The "Eintracht Frankfurt and Urawa Reds WINTER CAMP" was held at Urawa Komaba Stadium on (Sat), January 11th and Sunday, January 12th. Former Urawa Reds player and current coach of the Eintracht Frankfurt U-21 team, Makoto Hasebe, coached the teams in the mornings on each day.

This project is sponsored by Eintracht Frankfurt Academy Japan, which was established by the German Bundesliga first division club Eintracht Frankfurt. The club and Urawa Reds signed a memorandum of understanding on a club-to-club partnership in November 2022, and as part of this partnership, Urawa Reds also cooperated in the operation of this WINTER CAMP, making it a joint event.

Approximately 50 children from third to sixth grades in elementary school who applied to participate in the two-day WINTER CAMP were invited to participate from both Eintracht and Urawa Reds.

The morning started with a lecture by Coach Hasebe. The children sat at desks with plates bearing their names and listened intently to the coach's talk, which was based on materials projected on a screen.

Coach Hasebe explained that there are three steps to the "power of thinking" required for soccer players: "recognition," "judgment/decision-making," and "courageous execution." He told the children to keep this way of thinking in mind during this camp and in their own training in the future. He also mentioned "dreams," and spoke to the children about the importance of being passionate about something through the meaning of the word "passion."

He also touched on the importance of gratitude, sending a powerful message that, "Rather than becoming someone who deserves gratitude, it's important to first feel grateful yourself."




After the lecture, the team trained on the main pitch at Urawa Komaba Stadium. The training menu focused on the process from "recognition" to "courageous execution." During the warm-up, the team used Japanese and German to improve their concentration and incorporated some playful elements.



Afterwards, the pitch was divided into four areas, and each group took turns trying out different exercises. The 4x4x4 passing game area, which Coach Hasebe was in charge of, was an advanced training exercise in which teammates and opponents frequently switched positions, and the children concentrated throughout the exercise. Coach Hasebe gave passionate instruction, shouting loudly. He even stopped play at certain points, repeatedly teaching the importance of "cognition" while giving specific instructions.




The second morning ended with an 8 vs. 8 game. Coach Hasebe also participated as a free man, and the children gave it their all, demonstrating the results of their training so far. It was impressive to see them show such teamwork that it was hard to believe they had met for the first time, helping each other as they played.



The two-day WINTER CAMP ended successfully on the afternoon of the 12th. After the training, Coach Hasebe answered questions from the media and looked back on the event.

[Comment from Coach Makoto Hasebe]
"It's important for kids of this age to have as much fun as possible while playing soccer, and in terms of enthusiasm, the coaches coached until they lost their voices. I had a lot of fun today.
Urawa Reds and Eintracht Frankfurt are clubs where I played for a long time, and I am happy that two clubs that I have a lot of affection for have formed an alliance and that I can play here in the place where I made my (home) debut as part of that partnership. It feels very nostalgic.
Anyway, as a coach, I spoke out loudly. I learn about the "passion" aspect in my daily coaching, and in Germany, I try to inject my passion into the players every day, especially during practice, so I think I did the same today. When I was a player, the coaches I found attractive were those who were able to bring that kind of passion to the field, so I'm trying to do that now too.
There are many different types of players. So it's hard to say who the best players are, but of course you need a certain amount of talent, but there are many players who go up by putting in more effort and using their heads, so that's what I wanted to convey today, and I hope that more players like that will come out. I'd be happy if some of these players go on to play in the J.League and on the world stage."


[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]