Kieran Shannon: Germany begins coaching plan all Irish sports can aspire to

It's not just soccer that can learn from the player-based approach being embraced

Germany U17's Loreen Benderof celebrates her goal againt Portugal in Albufeira in November  2021. Germany has been one the innovators in coaching in Europe. Picture: Ricardo Nascimento/Getty Images for DFB

For decades they were known for playing the most pragmatic, unromantic football known to man. Now the Germans are the biggest dreamers and kids that the game knows. And maybe who every sport, be it another global one like basketball, or an indigenous one like the GAA starting back up its Go Games this month, should know about and even emulate.

Its federation is launching nationwide a raft of changes in how underage football will be played in the country, underpinned by a shift in thinking succinctly summarised by its vice-president, a Ronny Zimmermann: “We need to think like children, not like adults.”