BILD CITES SEVILLA AS A MODEL FOR GROWTH IN GERMAN FOOTBALL

Though the national team has never stepped down from the podium and stands proud as the reigning international Champions of the world, Germany is experiencing an era in which its clubs, beyond Bayern Munich, are struggling to make waves in European club competition. The CEO of the Deutsche Fußball Liga (Bundesliga), Christian Seifert, recently asked the heads of German clubs to be more competitive in continental competition in a bid to grow nationally.

With this premise, the prestigious German newspaper Bild, in an article written by journalist Daniel Schneider, provided a number of reasons why Sevilla FC would be a good example for German sides to follow. The argument was supported by Sevilla's many European honours - pointing out that since Germany's last Europa League triumph with Schalke in 1997, Sevilla have lifted the trophy five times.

But that's not all, as Schneider also touches on the use of resources - with German clubs boasting nearly double the market value of Sevilla's squad - and the culture of long-term work. He highlights the "realism" of the club, knowing who you can keep and even where you can battle in such a competitive league, as well as the club's impressive scouting work and decision-making in the transfer market. He finishes by urging German club's to trust more in domestic talent, with Spain's 21.6% of home-grown players dwarfing Germany's 13%. 

As Schneider so appropriately and elegantly puts it at the end of his piece: "learning from Sevilla FC is learning to win in Europe".