FCS youth leader Schraffl: “South Tyrol has a mentality problem”

FCS youth leader Schraffl: “South Tyrol has a mentality problem”

FC Südtirol wants to rely more on its own youth in the future. SportNews spoke to youth leader Alex Schraffl and asked why so few South Tyroleans have made it into professional football. The 43-year-old also talks about Michael Cia and the South Tyrolean “event fan”.

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Interview by Christian Staffler

Alex Schraffl, Simone Zanon, a young South Tyrolean, has the opportunity to prove himself to the professionals this year. An important step for promoting young talent at FCS?

Yes definitely. Simone has great potential, but at the same time still has a lot to improve. But that's logical. He is a young player, born in 2001, and will still be integrated into the professional team. Our goal must be to ensure that this happens more in the future.

Why has the FCS had so many problems recruiting its own youth players in recent years? Is there a lack of quality?

I would not say that. We had some youth players who had the potential for professional football. In my opinion, it always fails because of one thing: absolute will and perseverance. We are doing very well here in South Tyrol. As a result, many youth players quickly give up and take other paths as soon as things don't go as planned. South Tyrol has a mentality problem - you can also see it in other sports.

Is that really the only reason?

Certainly not. The quality of the championships was also lacking. We are now ready for our youth players to play against their peers from other professional teams. This way they can develop optimally. But you also have to see that we have given away 6 to 7 really strong youth players to top clubs in the last few years. Lorenzo Sgarbi plays at Napoli, Manuel De Luca made it to the professional level at Torino and Simon Straudi is on a very good path in Bremen.

“I would have liked to see Straudi with the FCS professionals!” Alex Schraffl about the former FCS youth player

Speaking of Straudi: He was a huge talent at FCS, but then preferred to go abroad to a Bundesliga club. Why didn't he become an FCS professional?

Straudi is a young footballer who has clear goals. He doesn't get distracted by other things and works very hard. We had a good exchange with Werder Bremen back then and recommended Straudi to them. When the offer came, I knew that a professional contract with FC Südtirol would no longer be possible. That's a shame, I would have liked to see him with the FCS professionals.

The permeability of the FCS from youth to the professional sector has so far been very low. How do you want to counteract this in the future?

The step from the Berretti Championship to Serie C is huge. An intermediate step is needed and this is where Series D comes into play. It is important that there are some fourth division teams in South Tyrol and Trentino. Here the young players can play at a good level and at the same time stay in the region. Simone Davi, for example, had an outstanding season at Virtus Bozen. Now he should take the next step in Serie D so that he can then be a candidate for the FCS professionals. We are looking at him because he is a player with great abilities. The situation is similar with Yuri Salvaterra.

Former FCS youth players now play for every club in the top and regional leagues. Good for the amateurs, right?

I made statistics two years ago: In total there were 130 players who were trained at the FCS and then played in the top or regional league. You have to be realistic: if one of 20 Berretti players makes it into professional football every year, then that would be great. The other 19 switch to amateur clubs and raise the level there. What I cannot understand at all is when former youth players want to put the FCS in a bad light, because they all have the club to thank for their good football training. You don't spit into the plate you ate from. “There is no fan culture in South Tyrol. People want the event!” Alex Schraffl about the number of spectators in the Drususstadion

Let's talk about Michael Cia for a moment. Will his non-extension of his contract cause a loss of image among young South Tyrolean footballers?

No, I do not think so. Cia became a professional at FC Südtirol and recently received a four-year contract, that shouldn't be forgotten. The springboard for a young South Tyrolean footballer into the professional field is the FCS - and not an amateur club.

Will Cia's departure mean fewer spectators come to the Drususstadion for home games?

I don't believe that either. The South Tyroleans want the event, there is no fan culture. Regardless of whether it's biathlon, ice hockey or football - if there's something going on, people go there. It's not for nothing that FC Südtirol's home play-off games were sold out.

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