On Camera

Our Actors and Actresses

...come from all ages and performance levels. They all have one thing in common: After training with the COGNIGOALS coaches, they all improved significantly!

Annaleen

Village club ► U-national team ► FC Bayern | Her motto: "Crying is for others!" | U17 national player | FC Bayern München 2nd women's team | Defensive talent... | ...but also likes to score a goal when she gets the chance | U17 European champion

Club: Hamburger SV
Annaleen has always been passionate about football, having grown up in a football-loving family and starting to play at the age of four for SV Kirchbarkau. From a young age, Annaleen demonstrated exceptional defensive skills, frequently outmaneuvering her opponents in one-on-one situations.

As she progressed through the ranks, Annaleen was recognized for her talent and joined the northern-german club SpVg Eidertal Molfsee, where she received top-notch coaching up to the U17 level. Her strong performances earned her a spot on the Schleswig-Holstein state selection team and later, the U15 national team of the DFB. During this time, Annaleen played in three international matches.

Annaleen's career continued to flourish as she joined Hamburger SV's U17 team and later, FC Bayern Munich, one of the top football clubs in Germany, and then her journey led her back to the Hamburger SV in 2023.

One of the highlights of her career thus far was scoring a goal in the qualification for the 2022 European U17 Championship in Bosnia-Herzegovina and, ultimately, winning the championship with the DFB Juniors against Spain, where she played as a regular player and central defender.

Annaleen met Matthias Nowak during the filming in Malente, but was already familiar with many of the cognitive exercises from COGNIGOALS training sessions with Felix Lehmann. When asked about the benefits of these exercises, Annaleen points to improvements in her quickness of action, game overview, and two-footedness.

 Knows what the opposing striker will do even before they decided what to do.
 Was a goalkeeper in the U9 team and brought her opponents to despair.
 Is admired for her exemplary composure on the pitch.
 Her motto: "Crying is for others!"
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    Francesco

    Super-effective in 1 vs. 1 | Two-times best player of the tournament with FC Bayern Munich | A real street kicker! | Attends the DFB Elite School of Football

    CLUB: FC Augsburg
    What is it like when a whole life revolves around football? Curtain up and stage free for Francesco! Since he started chasing the round ball over the grass at the age of five, there has been nothing else for him.

    Francesco currently plays for the FC Augsburg youth team on the 10, his favorite position. He is an two-footed, goal-getting player with great ball-handling skills and good understanding of the game.
    Francesco met Matthias Nowak at FC Bayern Munich. At first, the young player struggled to adjust to Nowak's COGNIGOALS methods, lacking the motivation and enthusiasm to complete the exercises.

    Despite this, Francesco put more and more effort into it and was pleasantly surprised and happy over the next two years to see how much the training had helped him. Even if there are still some exercises that Francesco doesn't particularly enjoy, he can say the following about COGNIGOALS training: "I have improved greatly in aspects such as speed of action and two-footedness".

     Thinks and plays bilaterally.
     Is a true street football player.
     There is no opponent that Francesco wouldn't dare to challenge in a 1 vs. 1!
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      12
      Actors and Actresses
      9 - 79
      Years Old
      5
      (Now) Two-Footed Players

      Nico

      Technically strong midfielder | Two-footed | Spreads good mood off the field as well

      CLUB: FC Bayern Munich
      At the age of three, children still have a lot to learn. But one thing Nico knew for sure at that age: playing football is fun! This affinity for the round ball is only logical, as Nico's family is just as football-crazy as he is. His father, in particular, took care of him from an early age when he started playing club football with SV Lohhof at the age of five. Here, Nico quickly stood out due to his great technique.

      After three years with SV Lohhof, Nico moved to the U9 of TSV 1860 Munich. However, he struggled with the pressure and decided to return to his home club. Here he played for three more years under his father as coach and was able to improve significantly. This did not go unnoticed by FC Bayern Munich, and at the age of 12, Nico moved to the U13 of the German record champion. In his team, the talent plays in the central midfield and can make a difference with his technique and two-footedness.

      Since 2018, Nico has been regularly training with Matthias Nowak. He has been able to greatly improve his two-footedness and cognitive abilities through COGNIGOALS training. In these exercises, Nico is one of the most advanced in his team training. But the training doesn't just pay off on the pitch for him: his school performance has also improved significantly.

