U19s and U17s looking forward to Bayern and Hamburg | OneFootball

BVB's 3-0 victory away to highly fancied VfL Bochum was one of many surprises in the last-16 games in the U19 German Championship. As was the elimination of big names like VfB Stuttgart, Karlsruher SC, Rasenballsport Leipzig and Borussia Mönchengladbach. "The fact that we reached the quarter-finals with our young team and despite the many injuries is a huge compliment to the talent of our players. It's also a great success for the entire coaching team," said U19 coach Mike Tullberg.

The anticipation is tangible ahead of the clash with Bayern Munich. "The boys have earned this game. We see ourselves in the role of the underdog. But we're not going to hide, the odds are 50:50 in these knockout matches, five of which went into extra time in the first round,' explained Tullberg, who expects a “completely different game” to the one in Bochum and an “extremely strong opponent in footballing terms."

Bayern, who were unlucky to lose on penalties to Inter Milan in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Youth League, qualified for the final round in second place in Group C behind FC Schalke 04. They defeated VfL Wolfsburg 2-1 in the round of 16.

"Both teams are similar in age, but in terms of individual quality, Bayern are the clear number one in Germany," said Tullberg, in his analysis of the opposition. The 17-year-old Swede Jonah Kusi-Asa recently made his Bundesliga debut for the first team against FSV Mainz 05, and the highly talented players Lennart Karl, Jonathan Asp Jensen, Roko Mijatovic, Raphael Pavlic and Magnus Dalpiaz, who was suspended on Sunday due to a yellow card, have also already played for coach Vincent Kompany's first team.

U17s look forward to hosting HSV at the Rote Erde

The statistics alone show how difficult the U17s' task against Hamburger SV will be. Hannover 96, unbeaten winners of Group B in the preliminary round ahead of BVB, failed to qualify for the final round in fifth place in the main round Group B behind Rasenballsport Leipzig (19 points), SC Paderborn, HSV (both 18) and Hertha BSC (10). "They were all very close groups. That's testament to the quality of the teams. This even balance at a high level speaks in favour of the new DFB youth leagues format," said Karsten Gorges ahead of the last-16 clash.

After a disappointing weekend last weekend with defeats in the last group game in Magdeburg (2-0) and in the Westfalenpokal quarter-final at SV Rödinghausen (2-1), he expects a positive reaction from his boys: "It's a nice form of pressure. We're having a strong season and playing really good football. Our biggest problem in the last two games has been our failure to take our chances," emphasised Karsten Gorges and assured: "We're looking forward to the experience of playing in the Rote Erde stadium and are eagerly awaiting the game."

In terms of personnel, he can almost draw on a full squad. Justin Hoy, who is undergoing rehab following knee surgery, and Jan-Luca Riedl, who is in the U19 squad, are the only players missing. "Our goal is to qualify for the quarter-finals," said Gorges.