Assan Ouédraogo awarded Fritz Walter Medal

The Fritz Walter Medal has been awarded in gold, silver and bronze by the DFB since 2005 and goes to the best German youth players to honour exceptional performance. Assan Ouédraogo came in third place in the U17 category (born in 2006), with gold going to Paris Brunner (Borussia Dortmund) and silver to Noah Darvich (FC Barcelona). The award will be officially presented to the 17-year-old in September.

“We are very proud and are pleased that Assan has received this award for his exceptional sporting performances,” said Peter Knäbel, S04 board member. “This honour shows how impressive his journey, which began in the ‘Knappenschmiede’, has been up until now. I am sure that Assan will give us even more joy in the future.”

Born in Mülheim, the 19-year-old has been at Schalke since 2014. He has played at every age-group level at S04 up until the U19s, before celebrating his professional debut this season. Since then, he has been a constant fixture in the first team. In the previous U19 Bundesliga season, he played nine times, scoring four goals. He achieved an impressive runners-up medal in the U19 DFB-Pokal in April as a part of head coach Norbert Elgert S04 U19s squad.

He has played 21 times for Germany U16s and U17s to date. During the U17 EUROs in May and June, there were two young talents from the ‘Knappenschmiede’ on the pitch for Germany in the form of Assan Ouédraogo and Taylan Bulut. Both played five out of the six games, with Bulut scoring once and Ouédraogo twice. Both Schalke players also made a telling contribution to Germany’s win in the final. Ouédraogo was in the starting eleven for the final and played the whole game before converting a penalty in the shootout. Bulut was subbed on in the 84th minute and also held his nerve from the spot.

FC Schalke 04 and the Knappenschmiede are very proud of Assan and congratulate him on this award!