       Stands out on the field due to his excellent technique.
       As a midfielder at FC Bayern Munich, he guides the fate of his team.
       In addition to his two-footedness, he was also able to improve his academic performance with cognitive training.
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        Vedaant

        "Indian on a mission" | Next milestone: Indian national team player | Offensive and defensive winger

        CLUB: USK Anif
        Vedaant is an ambitious football player who knows how to use his speed and technique on the field. He particularly enjoys showing this off in 1 vs. 1 situations, where his opponents usually come up short. And in front of the goal, the winger always has an advantage thanks to his strong finishing with both feet.

        Vedaant has seen a lot in football. Up until the age of 16, he played for the Indian national team before coming to Europe. Here, Vedaant started as a training player for FC Metz before landing at a German football academy. In the senior ranks, he made the jump from the 10th to the 6th German league and eventually the 3rd Austrian league.

        At the German football academy, Vedaant met Matthias Nowak for the first time. He found a coach who was a great help on and off the field. The two worked hard together, and Vedaant appreciated the way the coach approached things: "Matthias has a great feel for what a player needs to hear to get the best out of himself."
        Nowadays, Vedaant is praised for his two-footedness and understanding of the game thanks to COGNIGOALS training.

         Quick, technically skilled winger
         First Indian player in the 3rd Austrian league
         Next goal: Indian national team player
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          Max

          Our "Cogniegoalie" | A super goalkeeper with the skills of a center player | Starring in the COGNIGOALS Goalkeeper Coach

          CLUB: University Team Maastricht
          Max is a great football player who can cause a stir on central midfield and forward positions due to his physique and understanding of the game. The plot twist in this story is that Max is even better as a goalkeeper, but as we have already learned, he is much more than just someone who keeps a clean sheet. The 19-year-old has the rare ability to set unique offensive impulses and significantly influence games with them.

          Max learned the ABCs of football as a child at Holstein Kiel, where it quickly became clear that he had strengths both in goal and on the field. His fantastic reactions, combined with a game intelligence and the desire to make every striker despair, made him a strong goalkeeper. He showed this from the U15 team on at Kieler MTV, where he was later able to win two championships and the county cup. In this cup final, Max exceeded himself: he saved one in extra time and even two penalties in the shootout.

          Today, Max is studying Liberal Arts and Sciences in Maastricht. At the selection training for the university team, he was able to set himself apart from the competition and has been guarding the goal for the first team ever since.

          This success is dedicated by the keeper to the training by Matthias Nowak. "Without Matze's cognitive training, I would never have managed this," says Max. "Before the selection training, I hadn't played for several months due to the move and the pandemic. The only thing I did in the meantime was Matze's exercises. When I was back in goal, I felt like I had never paused. I was surprised by how fluid my movements were and how quickly I reacted."

           A super goalkeeper with the skills of a center player
           Shows affinity for ball sports also in tennis, where he is considered a very good player.
           Max leads as the main actor through all COGNIGOALS Goalkeeper Coach modules.
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            6
            Grassroots Players
            7
            Professionals
            8
            Nationalities

            Lorenz

            Has a lot of experience with ViCo-training | Midfield player with clear vision |

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            LAST CLUB: Kieler MTV
            At an age when many children are just learning what to do with a ball, Lorenz already knew he had to take the football away from his opponent. His father, Felix Lehmann (of course Lorenz's opponent), was soon no longer safe from his son's ball-stealing attempts, so Lorenz was allowed to run wild at the club from the age of 5. He especially liked to dribble around himself and others, first in the gym and later on the field.

            In the under-10 team, Lorenz played as a striker, which worked quite well until he went an entire season without scoring a goal. That prompted him to move to central midfield, where his strengths really shone: Lorenz loves to structure the game, dribble and make opponents lose their balance. He is helped in this by his quick decision-making and technique.

            He developed and improved these aspects of his game with the help of Matthias Nowak. Lorenz started by learning Nowak's exercises using DVDs before getting to know him in person on courses. He remained interested in cognitive training and led a ViCo training group with his father Felix for a few years, heavily based on Nowak's exercises.

