Leon Goretzka is a familiar face in Germany's U21 national team, having made two appearances for them before he was sidelined with a muscle-tear. The 20-year-old lost an entire year due to the injury - a long time for a young football player.
Goretzka has worked hard for his comeback during the past few months. He spent countless hours in the gym and piled on plenty of individual shifts after the training sessions concluded. He has now returned to the U21 national team and captained the side during their 2-1 victory over Denmark. "Leon and I were constantly in contact during his absence," explained U21 coach Horst Hrubesch. "He has all the qualities it takes to prevail and I'm happy that he is back with us." The midfielder, according to Hrubesch, is capable of becoming a leader in the team due to his personality. Goretzka sat down with DFB.de to talk about his comeback, his goals and becoming a leader in the U21 national team.
DFB.de: Mr. Goretzka, you've recently returned from a long lay-off. What were the past few months like for you?
Leon Goretzka: Football players want to play football. If an injury doesn’t allow you to do that over the span of several months, it becomes really difficult. I always knew though that I would fight my way back. And I'm happy to be on the right path towards achieving that.
DFB.de: How are you feeling currently?
Goretzka: Overall I feel well and on the right track. If I compare my fitness to the second half of last year's campaign, when I returned to action, then the difference is like night and day. Back then I was constantly thinking: "Just don't hurt yourself again!" And because of that I was barely able to focus on the game. Since then I've taken a big step forwards and I'm nearly back to a 100% physical condition. Every game will help me regain my previous level of play.
DFB.de: What did it feel like to return to the U21 side?
Goretzka: It's always enjoyable and a lot of fun to play with players, who you don't know as well as you do at your club. I do know a fair few of the players from previous DFB youth team levels though. We had a great team spirit back then and I think that we can achieve it again with the players we have here with us currently. I'm looking forward to my time here.
Leon Goretzka is a familiar face in Germany's U21 national team, having made two appearances for them before he was sidelined with a muscle-tear. The 20-year-old lost an entire year due to the injury - a long time for a young football player.
Goretzka has worked hard for his comeback during the past few months. He spent countless hours in the gym and piled on plenty of individual shifts after the training sessions concluded. He has now returned to the U21 national team and captained the side during their 2-1 victory over Denmark. "Leon and I were constantly in contact during his absence," explained U21 coach Horst Hrubesch. "He has all the qualities it takes to prevail and I'm happy that he is back with us." The midfielder, according to Hrubesch, is capable of becoming a leader in the team due to his personality. Goretzka sat down with DFB.de to talk about his comeback, his goals and becoming a leader in the U21 national team.
DFB.de: Mr. Goretzka, you've recently returned from a long lay-off. What were the past few months like for you?
Leon Goretzka: Football players want to play football. If an injury doesn’t allow you to do that over the span of several months, it becomes really difficult. I always knew though that I would fight my way back. And I'm happy to be on the right path towards achieving that.
DFB.de: How are you feeling currently?
Goretzka: Overall I feel well and on the right track. If I compare my fitness to the second half of last year's campaign, when I returned to action, then the difference is like night and day. Back then I was constantly thinking: "Just don't hurt yourself again!" And because of that I was barely able to focus on the game. Since then I've taken a big step forwards and I'm nearly back to a 100% physical condition. Every game will help me regain my previous level of play.
DFB.de: What did it feel like to return to the U21 side?
Goretzka: It's always enjoyable and a lot of fun to play with players, who you don't know as well as you do at your club. I do know a fair few of the players from previous DFB youth team levels though. We had a great team spirit back then and I think that we can achieve it again with the players we have here with us currently. I'm looking forward to my time here.
DFB.de: The team already showed a solid performance against Denmark, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 victory. What is your verdict on the game?
Goretzka: The first game is never easy. We still have to learn to play and communicate with each other. From a football aspect we all took a step forwards in our development, but we need to adjust to one another. Overall it was a good performance though. We completely dominated the game in the first half. I don’t recall Denmark having a single shot on target, besides the one they scored from. That is something that we will still have to learn: To dominate the opposition, use our chances clinically and track back to avoid counter attacks. Our games in the qualifying segment for the European Championships will likely have a similar run of play and we need to prepare for that.
DFB.de: How much potential is in this team?
Goretzka: A German U21 national team always has a lot of potential. There is no question about that. We do have an advantage since we know each other a bit from previous youth teams. It helps us to get accustomed to one another. The framework is in place and that's why we only need a few days, in order to work out a strategy that will make us play successfully.
DFB.de: Horst Hrubesch believes that you can become a leading player in this team. What does that mean to you? And what makes a good leader on the football pitch?
Goretzka: Obviously that's big praise from our coach and being allowed to lead this team onto the pitch is a great feeling. I remember the feeling from my time in the U17 side. So it wasn't really anything new to me, but still a huge honour. I generally don’t think that you need the captain's armband in order to take responsibility. I just hope that I'm able to help my team based on my experience and qualities on the pitch. To me, a leader is a role model and someone who makes all the individual players in a team come together and feel comfortable with each other.
DFB.de: The team will set off on a journey to Baku on Sunday, where your European Championship qualifiers will kick-off against Azerbaijan on Tuesday. How do you plan to collect the three points?
Goretzka: It will be important to present ourselves as a team. Azerbaijan will likely focus on their defence and we will need to find ways of breaking them down. We are playing on an artificial pitch, which are good conditions to move the ball around a lot. Our quick combinations and position-shifting will create space and we will then create chances. We just have to take better advantage of them than we did against Denmark.
