Smoking chimneys and garish gasometers invade the skyline. The backdrop is poignant if not pretty, for here, amid the industrial heartland of the Ruhr Valley, rumbles one of the talent factories responsible for powering Germany to World Cup success. This is the academy of Schalke 04, once home to Manuel Neuer, Benedikt Howedes, Julian Draxler and Mesut Ozil - more than £100million’s worth of talent and a key part of the squad in Brazil. And here’s the bad news, at least from an England perspective - there is more to come. Captain Philipp Lahm, record goalscorer Miroslav Klose and defender Per Mertesacker may have retired since their crowning night in Rio, but on Sunday evening in Dortmund a golden generation — this lot have the medals to support that moniker — begin their quest for continental dominance when their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign opens against Scotland.
@highlight
The Schalke 04 academy produced World Cup-winning stars Manuel Neuer, Benedikt Howedes, Julian Draxler and Mesut Ozil
@highlight
Capped teenagers Leon Goretzka and Max Meyer lead their new generation
@highlight
Academy director Oliver Ruhnert says mentality what they look for in kids
@highlight
The club ensures players appreciate its working class coal-mining history
@highlight
Their recruitment priority is to bring in players from the local area
He is now 41 and one of @placeholder’s most respected voices on youth football.