Alessandro Blazic is one of Cologne’s best talents. (Photo: Bucco)
The Germany U17 national team will complete a training camp in Pinatar, Spain from 4 to 15 January. With Alessandro Blazic, Justin von der Hitz and Fayssal Harchaoui, DFB coach Christian Wück named three talents from 1. FC Cologne. If you believe U17 coach Manuel Hartmann, these talents could soon be followed by other FC players. The GEISSBLOG presents the protagonists.
Alexander Blazic
Aged just 16, Blazic has been in goal for coach Stefan Ruthenbeck’s Cologne Under-19 side since the start of the season and his strong performances have made a significant contribution to A-Juniors at the top of the Bundesliga West. Although Blazic, who moved to Geißbockheim from FC Hennef’s youth academy five years ago, is not (yet) one of the best physically in his field, he has recently impressed with outstanding reflexes, strong penalty area control and a charisma that has even obtained from his older opponents he earns respect.
After playing in the German U16, he was also in goal in the last international match of the German U17s (2-2 against Turkey) in November 2022. No question: Blazic is one of the greatest goalkeeping talents in the country and continues the streak of talents of the Cologne goalkeeper.
Justin from the heat
In his first year with the U17s in Cologne, Justin von der Hitz was able to draw attention to himself after a few teething problems and was also used in the U19s. “Justin was with me in the U16. A really good guy who still seems shy at times. He was not fit at the beginning of the season, but then he improved enormously,” says his club coach Manuel Hartmann and adds: ” From a sporting point of view, he has a very good pace, good pace, good flanking and a strong offensive one-on-one – One if he has the opponent in front of him. If he has the opponent behind him, he can still improve.”
Observers of the junior games in Cologne have already seen von der Hitz playing in various positions, both on the left offensive position and on the right wing. “We would like to train him in the full right lane and see him in the right-back position in the future, also because he went to extremes in defensive one-on-ones,” says Hartmann. Von der Hitz, who will only celebrate his 17th birthday in October 2023, has already played three times this year for the German U-17 national team. In the Spanish training camp, more minutes are likely to be added in the two friendlies against England.
Fayssal Harchaoui
It’s hard to imagine the Under 17 of Cologne without Fayssal Harchaoui, who gives stability to the game of Cologne more than anyone else. The 16-year-old, who joined the goats like Salih Özcan from SC West Köln, convinces with his vigor and commitment, especially in sixth position. Coach Hartmann knows his strengths, but he also knows what the German-Moroccan still has to work on: “Fayssal already showed strong performances in the U17 last year. When he has the match ahead of him, he has momentum “He’s huge and he’s also a threat in goal. In pure positional play he can still improve. He needs to adopt the modern six-man position, be disciplined in defense and win balls, just like he plays for the national team.”
In the DFB, where he also played as a central defender, Harachaoui is almost a veteran: under the coaching of Christian Wück he has already played five times this year in the shirt with the eagle on his chest.
More talents to come?
But not only the three mentioned give hope that the young FC talents will take the difficult path to becoming a professional footballer. In any case, Manuel Hartmann is optimistic: “We still have a few more guys from whom we can expect a lot: Etienne Borie, who is now getting stronger after a small drop in performance and with whom we will still have a lot of fun. The same goes for Youssoupha Niang, Kian Hekmat or Chinedu Chukwukelu, who have recently played in the front row. And we hope to hear much more from others, perhaps even from the DFB. Because there they know that good youth work is being done in Cologne.”
