Two Eagles have been awarded the bronze Fritz Walter Medal, which recognises Germany’s best young footballers.
Still eligible for the U19 team in the 2023/24 season, Elias Baum was a regular starter for the U21s. Thanks to impressive performances in the Regionalliga, the versatile right-back soon found himself in the first-team picture and made his debuts in both the UEFA Conference League (1-0 against HJK Helsinki) and the Bundesliga (5-1 against Bayern Munich) in late 2023.
After signing a new contract until 2028 in the summer, the homegrown youngster joined Bundesliga 2 side SV Elversberg on a year-long loan. Since the start of this season, he’s registered three assists in three appearances for the German U20 side.
Second Fritz Walter Medal for Veit
Jella Veit previously received the Fritz Walter Medal in 2022 – on that occasion it was gold in the U17 girls category. The centre-back, who’s been with Eintracht since 2021, has now been awarded bronze in the U19 age group.
The 19-year-old moved to Frankfurt from the Hamburger SV academy in 2021 and started off in the reserve team, who she’s also led as captain recently. In summer 2023, Veit was promoted to the senior squad and made her debut in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga in September of the same year in the match against SGS Essen. To date, the defender has made 53 appearances for Eintracht in the second division, two in the Champions League and two in the Bundesliga.
She also captained the German U17 team to victory in the European Women’s Under-17 Championship in May 2022 before wearing the armband again at the U-17 World Cup in October of that year. This year, she was a key player for the U20s at the World Cup in Colombia. In total she’s represented her country 47 times at youth level – 23 for the U17s, 13 for the U19s and 11 for the U20s.
The Fritz Walter Medal has been awarded in gold, silver and bronze by the German Football Association to the best young players of the year since 2005.
