Amira Baidori is the captain of the FV Viktoria Wasseralfingen youth C team and is in charge among the boys. Now VfB is also taking notice.
Aalen-Wasseralfingen. Rest, idleness and short days. All of this shapes everyday life during the Christmas season, when most athletes take time away from their playing fields and weight rooms to regenerate. However, this does not apply to Amira Baidori from Aalen. When others are still asleep, the 13-year-old sits on her bike towards her gym before dawn, trains, showers – and then goes to school. A little later in the day she is back on the soccer field. There she is the only girl training with the C juniors of FV Viktoria Wasseralfingen, who elected her captain and see Baidori as the team’s best player.
Their wit, ambition and assertiveness are no longer only known within their own ranks, but are also attracting the attention of VfB Stuttgart’s talent scouts. After a successful first trial training session, the midfielder represents a serious option in the squad planning of the Bundesliga club’s U17 team and will be able to audition for the Cannstatt team again shortly before Easter.
Baidori’s stroke of luck
For the moment, Wasseralfingen has landed an absolute stroke of luck with its young player, especially since Baidori was still without a club a few months ago. At that time, people quickly pricked up their ears, as coach Akgün Soner remembers: “We knew that Amira had a lot of offers in the area. We definitely wanted to get the contract.” Ultimately, they were convinced by the talent factory’s support concept, which includes intensive training in small groups and individual support.
Soner praises his player highly. Baidori not only has ideal skills for the defensive midfield thanks to her strength in duels and physical robustness, but also impresses offensively with technical finesse, good overview of the game and a hard shot. In addition to her talent, her leadership qualities also ensured that she became captain of the team: “Amira motivates everyone. She has earned this respect.” Baidori leads the team, speaks a lot, organizes, encourages – and the boys follow her. According to Soner, the fact that she acts as a spokesman in the dressing room has also had a positive impact on the dynamics among the players: “The tone has improved. We are much more focused.” For the youth coach, this seems like a gift: discipline grows without him having to demand it.
talent and virtue
However, Baidori also exemplifies this and works hard on himself outside of the club program. Wind and weather don’t change this attitude, as she says: “I have people who believe in me. I just want to make it for them and for my dream. Football is my life.” The effort is already bearing fruit: At the first trial training a few days ago, the Aalener was able to hold her own against players who were two years older than her, despite being very nervous, and can show off at another try-out in Stuttgart.
Until then, Baidori and her coach want to use the time to improve minor problems, such as a touch more explosiveness and dynamism as well as better first contact on the ball, through remedial training. It is important that the young player is guided and supported so that she does not run the risk of becoming overly ambitious and risking injuries, explains Soner.
Despite her presence in the team, Amira Baidori is defined above all by her work ethic, which is not affected by the winter cold. In this she is guided by the ethos of her great idol: Cristiano Ronaldo – how could it be otherwise in this context, because big goals unite the two of them. And perhaps a first Christmas wish will soon come true if a player from FV Viktoria could play for VfB Stuttgart in the new year.
