This summer’s transfer window is open until 5 October as an exception, meaning Bundesliga clubs still have eight and a half weeks to sign, loan out, swap or release players. But it already looks like VfB will have one of the youngest squads among the 18 Bundesliga teams this season. What is particularly striking is that of the 33 players who have been part of the first-team squad for the start of pre-season training, almost exactly half of them are under the age of 23.
Alongside the four veterans over 30 (Daniel Didavi, Holger Badstuber, Gonzalo Castro and Jens Grahl), there are 16 players at the other end of the age spectrum who are 22 or younger: Gregor Kobel, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Borna Sosa, Orel Mangala, Nicolas Gonzalez, Maxime Awoudja (all 22), Silas Wamangituka, Darko Churlinov, Mateo Klimowicz, Luca Mack (all 20), Roberto Massimo, Clinton Mola, Tanguy Coulibaly, Antonis Aidonis, Florian Kleinhansl (all 19) and Lilian Egloff (17). Overall, the average age of head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo’s squad is currently 23.6.
Eight players and one assistant previously in the academy
There are also eight players in the current group who played for VfB at youth level: Didavi, Philipp Förster, Badstuber, Grahl, Egloff, Mack, Aidonis and Kleinhansl. In addition, as of this season, there’s also a former VfB youngster on Matarazzo’s coaching staff in the form of assistant Peter Perchtold.
The 35-year-old made two Bundesliga appearances in the red and white shirt from 2005 to 2008, as well as playing 90 games for the reserves. The definitive squad for the coming season won’t be known until the transfer window closes in early October, but there’s already a clear trend at VfB.