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Auckland schoolboy Oliver Derlin has returned to Germany hoping to extend his youth deal with Borussia Dortmund.

Attacking midfielder Derlin, 13, is seven months into an 18-month term at the iconic German football club and departed Auckland on Wednesday to report back for pre-season training – in the country which just landed its fourth World Cup.

In what will be the most important year of his promising career so far, Derlin says he has assimilated to a significant culture shift and is now eager to kick on with his development – with the reality of elite, European football already abundantly clear.

“There have been three people since I’ve been there that have gotten the chop and six new players come in,” Derlin told Fairfax Media.

“Beyond June 2015 they will either extend the contract, or, they won’t. That’s just the way it is. I’m really privileged for this opportunity and I appreciate it a lot.

“At first it was all a culture shock, but now I’m getting into the swing of things.”

The son of former New Zealand Davis Cup tennis player, Bruce Derlin, the opportunity with Dortmund’s under-15 team came around by chance. But, Oliver has shown determination to juggle training around school and managing to become almost fluent in German in the space of 14 weeks – having already gotten Swedish in the bag as well thanks to his Scandinavian mother, Ingela.

“I’m working at a tennis club in Dortmund, next to the stadium, Oliver had come with me to Germany and ended up in a trial. It [signing] happened pretty much by chance,” Bruce Derlin said.

“He’s actually quite a good tennis player but most often kids won’t follow in their parents’ footsteps, for one reason or another. In men’s tennis, there’s never been a son that’s better than the father. Never.

“It’s a huge culture change and he’s been given the chance. A key thing is that all the teams that go over to Europe, they spend the first few weeks in awe going ‘wow, this is Chelsea, this is Dortmund,’ but that has all gone for him now.

“The best kids in New Zealand are quite good, but, they don’t get any experience and they don’t get any match play against any decent teams. It’s like Winston Reid has said, anyone that’s any good has got to go. It’s just a fact and it’s the same in tennis.”

Having already played against youth teams from Manchester City and Chelsea, Derlin has also been given invaluable exposure to the top senior level, training beside World Cup-winners in Dortmund’s first team and working as a ballboy in the Champions League.

Derlin won’t see New Zealand, his friends nor most of his family (including his sister Emily, 15, who is chasing a career as a goalkeeper) for the next 12 months – something most 13-year-olds would struggle to cope with.

While fortunate both his parents are from sporting backgrounds and can help guide him, Derlin also credits former All Whites Wynton Rufer and Danny Hay for their roles in his development.

“I was about seven when I started playing football, all my friends were playing it, I never played rugby. I played tennis, but I just found that I like football better,” he said.

“I joined Wynton’s academy, Wyners, where they teach a lot of technical things which I’ve found really good. Wynton is intense at training, he’s really helped me a lot. Danny Hay has also helped me a lot at Sacred Heart. He’s very tough, he’s prepared me for Europe. He won’t sugarcoat it, he’s very honest.

“He’s shown me the importance of being mentally tough and always being prepared, you never know who might be watching you play.”

Go to Stuff.co.nz for a video feature on Oliver Derlin.

– Sunday Star Times

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