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The proverb turned into a bitter reality: Amin Younes had been put stones in the way.
As a boy he couldn't get enough of football, playing in a club in his home town of Düsseldorf and on a playground on non-training days.
It was too loud for residents, one day stones that were erected blocked the area.
Younes and his friends moved to a nearby spot.
Back then he often played against older people, that makes them robust.
A childhood friend told Sport1 that Younes was as good as twelve when she was seven.
Creativity, enthusiasm for playing and assertiveness are his strengths to this day.
Younes is now 27 and is part of the national team for the first time in almost four years.
In the last of the three World Cup qualifiers this month, she will host North Macedonia in Duisburg this Wednesday evening (8.45 p.m., in the sports ticker of WELT), for Younes it would be the eighth international match.
In the 1-0 win in Romania last Sunday and previously in the 3-0 win against Iceland, national coach Joachim Löw replaced him for a few minutes.
Younes waves an EM ticket
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Younes is far from a regular place.
But he could be a valuable addition to the EM planned for the summer.
In the German Football Association (DFB) they have questioned their player development for a long time.
In future, when promoting talent, more emphasis should be placed on individuality, on special ideas and movements.
Younes has it.
Amin Younes (l.) During the training of the national team.
The midfielder impresses with his creativity
Source: dpa / Federico Gambarini
He is the type of street footballer that German football so desperately needs more of.
The last of its kind, that's how it looks.
“I'm a fan of the football field mentality, of the spectacular things,” says Younes.
"That is what people want to see."
Löw's eyes light up when he talks about Younes.
He almost sounds like a fan describing one of his favorite players.
“I like to see him.
I like the type of player who is always on fire, ”says the national coach.
“You can see the fun and the joy in him.
He causes a lot of fuss in training. ”He was already very satisfied with Younes at the 2017 Confed Cup,“ because he can bring special accents, sometimes as a substitute ”.
Especially when the opposing defense is low.
“Unfortunately he made a difficult path and was also injured.
He also needs an environment in which he feels comfortable.
He found that in Frankfurt, ”said Löw.
Exchange posse in Amsterdam
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In fact, Younes has put obstacles in its own way in the past few years.
In 2018 he refused his substitution at Ajax Amsterdam and was relegated to the second team.
In the same year, the Napoli SSC announced that Younes had signed with him.
The player denied this and should move to VfL Wolfsburg, who refrained from the planned transfer due to concerns about the contract dispute with Naples.
Younes moved from SSC Napoli back to the Bundesliga for Eintracht Frankfurt
Source: dpa / Jan Woitas
Past.
Younes has matured.
In the 2-1 win against FC Bayern recently, he played "world class", according to Löw.
After his goal, Younes ran to the sidelines and held up a warm-up shirt with the likeness and the name of Fatih Saraçoğlu - one of the nine people killed in the terrorist attack in Hanau.
Many fans see the action as a gesture of the season.
Together with Eintracht President Peter Fischer, Younes recently presented the commemorative shirts to the families of the victims.
It is important to him to emphasize that this does not make him feel like a hero.
"I just wanted to say that it affects all of us," says Younes.
"Because we all have a mother and a father waiting at home."
Fredi Bobic was the one who came up with the idea last year to sign Younes from Naples on loan for two years.
"It feels like Amin has taken maybe two steps back," says the sports director of Eintracht.
“But in the end it was a step forward.
He has developed enormously and deserves to be interesting for the national team again. "
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Younes' path confirms that “the doors open again and again for someone when you perform.
Not only is he a great footballer, but also a great person who has matured a lot ”.
Löw emphasized again Tuesday that the services will be decisive in the coming weeks.
He did not nominate Julian Draxler from Paris St. Germain and Julian Brandt from Borussia Dortmund for this international trip.
Younes seems to be ahead of them right now.
With the Eintracht he occupies fourth place in the table and has a chance to qualify for the Champions League.
And then to the EM training camp?
“My EM dream is very, very big,” says Younes.
“My goal is to stick with it and build on my good performance.” At the tournament “we want to achieve the maximum goal together - I want to be a part of it”.
Amin Younes' playground could soon be the great European football stage.