The fact that 1. FC Köln’s Said El Mala – a Borussia Mönchengladbach reject – is now officially a German national team call up led to BMG interim head coach Eugen Polanski having to field a question about it at his Thursday press conference. Polanski has the enviable task of preparing Gladbach to face newly promoted Köln in the first Bundesliga edition of the ultra-fierce “Rhein-derby” since the 2023/24 campaign. 

Polanski was on the Gladbach developmental coaching staff when Said and his slightly elder brother Malek were released from the club, though he didn’t begin training the Gladbach U17s until after the two brothers departed. Polanski shrugged off the question, pointing out that players are simply too raw at such a young age. 

Polanski specifically referenced the case of current Gladbach professional Jens Castrop, now a South Korean international. Köln once gave up on the currently €6m-valued professional, selling him to 1. FC Nürnberg for a paltry €900,000 in 2023 after a pair of loan stints. 

“Who could have promised him at the time that he would be a Bundesliga professional?” Polanski rhetorically asked at the presser. “No one. I’m not one to say we missed out on something. We have the exact same situation with Jens Castrop on the other side.“

“In football it will always be the case that you can’t promise a 15-year-old that he will be become a Bundesliga pro,” Polanski continued. “And, hopefully, no one does.“