The youth partnership between FC Sao Paulo and VfB was announced in January, but the collaboration has since begun in earnest after two youngsters from the Brazilian giants’ youth department – Samuel Jhonathan Monteiro and Nicolas Bosshardt – recently spent four weeks in Stuttgart. The two 18-year-olds trained with VfB’s U21 and U19 sides while getting to grips with the football culture and way of life in Germany. Visits such as these are set to form an essential part of the partnership.
“From the outset, the partnership with FC Sao Paulo was meant to be a wide-ranging collaboration,” said Stephan Hildebrandt, director of VfB’s youth academy. “Talent scouting obviously has a very big role to play. The partnership with the Brazilian side grants us beneficial access to the South American player market while establishing a framework that shields us from financial risks and guarantees fair and humane treatment of the players themselves. Nicolas and Samuel, two talented youngsters born in 2007, have now been with us for four weeks and had the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the country, the people, the climate and the culture around VfB Stuttgart. It also gave us the opportunity to observe both players more closely over a longer period of time with our scouts and coaches. Both left a lasting impression. We’re planning on repeating this trial training period – and inviting two more youngsters born in 2008 – in September.”
“It was a great experience to live and train in Stuttgart for four weeks,” reflected Bosshardt. “We learned a lot about the country and trained a lot – the standard was very good. The German lessons also helped us a great deal. We’re already looking forward to seeing each other again when VfB visit us in Sao Paulo this summer.”
Meetings and workshops involving youth coaches from both clubs are also in the pipeline, while the VfB U19s and U17s will hold training camps in Brazil later this year. “The U19s and U17s will carry out their summer preparations in Sao Paulo, thereby bringing another aspect of this club partnership to life,” added Hildebrandt. “There are a variety of measures from which both parties will benefit, which ultimately creates a solid foundation of trust.”
