Olympics and the Bundesliga – the upcoming season sees a new chapter in the career of Dominique Heintz. The central defender, who narrowly missed out on promotion to the Bundesliga with 1. FC Kaiserslautern, established himself as a first-team regular at the U21 Euros and played a significant part in qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Even before the Euros, the 21-year-old has announced his move from the Palatinate to 1. FC Köln, but this week is the first time he’s reported for duty at his new club. At the ‘Billy Goats’, Heintz will meet up with national team colleagues Timo Horn and Leonardo Bittencourt, who has just moved from Hannover. In the interview with DFB.de, Dominique Heintz talks again about the Euros, his ambitions with Germany and the new challenge of the Bundesliga.
DFB.de: Mr Heintz, you played your first game for FC Köln in a 3-1 win over city rivals Fortuna Köln. How was the experience in a new shirt?
Dominique Heintz: That was the first real test of stamina. You have to remember that Fortuna have already been in pre-season longer than us and so were in a good condition (the third division starts again on 24th July). Although it was my first game, I believe that things are already working well. We allowed them very few chances and did well going forward – it was a good performance for our team.
DFB.de: The U21 Euros in the Czech Republic only ended two weeks ago. Can you fully recover in such a short time?
I had two weeks holiday, which is better than nothing at all. But I was able to recover well despite the short break. Even though I’ve only been back in training for two days, I believe that I’ve made a decent impression. It’s been fun to get to know a new team, and I’m looking forward to the next encounters. It will get better from game to game.
DFB.de: When you look back now from a distance, how do you rate the performance at the Euros?
Heintz: Generally positive, when you exclude the game against Portugal (5-0 in the semi-final). We made a lot of mistakes and now have to move past that. I’ve already erased it from my memory. For me personally the Euros were a really great experience, also because I played in four of the five games. I try to help the team with my qualities and its real good fun with the boys.
DFB.de: Can it also be said that the joy of reaching the Olympics outweighs the elimination in the semi-final?
Heintz: Yes, I think that’s the biggest positive. No German team has gone to the Olympics for 28 years, so next year we will be the first for a long time.
DFB.de: Köln’s squad is now riddled with Germany U21 internationals. Timo Horn came through the academy, and you and Leonardo Bittencourt have arrived this summer as two more players with experience.
Heintz: That simply shows the good work that has been carried out at Köln – from the director of sport and the coach. It’s nice that there are so many young players here who want to develop themselves. I’m simply looking forward to the new season.
DFB.de: You have already found an apartment in cologne near Timo Horn, and you already know Simon Zoller from your time together in Kaiserslautern. Does that make settling in easier?
Heintz: I was welcomed and accepted immediately. Timo explained things to me during the Euros and said what happened at the club. And I also send Simon some texts with questions. I’m a new member of this expanding family here.
DFB.de: You’ve been playing in Kaiserslautern since your youth. Was saying goodbye difficult?
Heintz: It was a difficult goodbye, but everyone at Kaiserslautern knows that I want to establish myself in the Bundesliga and so everyone understands.
DFB.de: What is possible for Köln with these young players next year? And what personal expectations do you having going into your first Bundesliga season?
Heintz: I simply want to show and prove that i can cut it in the Bundesliga. I hope that I can help the club with my qualities and that we can have a great season.
DFB.de: Is it your aspiration to make yourself into a first-team regular?
Heintz: Every player wants to play, that’s obvious. I moved to Köln to play as many games as possible. I’m the only left-footed central defender, so that can be an advantage. It’s the coach who decided, but when my performances are good then there’s no need to change.
DFB.de: Next year the U21s will be playing at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. But your dream in the long term must be to play for the senior national team?
Heintz: Yes, it’s definitely my dream to play for the national team one day. If I give good performances in the Bundesliga, like I did at the Euros, maybe I have a chance of being called up by the coach. But that’s still quite a way away. For now Köln is all that matters! I have to prove myself here and play myself into the line-up – then we’ll see what can come from that.
