the heat in the middle third and increased the lead to 3:1 after goals from captain Lorent Aliu and Francesco Matjani. They missed further chances in the final third, Mittelrhein scored the final goal with the final whistle and the final score on the scoreboard was 3:2.
TEAM BERLIN suffered a setback in game two. They fell behind early against a strong Thuringian team and, despite having the upper hand, especially in the final third, were unable to get the ball over the line. The result was a bitter 1-0 defeat.
Showdown on the last day of the tournament
After a day of rest, the team faced top team Württemberg. Berlin showed the same face as in the first game. They created chance after chance with great enthusiasm, strong tackling and courage. In the end, it was Francesco Matjani who was spot on with two rebounds and scored a brace. In the final third, Ali Salman crowned his strong performance with a 3:1 goal after the interval.
So it came to a showdown on the final matchday. The strong selection from Hesse, coached by Christoph Liebich from Berlin, scored six points, just like the Berlin team. The winner of the game could still dream of the podium. What followed was an impressive game from Berlin's point of view. Captain Lorent Aliu opened the scoring with a penalty, followed shortly afterwards by Marko Bajars. In the second period, Baran Efe increased the lead with a dry shot into the far corner from 16 meters, before Ali Salman made it 4:0 with a brilliant shot into the net. Berlin's strength waned a little in the final period and Hessen reduced the deficit after a corner. Baran Efe again restored the gap with a lob. Franceso Matjani finally scored from a free-kick in the final minute to seal a brilliant 6:1 victory.
"A complete success"
The big win catapulted the Berlin team into second place, just two goals behind overall winners Südwest. The Berliners were proudly presented with their medals by national coaches André Pawlak and Jens Nowotny. Bronze went to the Saxon national team.
Association sports coach Rudy Raab summed it up euphorically: "The tournament was a complete success for us overall, and the last game against Hesse was probably the best I've had the pleasure of coaching as a youth coach. The boys performed excellently with and against the ball and scored some wonderful goals."
In the end, the reward was the silver medals and six call-ups for a DFB national team training course. In addition to goalkeeper Lennox Ballwanz, Jerome Diallo, Denniz Ali, Bruno Pliquett and Ali Salman, Lorent Aliu completed Berlin's list of successes on call-up.
"I was able to accompany the 2009 squad for two years. The tournament shows the strong development, not only of the players from the youth development centers. The promotion of players from the amateur clubs has also proved its worth," concluded Raab. With Jim Knecht (SV Empor) and Andrii Shakula (Viktoria Berlin), two players from this category were able to take part in Duisburg. In addition to physiotherapist Mike Birnbaum, assistant coach and team manager Roberto Luzardo were also delighted with the success of Raab's functional team.
Squad: Baran Efe, Michael Etobe, Niklas Glienke, Francesco Matjani, Bruno Pliquett, Mark Schippeinz and Nillas Zunk (all 1. FC Union Berlin), Denniz Ali, Lorent Aliu, Marko Bajars, Lennox Ballwanz, Jerome Diallo, Milo Goldszmidt and Ali Salman (all Hertha BSC) as well as Jim Knecht (SV Empor Berlin) and Andrii Shakula (Viktoria Berlin).
