At first glance, this story seems to take place in an island country in East Asia, but it is the story of the European country of Luxembourg: a small country with a population of only 600,000 people.
lit. fish belly in Europe (idiom); fig. the underbelly of the European Union
Looking at Luxembourg's past record, their victories can be accomplished with two hands, known as the Red Lions. (Red Lions) Since 1934, Luxembourg have won only 8 of their 142 matches in world qualification (10 and 124). Since the opening of the UEFA Nations Cup in 1964, qualification has been similarly bumpy, with only 8 wins in 111 matches (accompanied by 11 and 98 losses).
Such a winning figure can't even be compared to the biggest number of goals conceded in a single match in the history of the national team (0-10). For Luxembourg, playing against an opponent in an official match is a valuable thing. This is a real European fish belly.
In 2006, Luxembourg was ranked as low as 195 in the world. Only Bhutan, the Cayman Islands and Angela (a British Overseas Territory) were lower than them, and even San Marino, another European fishbowl, was better (even Taiwan Province was higher).
Should it continue like this? Obviously the answer is no, but how do you change? How to start? It all goes back to 2001.
The Road to Change at the National Training Center
In a country with a population of only around 600,000, Luxembourg has only an amateur league in the country and the establishment of a professional league was never considered.In 2001, Luxembourg provided a higher level of training environment for young Luxembourg footballers in Mondercange (Mondercange) The National Football Training Center has been set up, where youngsters can train with professional coaches and on weekends return to their clubs to play matches.
Luxembourg, as a country with a land area of only 2,586.3 square kilometers (Taiwan Province covers 36,000 square kilometers), has the advantage that young players can receive the most professional soccer training without having to commute long distances.
In order to gather as much talent as possible, the Luxembourg Football Federation (LFF) has divided the country into four regions, searching for talented youngsters between the ages of 8-11 and bringing their children to training centers when they are 12 years old. During their teenage years from 12-18 years old, they thrive at the training centers and learn all things related to soccer. Currently, a total of 250 players are trained in the soccer academy.
In Luxembourg, there are more than 100 soccer clubs and 45,000 registered players (both adults and minors) throughout the country, but almost all the players who make it to the national team have had the experience of attending training at the National Training Center.
All things being equal, only books are better: the difference between Luxembourg and Iceland
In 2016, Iceland rose to fame in World War I of the UEFA Nations Cup, breaking into the top eight with a dramatic win over England for a small country with a population of just 330,000, which sent Viking warfare roaring around the world. For a while, Iceland's experience seemed to be a borrowed target for many small nations.
Lucc Holtz, coach of the Luxembourg national team, believes that "we can learn from countries like Iceland, Albania or North Macedonia. But on a spiritual level, we can't compare ourselves too much with them in the rest."
The coach, who has coached Luxembourg since 2011, then pointed out the biggest gap "Iceland is socially and structurally irrelevant to us. In terms of quality of life, they are very different from Luxembourg...".
Holtz argues that young people in Iceland see sport as the only way out, or even a way to leave the island. In Luxembourg, on the other hand, young people (often influenced by their parents) mostly choose to focus on their studies, meaning that high level sport is rarely considered a valid option.
This has led to Icelandic sports excelling not only in soccer, but also in basketball and handball. But it is clear that Holtz is well aware of the differences in the country's situation.
