With Kacper Koscierski and Cajetan Lenz, two talented players from the club’s own youth academy were recently included in VfL Bochum’s matchday squad. Their coach continues to pursue one goal.
There was certainly no reason to celebrate at the start of the new second division season for VfL Bochum. The Bundesliga relegation team disappointed across the board, losing their first competitive game 1-4 to SV Darmstadt 98. However, there was one piece of good news: Cajetan Lenz, another talented player from the club’s own youth academy, made his debut for the first team at the Böllenfalltor. The defensive midfielder was unable to change the outcome of the defeat, coming on as a late substitute in the 83rd minute. Kacper Koscierski, another product of the club’s youth academy, was also on the bench for the Blue and Whites. The work of Bochum’s talent factory continues to bear fruit, which will particularly please the players’ coaches and supporters. The same goes for U19 coach David Siebers, who has accompanied and shaped Lenz on his way to becoming a professional for a long time: “This makes not only me happy, but the whole club. After all, that’s our job. Even if the course of the game and the result didn’t give us much to cheer about. With a few days’ hindsight, his second division debut was a special moment for him. That makes us very proud, of course. The goal remains to bring the boys to the top.”
Lenz, who was born in Bochum, made “extreme progress in terms of physique and athleticism” in his last year as a youth player, Siebers revealed. He has always possessed footballing qualities. It therefore came as no surprise to the coach that Lenz is progressing so quickly and has already made his first appearances for the pros at the start of the season.
Beyond Lenz and Koscierski, other talented players have long been part of the professional squad. For example, Darnell Keumo and Alessandro Crimaldi were allowed to join the summer training camp in Scheffau, Austria, and were thus involved in the second division pros’ preparations for much of the time. Nevertheless, both are still fully committed to the U19 season for the time being.
“That has a huge impact on a team,” said Siebers, referring to the balancing act the young pros have to perform between the youth team and the professional squad. Depending on the personnel available, the 37-year-old always has to reschedule at short notice. It is also his job to keep the talented players enthusiastic about the youth program after they have had a taste of professional football: “
”Fortunately, I have been able to accompany the boys for a long time, so I know that they have impeccable character and do their job to the best of their ability. They are also humble towards their teammates and are welcomed with open arms. Only when that works can you get a good team performance.” At least on the first match day of the DFB youth league, the chemistry in his team seemed to be more than good: VfL Bochum’s U19 team got off to a flying start to the season with a convincing 5-0 win over Rot-Weiss Essen.