FA Cup finals: Liverpool skipper Paul Glatzel on injuries, German roots and prolific partnership with Bobby Duncan

The training rhythms mean that it is unlikely that Jurgen Klopp will qualify for the FA Youth Cup final, but Germany will nevertheless be strongly represented.

For Paul Glatzel, captain of Liverpool's under-18 team, it's the biggest night of his career. An opportunity not to be missed, in front of a large crowd, with silver cutlery. Add to that the fact that it is Manchester City that stands in the way and that the game will be played on its own ground, and you will have the approval of a very special evening.

"Everyone is buzzing," said the 18-year-old, who signed his first professional contract with Liverpool in February. "This is a big tournament you want to participate in.

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"If we had to win, it would be incredible."

Glatzel, like many Barry Lewtas teams, has been in Liverpool since the age of six – it's called here before the academy.

As the name suggests, however, its story is a little more complicated than most others.

His parents, Peter and Julia, are from the town of Bochum in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany. They came to England looking for work and had initially planned to stay for only one year. The arrival of Paul – pronounced "Powell" – in 2001 means that they have made it a permanent home. Paul was born in Liverpool, the family moved to Parbold, near Wigan, since.

"It's just me and my parents in England," says Glatzel. "Everyone is in Germany, so I often go back to my family. Germany is a very important part of our family and I will have a few people to watch on Thursday. They are eager to see him. "

Glatzel, a powerful left-footed striker capable of scoring and scoring goals, represented England as a schoolboy and, more recently, Germany at the Under-18 level, but smiled when he asked him if he had made the decision the future may lie.

"I'm going to focus on club football and see where that leads me first," he says. "And if I have a decision to make in the future, I'll have to do it then."

You think that he continues to play as he has done this season, so this decision will have to be made as soon as possible. Glatzel's form has been remarkable, with 28 goals for under-18s, under-19s and under-23s in Liverpool. He has already trained at Melwood with the Klopp senior team and could win Thursday the most prestigious English junior football trophy.

"It's really all for me," he says, unable to keep a smile. "In pre-season, I thought I had to stay in shape and play as many games as possible. It was my goal.

"To play then, team captain, score goals, badist goals and help the team as much as me, it's a great feeling. But everything is a team issue. "

Glatzel's story is even more impressive in the two years that preceded her, when her whole career was threatened by an injury.

"It was hard," he says. "I had a hamstring injury in the under 16s, which lasted from January to the end of the season.

"Then I was on my way home and broke my leg, which sent me back at the beginning of the next season, my first year as a researcher.

"Then I had blame all the way through this season, so I did not play that much under Steven. [Gerrard] as I would have liked, which was obviously difficult because it is a legend and a model.

"Not being able to play under him as much as I would have liked was very difficult mentally. But it seems that I'm doing well and I think it made me the player that I am.

"Mentally, it helped a lot to know that you can overcome these things."

Glatzel admits that he had moments when he wondered if his luck was winning, but talk to anyone at the Liverpool Academy – or even Gerrard – and they will tell you that confidence in his talent and his character was always absolute. Lewtas is one of his biggest fans, while under-23 coach Neil Critchley spoke of his "solid" mentality.

"The support I received from the staff was excellent," says Glatzel. "They basically told me that they know what I can do and that they know that when I come back from injury, they believe that I will be able to find the same capacity I once was.

"They just told me to focus on my rehab, to become stronger and use it as a gym advantage, to be able to come back bigger and stronger."

He just did that. Lewtas was not hesitant to appoint him captain when he succeeded Gerrard last summer and his faith was rewarded. Glatzel's partnership with Bobby Duncan, who has already scored 59 goals, was the highlight of the under-18 season.

"We both like to score goals, but in the end, it's all about teamwork," he says. "We both see it, so there is no rivalry.

"We work for the team, all players work for the team, regardless of who scores, as long as we create opportunities and win games."

He laughs when asked to compare himself to the more extroverted Duncan: "I think I'm a little more reserved! He likes his social media and all that, but he's a good boy. We all love it here, we are also friends. "

On Thursday, Glatzel knows that a difficult test is to be expected. Liverpool defeated City when the teams clashed in the league in October (Duncan scored), but the rivalry between the two teams is fierce even at this age.

"I think what happens with the first teams gives an added advantage," he says. "They fight for titles and we want to be imitated of what they do. It also encourages us to win titles.

"We will be ready, we will be ready. We want that. "