             Technically strong player
             Makes good decisions and is quick-minded.
             Can shape the game on his favorite position in the center.

              Phoenix

              Multi-sporty :) | A flash in fast chess!

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              LAST CLUB: Kieler MTV
              There are many reasons why Phoenix participated in COGNIGOALS training. Firstly, it runs in the family: her father Felix Lehmann is of course a cognitive trainer and her brother Lorenz has also had a lot of experience with this training, whether under Matthias Nowak or as a player in a football club.

              Secondly, Phoenix was convinced when she heard that the training could help not only with moving on the field and with sports, but also with school performance. Her initial uncertainty about the exercises quickly disappeared as she realized how much fun the training was. She liked the increases in the movement tasks and felt that she was constantly improving. She describes these many, small successes as priceless.

              Phoenix is also convinced that the effect of the exercises lasts a long time. She can still benefit from the training today, including in blitz chess. She also spends her time swimming, doing yoga and going to the gym, partly due to a shoulder injury. Before that, she played football in a club for four years.

              Phoenix has become much faster in her head and has improved her movement technique. She is convinced of the effect of the exercises and also benefits from them outside of sports. A message from her to you: "I hope you have fun with your own training." :)

               Loves her enhanced working memory in blitz chess!

                Hans-Jürgen

                Former squash pro | Always hits the "nick" when he wants to ;) | Gifted technician | Tennis coach | Ski instructor| Father of three sons | Believes that the jersey color often influences the outcome of the game | Keeps his brain fit with skat!

                German Squash Champion over 60 & Vice European Champion over 65
                With his almost 80 years, sports enthusiast "Hajü" makes many athletes who are 20 years younger look old. Although he didn't start playing squash until he was 37, he was soon so good at it that he severely annoyed the best players in Germany and then won the over 60 championship and even the over 65 vice European championship!

                Hajü is also a great football player: He almost made it into the youth national team, but "kicked the ball with his toe once" in a scouting training - and that was one time too many! At the time, he said, two-footedness was still promoted in the old way, namely still exactly the same as today: "Train more with the weak foot."

                As someone who always analyzes and wants to improve techniques and movement patterns in detail, Hajü was fascinated right away by the COGNIGOALS approach and really threw himself into our exercises.

                Good for COGNIGOALS: What could be better than showing that the exercises can even be tackled at an advanced age!

                Good for Hajü: His working memory has improved so much through the exercises that he plays Skat even better and only has to look once to transfer the 7-digit PIN.
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                2
                Youth National Team Players
                3
                Youth Bundesliga Players
                1
                Squash Vice European Championhp

                Paul

                A "Capitano" as they come! | Loves the Kiel bay| Studying medicine in Bulgaria | Enjoyed 5 years of COGNIGOALS training | Inventor of the first e-sport towel

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                CLUB: MU Varna Football Team, Bulgaria
                Paul is a great leader and team player with a long career as a captain. He knows how to lead a team and push his teammates to succeed. He is known for his strong physique and great game overview, which many great central midfielders possess.

                His football journey began at the age of 6 with Holstein Kiel, where he won several championships and was part of the district selection. Between U15 and U19, he played for Kieler MTV, the largest mass sports club in the northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein, and won two championships and the district cup there.

                Paul was part of the youth team that consistently tested, developed, and refined COGNIGOALS concepts for over 7 years.

                He fondly remembers how the team, led by Felix Lehmann, "with the quick and cool head" had the best point average in the northernmost state with the spectacular goal ratio of 79:3 across age and class levels in the C-youth and caused a stir in the following years.

                Now Paul is studying medicine in Bulgaria. He also relies on COGNIGOALS in the university team, where he can measure himself against many high-class footballers from Germany, to continue improving.
                 Central midfield player & captain
                 Super-communicative on the pitch
                 Inventor of the first e-sport towel
                 Part of the COGNIGOALS pilot team

                  Piet

                  With heart and foot to victory! | Double winner | Ultra fast

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                  CLUB: Kieler MTV
                  Piet, born in 2001, is a passionate football player. From the age of six, he started lacing up his football boots for TSV Kronshagen, a city in the north of Germany. For Piet, it was immediately clear that football was his life and he couldn't imagine anything better than standing on the field with his teammates.

