Alexander Fuchs takes us through his journey from the 1860 Munich youth academy to a Bundesliga debut with 1. FC Nürnberg, multiple hip surgeries, and what it taught him about the mental side of professional football.
In this episode of From First Touch to First Team, host Jan Schmidt sits down with the 29-year-old German professional to trace a path through one of the most competitive development environments in world football. Alex talks about growing up in Munich as a Bayern Munich fan, getting scouted by 1860 at eight after winning a tournament playing up an age group, what daily life looked like inside the academy's specialised football school, and the U17 and U19 years when serious knee injuries nearly cost him everything.
We move through his rise to a first professional contract with 1. FC Nürnberg, his Bundesliga debut at Olympiastadion Berlin, and the experience of playing in front of 80,000 fans at Signal Iduna Park. Alex is candid about the spiral that followed when Nürnberg started losing games, the impact of social media criticism at 21, and how it pushed him to start studying psychology while still playing professionally.
He opens up about the tools that now anchor his approach to the game, including journaling, habits, controlling the controllables, and preparing the brain like a muscle. We also cover his move to Austria Klagenfurt in the Austrian Bundesliga, the hip injuries that have shaped much of his recent career, and what kept him coming back after surgery on both hips and over a year on the sidelines.
He closes with his advice for young players chasing the dream, the 1860 Munich teammates who went on to play for the German national team, and what his six-year-old self would say about the journey so far.
In this episode
- Growing up in Munich as a Bayern fan and being scouted by 1860 at eight
- Inside the 1860 Munich football school and a five-times-a-week training schedule
- Knee injuries through the U17 and U19 years and how the club waited for him
- Teammates Felix Uduokhai, Florian Neuhaus, and Benny Henrichs who reached the German national team
- Signing his first pro contract with 1. FC Nürnberg
- His Bundesliga debut at Olympiastadion Berlin and playing at Signal Iduna Park
- Why he started studying psychology while still playing professionally
- Journaling, habits, and the tools he uses to control the controllables
- Moving to Austria Klagenfurt in the Austrian Bundesliga
- Surgery on both hips and the long road back to the pitch