Just how poor was Mainz?
They were so broke that the Mainz youth teams didn't even have their own field to play matches on.
Play youth team matches at Bruch Road Stadium?
The club crunched the numbers and realized that holding a match at that stadium simply wasn't cost-effective.
Besides, the first and second teams both used Bruch Road Stadium.
If several youth teams also played their matches there, what kind of terrible state would the pitch be in?
So, Mainz ultimately chose a small town called Lower Olm, about 15 kilometers southwest of the city.
The club rented a multi-purpose stadium with an athletic track located in the town's sports park.
This Engelborn Stadium didn't even have stands or a fence. Anyone could just stand by the side of the field and watch the match.
All of Mainz's youth team matches were scheduled to be held here.
Wang Shuo's first home game after joining Mainz U19 was at this very stadium.
The opponent was the Munich 1860 U19 team.
Although it was a match between the youth squads of two professional clubs, it really didn't draw much of a crowd.
As Wang Shuo walked onto the field to warm up, he glanced around. The huge stadium was practically deserted.
"Isn't today Sunday?"
Wang Shuo asked Schürrle, who was beside him, feeling a bit puzzled as they warmed up.
They always said Europe had an incredible football atmosphere, and that even youth team matches attracted large crowds.
But Wang Shuo scanned the area and estimated there were only a few dozen people at most.
"Those people are here to support the Lower Olm club. We're the unwelcome outsiders," Schürrle explained with a smile.
But just as the realization dawned on Wang Shuo, Schürrle added another comment.
"Actually, our second team's attendance at Bruch Road Stadium is also terrible. A thousand people is about the most we ever get. I've heard them say the club loses money on ticket sales."
"Loses money?"
"Of course. Think about it. When you sell tickets, you need people to scan them, right? And people to maintain order? You might even have to pay for police to be on duty."
"All of that costs money. The revenue from a few hundred, or even one or two thousand, tickets results in a net loss."
"Not to mention, Bruch Road Stadium's pitch needs maintenance after a match. If the field quality is too poor, the professional league won't approve it."
Hearing this, Wang Shuo did some quick mental math and realized it really was a losing proposition.
"The second team's situation is awkward right now. They might stop playing at Bruch Road Stadium in the future and have to rent a field somewhere else, or they might even be disbanded entirely."
"Disband the second team?" Wang Shuo was surprised.
In his mind, wasn't the path to promotion from the U19s to the second team, and then to the first team?
"Actually, for the past two or three years, the most outstanding U19 players have often gone straight to the first team after turning 18, skipping the second team altogether."
Wang Shuo's eyes lit up.
He hadn't known about that.
'Skip the second team and go straight to the first?'
He then recalled that the first-team coach Klopp, second-team coach Peter Neustadter, and U19 coach Kramny were all mentored by Wolfgang Frank and shared the same tactical philosophy.
From that perspective, it made sense for the first team to select players directly from both the second team and the U19s.
"In recent years, the business side of German football has been a mess. Clubs are saddled with debt, life is hard for everyone, and there's a lot of pressure on youth development, so they're constantly undergoing reforms."
"The Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga belong to the professional league, but the third tier is currently split into North and South leagues. The fourth tier has nine different leagues. Our Mainz second team is in the Southwest Division."
"But starting from the 08/09 season, the two third-tier leagues will be consolidated into the Third Division League, with only 20 teams."
"The third-tier teams that get relegated, along with the teams from the original nine fourth-tier leagues, will be consolidated into three new leagues—South, West, and North—with 18 teams each."
"The rest of the teams will drop directly to the fifth tier."
Wang Shuo was getting a bit lost. He wasn't particularly familiar with the German league system.
But one thing was certain: besides the Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga, the lower-level leagues in Germany were quite chaotic and constantly being reformed.
Perhaps because of this, the Mainz second team and U19s, while seemingly in a hierarchical relationship, were actually on the same level, both feeding players into the first team.
The league system itself was a mess, and the youth matches weren't very prestigious, which resulted in basically no one watching the games of Mainz's various youth teams.
"The only youth or second teams that can really attract fans are those from powerhouse clubs like Bayern, Dortmund, or Hamburg."
When Schürrle mentioned these domestic giants, his eyes were full of longing.
This reminded Wang Shuo of a saying.
In Germany, every player dreams of playing for Bayern!
...
"Munich 1860 is an excellent team."
Before the match, on the sidelines, Kramny called all the players over for a pre-game briefing.
"Their defense is outstanding, but their offense isn't very strong. We need to target that."
There wasn't much pre-match preparation for U19 games; they often didn't even know the opponent's specific characteristics.
But Munich 1860's youth academy had always been exceptional, and they were a major contributor of players to the national teams.
Although the opponent was ranked two places below Mainz, Kramny repeatedly stressed the need to focus on defense.
Especially against Munich 1860's top scorer, the 18-year-old Austrian forward, Philippe Hoxinna.