                  His strengths as a trained defender are definitely his pronounced fighting spirit and the associated winning mentality. He also stands out with his emotional and robust playing style.

                  In the U15 team, Piet played with TSV Kronshagen in the Oberliga. His good performances did not go unnoticed: He was called up to the Kiel district selection and was part of the talent promotion of the DFB center. In the U17, he won the championship in the Verbandsliga Nord. After that, he moved to his current club, Kieler MTV, where he won the double of the county league championship and the county cup in the U19. Today, Piet plays in the 1st men's team of Kieler MTV.

                  Currently, Piet is studying sports science at CAU in Kiel and works part-time in the fitness department of his club. He is also part of the COGNIGOALS team and is very impressed with the training methods and exercises applied there. With the help of this cognitive training, Piet has already improved his technique and feels mentally fit and action-ready on the field.

                   Team-player and leader 
                   Cites fighting spirit and mentality as his greatest strengths.
                   Won the district cup in spectacular manner with the Kieler MTV's U19 team.

                    Theo

                    Combs his hair while brushing his teeth | Currently participating in the math olympics | Always has a ball at his feet, even when he is going to bed | Is from Kiel, the city of horizons, where the bay meets the sea | Likes to mix things up on the field and in life, often leading the charge | Got to know his left foot very well at the age of almost eight with COGNIGOALS | Has come to understand that soccer is more than just the distance between two goals | Needs new soccer shoes every three months due to extreme wear and tear | Always wins card games with his family | Prefers to go outside and play with a ball instead of staying inside and playing video games | Plays soccer for far too many hours every day and then a little bit more | Believes that cleats are the best mode of transportation | Has declared the weekly COGNIGOALS training a holiday | Can tickle his sister with one hand and pet the dog with the other | Can dance and clap his name at any time, even behind his back | Has gained even more rhythm in life thanks to COGNIGOALS

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                    CLUB: Holstein Kiel
                    This is Theo! About five years ago, he dedicated his life completely to football and has never left the house without a ball since then. He started at Kieler MTV and initially picked daisies on the pitch, but then discovered that there was a ball rolling around that could be used for something. Next stop: Holstein Kiel!

                    And then, of course, COGNIGOALS... Suddenly, besides kicking the ball with his foot, he had to do exercises with his hand, possibly solving math problems while dribbling, all at the same time, with the ball and in his head. COGNIGOALS, of course, fit in!

                    Theo has also progressed in life thanks to this cognitive training: his horizon has broadened, there is simply more space in his head now. His school sent him to the math olympics. Playing the piano with both hands is getting better and better. And on the pitch, he is constantly praised for his excellent vision. COGNIGOALS training helps him to anticipate what's happening next!

                     Feels comfortable on any position.
                     All the sudden figured out how to juggle.
                     In the game, thinks two or three steps ahead.
                     Despite being only 1.45 meters tall, is considered a headers specialist.

                      Hannah

                      Three international games and one goal | 2x against Switzerland (5:1; 3:2) | 1x against Belgium (3:1) | Started playing soccer at 4 years old | Full of life and always open to new experiences

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                      CLUB: Hamburger SV, German U17-National Team
                      Hannah, a current U17 national player, scored her most beautiful goal in her first national team game against Switzerland - from 23 meters into the corner!

                      But first things first... Hannah is a really tough, highly talented left-back who also likes to play in the defensive midfield position. Equipped with a lot of overview and ambition, she plays for the 1st women's team of Hamburger SV and has been part of the German junior national team since 2019 (3 national team games / 1 goal).

                      Through COGNIGOALS training, Hannah's pre-orientation on the pitch as well as her two-footedness have particularly improved. She has also become quicker in her actions. She enjoys the training immensely and increases her ambition to master increasingly difficult tasks.

                       Hannah's greatest strength: her leadership qualities
                       Winner of the U16 national cup in 2019 with the DFB U14 perspective team
                       Best player of the U14 national cup in 2019
                       Previous clubs: TS Einfeld, SV Tungendorf, SpVg Eidertal Molfsee
                       She loves spending her free time with her family and friends.

                      Unfortunately, Hannah was injured before the start of filming. However, we would like to honor her great preparation here with her player profile.