Sancho can become one of football’s superstars

Borussia Dortmund youngster Jadon Sancho is taking Bundesliga defenders to the sword week in, week out. The 18-year-old has been breaking records left, right and centre in Germany’s topflight this season, and recently became the youngest player to reach eight Bundesliga goals. His worth has skyrocketed since he left Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, where he didn’t see a future for himself. In this week’s international feature, Soccer Laduma’s David Kappel caught up with German football expert and author of bestselling books ‘Das Reboot’ as well as ‘Klopp: Bring The Noise’ Raphael Honigstein to chat about Sancho’s meteoric rise, why BVB can beat Bayern Munich in the title race, why Eintracht Frankfurt striker Luka Jovic is being chased by the likes of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, and who is his Bundesliga Player of the Season so far.

David Kappel: Hello Raphael, thanks for your time. Let’s jump straight in. Jadon Sancho is making headlines almost every week, and you recently managed to interview him. What makes him so special?

Raphael Honigstein: Well, I think he has got something that makes him very special. He has got a combination of pace, technique and fearlessness. He drives at players, creates spaces for himself and for his teammates, and all of this at a very, very young age. I understand why everyone is excited about him, both in England and Germany. He is one of the outstanding talents of his generation.

DK: Arsene Wenger recently said that Sancho has something, self-confidence and self-belief, only real big players have. Do you think he has what it takes to become one of football’s superstars?

RH: I think so. Obviously, he has to continue to improve, continue to learn and keep a level head. I think it’s a good dressing room for him, because the likes of Axel Witsel keep an eye out on him. He is almost becoming like a big brother to him, making sure he doesn’t do anything stupid. And, in addition, he has a great coach in Lucien Favre, who does a lot of individual work with him. Those are the reasons why we have seen such an improvement in him this season. If all these things continue in a similar path, he has got a great future ahead of him. But, you know, in football it’s not always easy to predict the career trajectory of young players because they need to stay healthy, they need to get lucky in a way with the coaches they have, they need confidence, the trust that they need to progress. There are some players that get hyped up early on but can’t sustain it in the long run. But I’ve got a feeling that this guy will do it.

DK: His worth has skyrocketed since he joined Dortmund. Why do you think Pep Guardiola and Manchester City let such a talent go?

RH: I think he had made up his mind that he was not going to sign a new contract and, at that point, City didn’t really have much choice. He was a bit unlucky in a sense that they had so many quality players ahead of him. I think, if you look at Pep Guardiola, you can’t really blame him for not playing a 16- or 17-year-old when he has superstars all around him. I wouldn’t necessarily point the finger at City, but you have to pay a huge compliment to him and his appraisal of the situation and his willingness to take a chance, take a change and go to a different country and realise the possibility he will be afforded. Crucially, Dortmund stayed true to their word and actually did exactly what they told him they would do, which is to give him a real chance.

DK: Sancho is not the only English youngster in the Bundesliga, others have followed. Can you tell us which other English names in the German topflight excite you?

RH: Well, I think the obvious one is Reiss Nelson at Hoffenheim. He looks to be the most promising player behind Sancho as far as English players are concerned. We might see Callum Hudson-Odoi coming as well, to Bayern Munich, very soon. But I think it will never be an invasion of English players. The really good ones are quite expensive and only the top Bundesliga teams could really take them. The players also need to be like Sancho, open-minded enough to actually take that chance and take the opportunity to try and develop somewhere else, outside your own comfort zone. I still don’t think there will be as many players willing to do that in the future. Sancho opened the eyes, opened the doors for others to follow, but I don’t think it will result in dozens and dozens of English players moving to Germany.

DK: There has been criticism that the “English wave” could hinder the progress of Germany’s own talents. What’s your take on this?

RH: I think this is a very isolated opinion. I think one or two pundits might have said that, but, in my view, this doesn’t really reflect the public opinion. I don’t think Germans really care whether the young players coming through are English or German or Nigerian. I think they like to see players playing well; I think they like to see clubs being smart, developing talents. The bottom line for Dortmund is that they got a player who could be worth € 100 million – if he is not worth that much already – after they developed him in a financial and sporting sense. They should only be commended and praised for doing so. I don’t think Sancho is now hindering the progress of any other young German player in the squad. The young German players have to make sure that they are good enough to compete with the best.

DK: Which other new January signings in the Bundesliga excite you?

RH: I think Alphonso Davies for Bayern looks very exciting. He could maybe prove a real interesting player in a couple of years. I also like the early signs of Tyler Adams at RB Leipzig a lot. He looks really, really strong and mature for his age. With the new guys at Eintracht Frankfurt, I haven’t seen enough of them but Frankfurt’s recent success in the transfer market would suggest that, again, they have bought really, really well.