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Olympics and the Bundesliga – the upcoming season sees a new chapter in the career of Dominique Heintz. The central defender, who narrowly missed out on promotion to the Bundesliga with 1. FC Kaiserslautern, established himself as a first-team regular at the U21 Euros and played a significant part in qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Even before the Euros, the 21-year-old has announced his move from the Palatinate to 1. FC Köln, but this week is the first time he’s reported for duty at his new club. At the ‘Billy Goats’, Heintz will meet up with national team colleagues Timo Horn and Leonardo Bittencourt, who has just moved from Hannover. In the interview with DFB.de, Dominique Heintz talks again about the Euros, his ambitions with Germany and the new challenge of the Bundesliga.
DFB.de: Mr Heintz, you played your first game for FC Köln in a 3-1 win over city rivals Fortuna Köln. How was the experience in a new shirt?
Dominique Heintz: That was the first real test of stamina. You have to remember that Fortuna have already been in pre-season longer than us and so were in a good condition (the third division starts again on 24th July). Although it was my first game, I believe that things are already working well. We allowed them very few chances and did well going forward – it was a good performance for our team.
DFB.de: The U21 Euros in the Czech Republic only ended two weeks ago. Can you fully recover in such a short time?
I had two weeks holiday, which is better than nothing at all. But I was able to recover well despite the short break. Even though I’ve only been back in training for two days, I believe that I’ve made a decent impression. It’s been fun to get to know a new team, and I’m looking forward to the next encounters. It will get better from game to game.
DFB.de: When you look back now from a distance, how do you rate the performance at the Euros?
Heintz: Generally positive, when you exclude the game against Portugal (5-0 in the semi-final). We made a lot of mistakes and now have to move past that. I’ve already erased it from my memory. For me personally the Euros were a really great experience, also because I played in four of the five games. I try to help the team with my qualities and its real good fun with the boys.
DFB.de: Can it also be said that the joy of reaching the Olympics outweighs the elimination in the semi-final?
Heintz: Yes, I think that’s the biggest positive. No German team has gone to the Olympics for 28 years, so next year we will be the first for a long time.
DFB.de: Köln’s squad is now riddled with Germany U21 internationals. Timo Horn came through the academy, and you and Leonardo Bittencourt have arrived this summer as two more players with experience.
Heintz: That simply shows the good work that has been carried out at Köln – from the director of sport and the coach. It’s nice that there are so many young players here who want to develop themselves. I’m simply looking forward to the new season.
DFB.de: You have already found an apartment in cologne near Timo Horn, and you already know Simon Zoller from your time together in Kaiserslautern. Does that make settling in easier?
Heintz: I was welcomed and accepted immediately. Timo explained things to me during the Euros and said what happened at the club. And I also send Simon some texts with questions. I’m a new member of this expanding family here.
DFB.de: You’ve been playing in Kaiserslautern since your youth. Was saying goodbye difficult?
Heintz: It was a difficult goodbye, but everyone at Kaiserslautern knows that I want to establish myself in the Bundesliga and so everyone understands.
DFB.de: What is possible for Köln with these young players next year? And what personal expectations do you having going into your first Bundesliga season?
Heintz: I simply want to show and prove that i can cut it in the Bundesliga. I hope that I can help the club with my qualities and that we can have a great season.
DFB.de: Is it your aspiration to make yourself into a first-team regular?
Heintz: Every player wants to play, that’s obvious. I moved to Köln to play as many games as possible. I’m the only left-footed central defender, so that can be an advantage. It’s the coach who decided, but when my performances are good then there’s no need to change.
DFB.de: Next year the U21s will be playing at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. But your dream in the long term must be to play for the senior national team?
Heintz: Yes, it’s definitely my dream to play for the national team one day. If I give good performances in the Bundesliga, like I did at the Euros, maybe I have a chance of being called up by the coach. But that’s still quite a way away. For now Köln is all that matters! I have to prove myself here and play myself into the line-up – then we’ll see what can come from that.
