AS Selangor introduced their new German coach yesterday, their major goal is to forge a football structure that German teams are famed for — punchy teamwork and mental strength.
Karsten Neitzel, 52, who used to play as a midfielder for Bundesliga club, SC Freiburg, was unveiled as Selangor's coach for the 2021 season via a video on social media.
FAS technical director Michael Feictenbeiner, who is also a German, believes that Neitzel is capable of helping Selangor make the transition to a youthful and vibrant brand of football, where the focus is not so much on individual stars.
This will be a far cry from the star-studded Selangor team of the 1980s whose first 11 would comprise virtually almost the national first 11.
"It's important that our project produces our own players to play in the Super League, so we need a head coach (Neitzel) who is open to using young players," said Feictenbeiner.
"Sometimes, it's not easy to play young players because they tend to make mistakes, but Neitzel is a brave coach. If he sees some quality and ability in the youngsters, he will give them a chance.
"We want to build the best team in Malaysia and need to do it in our very own way.
"We may not be able to attract the best individual players to play for Selangor but we can try building the best team via our game play and development programme."
Neitzel, who has coached in Germany and Japan, said he believes in the Selangor youngsters' skill and will give them equal opportunities.
"I've seen some games from the second team, they have great potential.
"For example Aliff (Haiqal), Zikri (Khalili), Afro (Sharul Nazeem Zulpakar) and Danial (Asri) as strikers. They are good players but I don't want to give them much pressure.
"I will support all the young players as much as the seniors," added Neitzel who was Freiburg's assistant head coach after he ended his playing career.
Prior to coming to Shah Alam, Neitzel managed German division four club RW Essen and later served as an adviser to former DFB-Pokal winners SW Essen.
Neitzel, who has 10 years of coaching experience, was also the assistant head coach at J-League's Urawa Reds. He also helped Holstein Kiel to win promotion to the Bundesliga second division.
"I know Neitzel well because he used to be my player. He was a very good midfielder and played in my team in the second division before playing in the Bundesliga. He was a very powerful player.
"It's good that the FAS management appoint somebody I know as the head coach.
"He has good attitude, he works hard and has always wanted to prove himself in Asia. So, I think he will be very motivated to coach Selangor," said Feictenbeiner.