DK: If we look at the title race, Dortmund has had a rough week. Are they starting to show some nerves?

RH: I don’t think it’s down to nerves, I think it’s down to real problems. Defensive problems caused by injuries and just a lack of concentration in one or two moments. Certainly against Hoffenheim, they conceded really silly goals. I don’t think this is really down to some psychological problem they have now developed all of a sudden, I think the issues have to do more with a shortage at the back beginning to show in replacements making silly mistakes. I personally think this is just a temporary phenomenon. If they go back to playing their usual game and one or two big players return, then they still have enough cushion to win the league.

DK: Do you think it might be a blessing in disguise for them if they were to be knocked out of the Champions League so that they can focus fully on the league?

RH: I don’t think so. I think the Champions League excites everyone, it provides a special kind of atmosphere. If they were to go through,

“He is one of the outstanding talents of his generation.”

which is very unlikely at this point, they have a maximum of five more games before the end of the season. Even with their injury problems, that is not necessarily such a huge burden on resources that they cannot necessarily compete on two fronts. They are already out of the German Cup, remember? I don’t really buy this ‘so they can focus on the league’ argument very much. The positive momentum that you would get from going deep into the competition offsets the mental and physical fatigue that might come from those games.

DK: Despite a recent upturn in results, Bayern are somewhat struggling in the Bundesliga this season. Where do you see their issues?

RH: I think Bayern’s issues are a bit down to the team being in transition. The old Bayern team is sort of disappearing with a new team emerging, and you have this kind of weird in-between team at the moment. They would always have a bit of a problem finding themselves in the dressing room as well as on the pitch. In Niko Kovac, they have a manager who is very inexperienced at this level, and in Hasan Salihamidzic, they have a sporting director who is very inexperienced at this level. The combination of all these things has made Bayern a little bit more ordinary and a bit less dominant, a bit more fragile than usual. Even all of that would not have been enough to give anyone else a chance to win the league if it hadn’t been for Dortmund’s unbelievable consistency. They are playing a season that is heading for the record books in terms of the points they are winning. Despite all of Bayern’s frailties, you still needed a Dortmund team stepping up so much to get anywhere near winning the title. And the emergence of the Dortmund team has put more pressure on Bayern than they would’ve expected.

DK: Bayern now face Liverpool in the Champions League. Our newspaper only comes out after the first leg is played, but which side would you favour to go through over the two legs?

RH: I favour Liverpool. They are just a bit more dangerous in certain areas where Bayern have their weaknesses. I think, over the two legs, the difference will not be that much, but still enough for Liverpool. I’ll make it 60-40, which means it wouldn’t be a total sensation or upset if Bayern were to qualify. But I still expect Liverpool to be a bit stronger.

DK: Apart from the title race and the Champions League, there are other Bundesliga teams who have impressed this campaign. One of them is Frankfurt. Do you think their UEFA Europa League fairy tale can continue?

RH: I don’t see why not. I think they look really strong. They love those European nights. They take so many fans to these games. Even in Ukraine, there were 3 000 fans. The 2-2 draw at Shakhtar Donetsk was a bit disappointing given they played with 11 vs 10 men for 80 minutes, but at the same time, it puts them into a great position to qualify for the Last 16. I don’t see that many teams who are left in the competition, who are better. Napoli, yes, Chelsea, yes, Arsenal in theory, but not practically. Then you have the likes of Frankfurt in a second tier of teams that could easily go all the way. I give them a great chance to continue.

DK: Frankfurt striker Luka Jovic has been linked with FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and a host of Premier League clubs lately. Is he really that good?

RH: Yeah, I think he is. He is outstanding. I see him as a future superstar. There is a reason why Barcelona follow him so closely. Out of the three really exciting Frankfurt forwards, he looks to be the most promising in terms of his potential. He has got the furthest to go. I’m a big Jovic fan. DK: Before we let you go, who has been the Bundesliga Player of the Season so far, in your opinion?

RH: I think Marco Reus. Not necessarily because of the goals and assists, but because of the leadership he has provided to his Dortmund team. He is not as good as he has been since 2012 and has really grown as a person since having the captaincy. So I would give it to Marco Reus.

DK: As a final question, what is your prediction for the title race?

RH: I think Dortmund will do it.

DK: Thank you so much for your time.

RH: Pleasure.

“I don’t think BVB’s bad run is down to nerves.” “There is a reason why Barca follow Jovic so closely.”