Maribor doesn’t hide its pride in the successes of its youth teams: “Not only two championship titles, but also national team appearances for additional enhancement”
Photo: NK Maribor
In the past, the youth academy of NK Maribor has also been the target of quite sharp criticisms. Allegedly, they didn’t work well with young talents at the Ljudski vrt. Supposedly, there are few players in the national team who have been nurtured there. And purportedly, there isn’t enough space in the senior team for talents from the academy. However, the 2023/24 season has silenced practically everyone who was critical of the purple team. They became youth champions, won the league under 15, and also topped the overall standings of the cadet and older boys’ competitions.
“Above all, it is worth highlighting trust, which is the basic foundation. We are champions with two selections and with the largest number of representatives in recent times, while also meeting high work criteria, as there are no shortcuts to success. Besides the results and individual achievements, I am extremely pleased to realize that a certain change in mentality can be perceived in the youth academy and the club in general. The football school has gained even more validity and prestige, and we are all very aware of the responsibility we have,” emphasized Sebastijan Harc for the club’s website.
The Director of the NK Maribor Football School continued: “There is noticeable homogeneity, which is at a high level, perhaps the highest in recent years. With the unity of a larger group of coaches, as colleagues in the football school, we have achieved constructive exchange of information; expressed concerns are not taken critically but as a new perspective, with the desire to be even more successful together. We put our heads together and, through teamwork, especially with the amount of work, we achieved a new dimension of operation. We faced various challenges and experienced a severe blow when Milan Žurman left us too early. But we had to continue on the path we had set, even after an irreplaceable loss. It is noticeable, however, that Migo contributed his part, which many boys carry with them, and with this mindset of belonging and the importance of dedication to work, they will continue forward.”
Maribor further highlighted that there is a “noticeable increase in the number of minutes played by players developed in our football school” in the senior team, which was further elaborated by Radovan Karanović. The former coach of the senior team of the Styrian giant is currently the Head of the Youth Academy.
Maribor Aims to Take New Steps Forward
“The fact is that the transition from the youth to the senior competition is very demanding. Especially at NK Maribor. We must combine the work process and understanding of the boys that it doesn’t happen overnight. If someone plays well in the youth team, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will immediately play for the seniors with certainty. We have a good example in Žan Vipotnik, who went through the work process and, with intermediate stops, earned his place in the senior team. We participate in various educational programs, and often, the common denominator of workshops is about the operation of football schools, how desirable it is for boys to have intermediate stops on their developmental path. Whether in B teams in their own club or on loan to other clubs. Benfica is considered a role model for a football school even on a global scale. Their youth teams participate in numerous international tournaments, sometimes up to 70 in a single season. The only one who was directly promoted from the football school to the first team in ten years was Joao Felix. This was also one of the central themes of the last workshop in Nyon, where I participated with Dejan Dončić, the coach of the U19 championship team,” explained Radovan Karanović in great detail, who also touched upon the fact that in the last year, 16 players have “left Maribor, to a greater or lesser extent, having the opportunity to play,” but despite this, “for various reasons, moved to other clubs.”
“This is a process that requires dynamics, and during which impatience or excessive personal ambition must not prevail. Regardless of intermediate departures, we have shown that we know the way. We have expressed strength as a collective, but also some boys who already indicate exceptional talent. They have shown quality“
This text was automatically translated using AI.
Author: editorial Football Planet
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