Frings

[ag futbol]

Why would Werder Bremen give Frings a job as youth coach then? PR stunt?

That doesn't necessarily go against my point. Keep in mind plenty of former players get into youth coaching, some work well with it, some don't.

He has great experiences and knowledge, but how good will he be at communicating those things to the players here. Not Germany, where he spent his career and has in-depth knowledge about practically everything, and speaks the language fluently. How motivated is he to do these things for OUR young players? At the end of the day he's come here as a hired gun, which is much different than his connection to a club like Bremen.

It doesn't mean he's doing anything wrong. I don't expect him to come here as a mentor nor should we automatically assume he takes up such a role.

[jabbronies]

That doesn't necessarily go against my point. Keep in mind plenty of former players get into youth coaching, some work well with it, some don't.

He has great experiences and knowledge, but how good will he be at communicating those things to the players here. Not Germany, where he spent his career and has in-depth knowledge about practically everything, and speaks the language fluently. How motivated is he to do these things for OUR young players? At the end of the day he's come here as a hired gun, which is much different than his connection to a club like Bremen.

It doesn't mean he's doing anything wrong. I don't expect him to come here as a mentor nor should we automatically assume he takes up such a role.

I can see the language barrier being something that could be an obstacle, but it's not like he can't speak the language. Listening to his interviews he seems to have a grasp of more than just the basics of English, so I personally wouldn't use that as a reason to say he isn't mentoring the younger players

As for the young players not being able to relate - I don't see that either. Football is football. Whether you play in Argentina or if you play in Russia, the game is the same. The style of play may differ, but the at the end of the day the positions, roles and the game itself is the same. A young player having someone with World experience like Torsten on his team should be a sponge in his presence. He should be learning everything he can from that player IMO. If he isn't then that player needs to give his head a shake and wake up.

However, I do see where a player may not be able to learn from Torsten - A guy like Plata might not learn that much largely due to his style of play and position in relation to Torsten on the pitch.
Plata excelled when Maicon Santos was around, and when he left, we saw Plata decline slightly. Plata needs someone to teach him and I don't think Koevermans is the guy to do it. (but that is another story for another thread)

I think guys like Avila and Silva will benefit from Frings once he gets into the Midfield role he should be playing.
I also think guys like Morgan, Henry, Maunde have an opportunity to learn from Torsten while he is playing the CB role, but also when he moves up.