Old but relevant article by Jason deVos on how Germany turned around their national program, and what Canada could learn from it:
http://www.tsn.ca/soccer/story/?id=422202
Quote:
Following the 1998 World Cup, in which Germany suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Croatia in the quarterfinals, German football took a good long look at its collective self in the mirror. And it didn't particularly like what it saw.
So, in typical German fashion, they decided to fix it
They replaced their youth development model with a new one; a model that required all German Bundesliga clubs (there are 36 clubs in two divisions) to run centrally regulated youth academies. These academies have been a key factor in the production of players for Germany's national teams in recent years.
Dr. Reinhard Rauball, President of the League Association in Germany, said this of the new academy system:
"For all clubs, the compulsory introduction of academies for young players in 2001 was the building block which laid the way to a successful future for German football. Today, ten years later, we can enjoy the fruits of the labour of those academies."
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