The more he watched football, the more Rasamu became obsessed with the idea of developing young players to maximise their talent - largely fuelled by the Class of 92 being at the heart of Manchester United conquering England and Europe under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 17 | Bundesliga Battle Built On Defence
The homegrown stars of 1. FSV Mainz racked up consecutive Bundesliga titles and showed their ability to compete with Europe's best in an exciting 2038/39 campaign. Now, Roberto Lazaró was looking to make it three in a row as he mulled over this being his final season in football management.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 16 | The Jürgen Klopp Park Era Begins
The small city of Mainz, on the outskirts of Frankfurt in western Germany, wasn't accustomed to throwing huge parties. But you wouldn't have known it as seemingly the entirety of its 220,000 population took to the streets to celebrate their heroes lifting 1. FSV Mainz's maiden Bundesliga title in 2038. The city's streets flowed with Pilsner and the parties went on for what felt like weeks.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 15 | Mainz’s First Bundesliga Title Race
The exciting youngsters of 1. FSV Mainz came minutes away from consecutive European titles and edged close to the Bundesliga title race in Roberto Lazaró's fifth season at the club. The next step, in their manager's mind, was to become more competitive against Germany's big boys as they headed into their final season at the council-owned MEWA Arena.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 14 | Consecutive European Finals
The streets of Mainz were painted red and white in the summer of 2036 as fans of 1. FSV Mainz 05 launched the biggest party in the city's history, celebrating their heroes winning their first major trophy. Roberto Lazaró, club legend Brajan Gruda and captain José Bertazzi led an open-top bus tour and spilled in... Continue Reading →
Wonderkid Factory | Part 12 | Great At Home, Terrible Away!
Mainz survived with relative ease in their first season back in Bundesliga. But the big challenge now facing Roberto Lazaró, moving into his third season in Germany, was to continue developing his young squad - some of whom were one year away from obtaining homegrown status.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 11 | Stepping Up To Bundesliga
Roberto Lazaró led a young but exciting Mainz side to an expected automatic promotion despite a firesale of 26 players for £119m in his first season in Germany. Now the pressure was on Lazaró, who was already listed in Mainz fans' favoured personnel, and his inexperienced side to survive back in Bundesliga. But the longer-term... Continue Reading →
Wonderkid Factory | Part 10 | Finding A New Wonderkid Factory
After leading Valencia CF to Champions League and LaLiga glory with a fully homegrown team over the last two seasons, Roberto Lazaró decided it was time for a change.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 5 | Record-Breaking Valencia CF Season
Valencia CF's team of young, predominantly homegrown talents continued to exceed expectations as they split LaLiga's "big three" for the first time in Roberto Lazaró's fourth season at the club. But Lazaró was looking for some of his hot prospects to step up in the next couple of campaigns.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 2 | A Surprise Cup Final
A promising first season in Valencia saw Roberto Lazaró secure European qualification despite form dramatically tailing off in the last few matches. Lazaró's success convinced owner Peter Lim to agree to youth recruitment and facilities improvements over the summer.
