From the amateur to the professional: These footballers made the breakthrough!

From the amateur to the professional: These footballers made the breakthrough!

Kaiserslautern, Deutschland - A dream will come true! For many young footballers, the leap into the youth team of a professional club is the big goal. But not everyone can do it directly. Some stars fought through the amateur classes to finally shine in professional football. These extraordinary stories show how talent and perseverance can lead to success.

An example is Jonas Hector, who played in the green jersey of the top division SV Auersmacher in 2010. At the age of 20 he switched to 1st FC Köln and quickly became Cologne's legend. Florian Niederlechner also had a stony path: after his sorting out at TSV 1860 Munich, he fought himself over the Landesliga and Bayernliga to the 3rd league, where he finally made the leap into the Bundesliga. Julian Gressel, on the other hand, found his way across the United States, where he started at Atlanta United at the age of 23 and played with Inter Miami alongside Lionel Messi in 2024.

from the regional league to the World Cup

The story of Miroslav Klose is just as impressive. He only gave his professional debut to Kaiserslautern at the age of 21 after playing in the regional league for Homburg. His greatest success? The winning of the 2014 World Cup! Robin Gosens, who never attended a professional club of a professional club, only switched to the youth of Vitesse Arnheim shortly before his 18th birthday and celebrated sensational success with FC Dordrecht. Fabian Klos, who stayed with his youth club SV Meinersen up to 19 years, fought himself through the Oberliga to VfL Wolfsburg and ended his career as an Arminia legend in 2024.

And not to forget: Jamie Vardy, who kicked in the seventh league of England at the age of 23 before moving over Halifax Town and Fleetwood Town to Leicester City and won the championship there. These stories are proof that the way to the professional is often unconventional and full of challenges, but everything is possible with talent and determination!