With European’s elite teams circulating to sign a 16-year-old Martin Ødegaard in January 2015, Borussia Mönchengladbach fancied their chances. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Kicker, Steffen Korell, the Foals’ now sporting advisor and then head of scouting, recalls the time the Bundesliga side made a play to sign the Norwegian playmaker.
“We had a very good conversation with the family and were able to present out plans and goals in detail,” explained Korell. I wasn’t a given that Gladbach, with such enormous competition, would even get the opportunity for a personal meeting to present our ideas.
“I must mention our then scout, Ove Flindt Bjerg,” he added. “He had been in contact with the family for some time and opened the door for us to talk. Max Eberl and I then travelled to Drammen for the meeting.”
Nurturing the likes of Marco Reus and Granit Xhaka, among others, Korell argued that “Gladbach had made a name for itself across Europe as a top destination where elite talents could develop and take the next step in their careers,” he added.
“Marco Reus, Granit Xhaka and homegrown talent Marc-André ter Stegen were figureheads for the club, along with Thorgan Hazard and Andreas Christensen, who joined us in the summer of 2015.
“We were able to offer a very attractive package. Martin would have been a perfect fit for our football philosophy at the time.”
Korell also recalled the time that he and Eberl would buy clothes from Ødegaard’s father’s clothing shop, where the meeting took place. “On the way there I said to Max Eberl: ‘Max, I’ll just have a look around the shop later and see if I can find anything for myself. If we buy something, it’ll definitely make a good impression. Maybe it’ll help us.’ We just didn’t want to leave any stone unturned.”
Now featuring in a first UEFA Champions League final, for Arsenal, Korell praised Ødegaard’s development. “In my opinion, he and Arsenal are a perfect fit.
“He’s an exceptional football anything, but he’s also developed into a real personality.”
