At first glance, the plot seems to take place in some East Asian island nation, but it's 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, you can count their victories on two hands. Known as the Red Lions, Luxembourg have won just 8 of their 142 matches in World Cup qualifying since 1934 (10 and 124 defeats). Qualifying for the UEFA Nations Cup since its inception in 1964 has been similarly rocky, with a record of just eight wins (accompanied by 11 and 98 defeats) in 111 matches.
Such win numbers are not even
the national team
The largest number of goals conceded in a single game in history (0-10) is not even close to the largest number of goals conceded in a single game in the history of Luxembourg, for Luxembourg, as long as the kicks and opponents in official matches is a rare thing, a veritable fishbowl in Europe.
In 2006, Luxembourg's world ranking swung to the bottom at 195, with only Bhutan, the Cayman Islands, and Angela (a British Overseas Territory) below them, and even San Marino, another European fish out of water, outranked them (even Taiwan outranked them).
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
Luxembourg has only an amateur league in the country, and in a country with a population of only around 600,000 people, the establishment of a professional league was never in the cards. In order to provide young Luxembourg footballers with a higher standard of training environment, in 2001 Luxembourg set up a national soccer training center in Mondercange, where youngsters can train with professional coaches and return to their clubs at weekends to play matches.
As a country with a land area of only 2,586.3 square kilometers (Taiwan has an area of 36,000 square kilometers), Luxembourg has the advantage that young players do not have to commute long distances to receive the most professional soccer training.
In order to maximize the pool of talent, Luxembourg
soccer league
The country is divided into four regions to find talented youth ages 8-11 and bring them to a training center when they reach the age of 12. During their teenage years, from 12-18 years old, they grow up in the training centers and learn everything about soccer. Currently, there are 250 players training at the soccer academy.
Luxembourg, on the other hand, is home to more than 100 soccer clubs and 45,000 registered players (both adult and underage), but to be selected for the
the national team
players, almost all of whom have had experience participating in training at the National Training Center.
All things being equal, only books are better: the difference between Luxembourg and Iceland
In 2016, Iceland made a name for itself at the UEFA Nations Cup, dramatically beating England to reach the last 8 with a small country of 330,000 people, and making the Viking war cry resonate around the world. For a while, it seemed that Iceland's experience could be a target for many small countries to borrow from.
Luxemburg
the national team
According to coach Luc Holtz, "We can take inspiration from Iceland, and we can also take lessons from countries like Albania or Northern Macedonia. But on a spiritual level, we can't compare ourselves too much with them in the rest."
Then the coach, who has been coaching Luxembourg since 2011, pointed out the biggest gap "On a social and structural level, Iceland has nothing to do with us. In terms of quality of life, they are very different from Luxembourg ......."
Holtz argues that young people in Iceland see sport as a way out, or even the only 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 seen as a valid option.
This makes Iceland's sports program not only the only one to hit the mark in soccer, but also basketball and handball are also doing quite well. But clearly, Holtz is well aware of the differences in the country's situation.
