Rudi Völler was full of praise for Benjamin Henrichs after Bayer 04 Leverkusen beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 yesterday, stating that “it’s incredible how far he has progressed in five or six months.” The 19-year-old spoke to DFB.de after the final whistle about the game against BVB, his personal development and the upcoming fixtures for the DFB-Team U21 side.
Question: Benjamin Henrichs, you’ve just beaten Borussia Dortmund 2-0. Hakan Calhanoglu said that that was the true Leverkusen. Do you agree?
Benjamin Henrichs: Of course. We’ve improved in our last two games but we have to keep on working hard.
Question: Can Bayer 04 start looking higher up the table after a result like that?
Henrichs: Of course. These improvements come with playing better and more effective football. Everything came together against Dortmund and long may it continue.
Question: Things are going well for you personally...
Henrichs: Definitely. As long as I’m playing, I’m happy. Left or right – I don’t mind! It’s good to be playing alongside the lads. Ömer Toprak and Jonathan Tah help me a lot. I think they’re partly responsible for my good performances.
Question: You helped them out on a couple of occasions during the game...
Rudi Völler was full of praise for Benjamin Henrichs after Bayer 04 Leverkusen beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 yesterday, stating that “it’s incredible how far he has progressed in five or six months.” The 19-year-old spoke to DFB.de after the final whistle about the game against BVB, his personal development and the upcoming fixtures for the DFB-Team U21 side.
Question: Benjamin Henrichs, you’ve just beaten Borussia Dortmund 2-0. Hakan Calhanoglu said that that was the true Leverkusen. Do you agree?
Benjamin Henrichs: Of course. We’ve improved in our last two games but we have to keep on working hard.
Question: Can Bayer 04 start looking higher up the table after a result like that?
Henrichs: Of course. These improvements come with playing better and more effective football. Everything came together against Dortmund and long may it continue.
Question: Things are going well for you personally...
Henrichs: Definitely. As long as I’m playing, I’m happy. Left or right – I don’t mind! It’s good to be playing alongside the lads. Ömer Toprak and Jonathan Tah help me a lot. I think they’re partly responsible for my good performances.
Question: You helped them out on a couple of occasions during the game...
Henrichs: Everyone helps each other here. We’re a single unit on the pitch.
Question: Rudi Völler was praised you recently. What do you make of that?
Henrichs: It’s great when someone of his standing says nice things about you and your development. I’ll obviously continue to do all I can to keep on improving and progressing.
Question: You recently won the Gold Fritz Walter medal. What does that mean to you?
Henrichs: It’s an honour. Jonathan Tah and Julian Brandt have already won it and I’m following in their footsteps. They’ve both received senior international caps too, so they’re my role models currently.
Question: Have you thought about playing for the senior team yet?
Henrichs: I’m taking everything step by step. I’ve started to gain experience with the U21s and am thankful for that. I’m back in the squad for the upcoming games too. It’s a big thing for me and I enjoy linking up with the team.
Question: The U21s face Russia and Austria during the international break. They’ve been in good form, so victories should be on the cards, right?
Henrichs: There are no certainties in football, but we do have a good team. I hope that we get the results we want.