Oh, by the way...

“Mom, dad, me”

Dornbirn-born Paul "Paulinho" Wanner (center) is still deciding which national team he wants to play for.

(Bild: AXEL HEIMKEN)

In the latest edition of his column "Oh, by the way...", "Krone Vorarlberg" author Harald Petermichl looks at a native of Dornbirn, Paul Wanner. An 18-year-old who is an amazing and impressive exception.

If you are a fan of Egerländer brass band music, you will have heard of the municipality of Amtzell in the district of Ravensburg because a music publisher specializing in this genre is based there. However, the Upper Swabian community, which consists of 124 hamlets and individual farmsteads, is not only being mentioned more and more in the large circle of Ernst Mosch epigones, but also in the soccer world, as the super-talented Paul Wanner, who was born in Dornbirn, grew up there and laced up his soccer boots for the local SV until he was a junior.

The highly talented player is now part of the Bayern Munich squad and, after a season in Elversberg, is currently on loan to FC Heidenheim to show off his skills in the highest stadium in German professional soccer. The youngest Bundesliga player in the history of FC Bayern seems to be somewhat pre-disposed to football, as his father Klaus was a fixture in the midfield of Lustenau Austria during his playing days, and later at FC Hard in its glorious era. And Jannik Wanner, his cousin born in Port-au-Prince, played for SW Bregenz in the previous season before moving to league rivals Amstetten. But back to Paul: As he has an Austrian mother, he has both German and Austrian citizenship, which makes him interesting for both the DFB and the ÖFB, as a future national team career seems almost inevitable. Paul Wanner comments wittily: "It's not my goal not to be a national player."

The attacking midfielder will therefore have to decide between a Swabian and an Upper Bavarian coach in the foreseeable future. Ralf Rangnick from Backnang and his Landsberg counterpart Julian Nagelsmann have both been keeping an eye on young Paul and have already worked with him. It was not an easy decision to make, as the two associations are not too far apart in the FIFA rankings at 13th and 22nd place. Fortunately, "Paulinho", as he is called by team-mate Leo Scienza, has announced that he will take the necessary time to make the decision and has also made a clear statement. When asked who would ultimately make the decision, he answered very clearly: "Dad, mom, me".

The fact that something like this still exists in the face of the current consultant madness with its gold-digger mentality is both astonishing and impressive.