Sebastian Dremmler was at his peak when the now-demolished Berlin Wall bisected Germany into to two parts.
The former Bayern Munich midfielder was a member of the West German team that lost 3-1 to Italy in the 1982 World Cup final at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Dremmler, who won six Bundesliga crowns in the 80s with the German giants, is now the head coach of Bayern Munich's international programmes.
He was in Bangkok recently and following are excerpts from an interview with the veteran coach:
Q: Why did you choose Thailand for Bayern Munich's youth programmes?
Grassroots and international youth programmes are very important issues for Bayern Munich. We have established international youth programmes in various countries. The major aim is to share our know-how and our passion and tradition for football with players and coaches all around the world.
We have founded the FC Bayern 12 Level Kurs, an age-specific school football initiative which aims at teaching kids the necessary tools and philosophy of football in Thailand. Furthermore, we have been conducting the FC Bayern Youth Cup, an international tournament series for boys aged 14-16 which brings the 10 best players of each participating country to the world final in Munich, since 2014. In 2017 and also in 2018, team Thailand won the FC Bayern Youth Cup World Final, and the project has won the top prize for the "Best Sports Youth Development Programme in Thailand" at the SPIA Asia awards. The Thai youth football success story has proven our decision and we as a club are looking forward to increasing both our programmes and our presence in Thailand.
Q: How familiar are you with the way youth football is structured in Thailand?
Thai football as a whole has untapped potential and is developing at an incredible pace and the success of the local league has been a major factor behind this. As a result of this, Thailand are the current regional leaders with regards to youth development, and the results have been translated into Thailand's current run in the AFF Suzuki Cup with players such as Supachai Jaided and Adisak Krasorn impressing on a regional level. Additionally, the youth programmes in Thailand are similar to the ones we have here at Bayern Munich. It therefore makes sense for us to choose Thailand for our youth programmes.
We think that it is important to support both players and coaches. We are in Thailand for three months every year and also conduct workshops for Thai coaches at our Bayern Campus in Munich.
Q: What is your impression of the domestic leagues in Thailand?
Basically, the Thai leagues and Thai football have developed well over the last couple of years. Not only the professional teams are getting better, but also the youth education has become more and more professional. Especially the staff -- highly qualified coaches -- play an integral role in this regard. More and more international coaches and experts are here -- former Bundesliga coach Ernst Middendorp is currently sport director of Bangkok United.
Q. There are many programmes for youth football in Thailand. How your venture stands out from the crowd?
We have proven that our programmes are top notch in Thailand. Not only have we been awarded in the last two years for our FC Bayern Youth Cup, the project has also become the major scouting source for the Thai FA's youth national teams. Until now, five boys, who were members of the team that won in Munich this year, have been selected for Thai youth national teams. Thus, we are in the pole position for Thailand's next generation of youth players. But we really want to offer opportunities for all players not only the most talented ones.
Q. Bayern Munich are a great team. What has happened to them this season?
It is a normal thing when you want to build up a new team after six tremendously successful years. All great teams go through cycles of success and failure, and Bayern have seen a lot of success in recent years thanks to Jupp Heynckes, Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola. With new coach Niko Kova, Bayern are currently going through a period of transition. There is an increased reliance on young talents, such as Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka. We lost a few points within the last minutes of some very close matches but the season is far from over. It will be exciting to see what happens going into the second half of the season.
Q. Since Pep Guardiola came in, Bayern have been playing a bit of a different style. Have these changes been introduced to the youth system as well?
We always had an unique playing style. Our idea is always to dominate through possession and high pressing. With Pep Guardiola, Bayern Munich were very successful, because he also shared our understanding of club philosophy. He pushed our youth development to the highest level. He was a great coach for Bayern Munich.
Q. At the World Cup in Russia this year, the German national team did not fare well. What happened to them?
It was a tough World Cup for us. It seems like we didn't have the right balance between experienced players [2014 World Cup winners] and new talents. Rebuilding a team is never easy. Nevertheless, a year before we won the Confed Cup with a very young team and we also won the U21 European Championship!
This means we have enough talented young players. I am sure we will come back stronger.