Six international participants, four teams from the B-Junioren-Bundesliga and the Wiesbaden teams of SV Wehen Wiesbaden and the host Spvgg. Sonnenberg. The Wiesbaden Liliencup on 21 and 22 January 2017 also promises to be another highlight in the Wiesbaden football calendar. For the first time, two English teams will be represented in Wiesbaden, as the U17 of the traditional English club West Ham United has confirmed its participation.
For the 24th time, Spvgg. Sonnenberg is hosting the junior tournament, for the 3rd time in the sports hall at Platz der Deutschen Einheit. The combination of a modern sports hall and a top-class field of participants makes the Wiesbaden Liliencup one of the best indoor tournaments in this age group.
Talented young players, top-class football, a top atmosphere and top organisation: this is what the Wiesbaden Liliencup stands for and this is why it enjoys an excellent reputation throughout Europe and is one of Wiesbaden's particularly attractive sporting events. The football stars of tomorrow can be experienced in full action. The proximity to the pitch and the contact with the players in the stands make the event particularly attractive for spectators. It often happens that the young players appear in the Bundesliga or comparable international leagues shortly after the tournament, which of course means that they are still very much in the spectators' memories. One example of this is Marc Stendera, who was named best outfield player at the 2012 tournament and captained Eintracht Frankfurt to the winner's trophy. In the summer of 2014, he became European champion with the U19 national team. He made his debut for Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga back in the second half of the 2012/2013 season at the age of 17.
Numerous current professionals and 2014 World Champions were players at the Wiesbaden Liliencup in their youth, including Thomas Müller, André Schürrle, Lukas Podolski, Mats Hummels and Roman Weidenfeller. The names of many other former tournament participants such as Ilkay Gündogan, Hakan Calhanoglu, Leon Goretzka, Emre Can, Breel Embolo, Mitchell Weiser, Christian Mathenia, Alessandro Schöpf, Holger Badstuber, Ömer Toprak, Stefan Bell, Oliver Baumann, Serdar Tasci and many more are also definitely familiar to the football-interested public.
For the Sonnenberg players, participating in the Wiesbaden Lilien Cup is a very special, often once-in-a-lifetime experience in their football careers. Every year, the players dream of a win or at least a draw before their tournament participation. Unfortunately, reality always catches up with the boys very quickly. The reality that at the level of top international and national clubs, football is played with a speed, ball security and a physical presence that our grassroots football is very very far from.
For the first time in the long history of the tournament, a Sonnenberg team managed to win against the junior team of a professional club. This was the case on 18.01.2009, when the Young Boys Bern could be defeated with 3:2.
But also the youngest kickers of the Spvgg. will prove their skills in several interlude games in front of a large crowd.
Text source and further information about the event at:
http://www.wiesbadener-liliencup.de/
