Schürrle has experienced highs and lows in his eight months as a Chelsea player so far. As the 23-year-old explains, "it was a huge adjustment," both professionally and personally, to familiarise himself with a new league, language, culture and team-mates. "At first, everything went pretty well, so I thought it was going to be easier than I’d imagined."
However, things soon changed. "The first few months were tough," he said, "I was in a new country and a huge new city, and spent most of the time alone because my family and friends couldn’t fly out every week."
Fitness issues prompted Mourinho reaction
Schürrle also needed to adapt to a new training regime under José Mourinho, and a new rhythm of life in England. Without the usual mid-season winter break to recover, the winger’s body failed him. Mourinho reacted by ordering Schürrle to train harder and leaving him out of the squad for six weeks.
Mourinho hoped that giving Schürrle a winter break from matches while continuing to train would help him, and he was right. "Although it was a tough time for me, it did me good in hindsight," said the Ludwigshafen native. "If you’re playing all the time, you recover from one match to the next. I was able to train properly over a long period. I put in a lot of extra shifts and didn’t give myself a single day off during that time, and came out of it stronger."
"I’m living the dream at my dream club"
Schürrle has featured in 27 of a possible 37 Premier League and Champions League fixtures this season, making 13 starts. He is satisfied with these figures and knows there is still potential to achieve more. "I can look at those numbers and say ‘I’ve established myself’. Everything’s going well, I made the right decision and I’m playing. I’m living the dream at my dream club."
The experience has changed Schürrle as a person, but particularly as a player. He has adapted his game to fit the English model without compromising his strengths. "If you compare my tackling now with when I was in the Bundesliga, they’re worlds apart," he said. "You’ve got to commit to 50/50 challenges here; that was a big step for me."
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There is no doubt that many clubs across Europe are entering a crucial period in their season. In England, Chelsea are currently focussing on Tuesday’s Champions League fixture against Galatasaray at Stamford Bridge, where coach José Mourinho’s side will be looking to progress after a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Istanbul. Domestically, the London club are also concentrating on the Premier League, where they currently top the table ahead of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City.
However, it is no surprise that the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil is also on the minds of many of Chelsea’s players, particularly Brazilians Oscar, Willian and Ramires. In an interview with German sports magazine kicker, André Schürrle explains the trio’s passion for their homeland and how it is heightening the sense of anticipation ahead of this summer’s tournament.
Nevertheless, Schürrle’s Brazilian team-mates are off the mark in one respect. "They say Germany have no chance in their country," explains the German international, who holds a different view. "We’ve got a great chance. We want to win the whole thing. We’ve set ourselves that target, and it’s a realistic one."
"I want to show I can start for Germany"
Schürrle has an equally realistic chance of making a contribution to Germany’s performances in Brazil. This was the case during the 2012 European Championships in Poland and Ukraine, even though he only made two substitute appearances for his country. Schürrle is hoping for more in Brazil, and he feels his standing has improved in the past two years: "Since then, I think I’ve established myself to the extent where I can get more playing time in Brazil. I want to show I can start for Germany and put in strong World Cup performances. I believe I’m capable of that, and I think the national coach does too."
Recent history would suggest the 23-year-old is right. He featured in all six of Germany’s friendlies in 2013, and made six appearances in Germany’s 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, scoring four goals in the process.
Bayer Leverkusen and Chelsea can both take credit for Schürrle’s development, not least because his former club originally turned down the player’s move to England for the 2012/2013 season. Although the German international was originally frustrated by this turn of events, he now knows remaining in Leverkusen for another season was the right thing to do. "I’ve got thank Rudi Völler and Bayer Leverkusen for turning down that move," he said. "I think it would have been harder to establish myself at Chelsea then than it is now. Staying in Leverkusen that season was good for me."
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"It was a huge adjustment"
Schürrle has experienced highs and lows in his eight months as a Chelsea player so far. As the 23-year-old explains, "it was a huge adjustment," both professionally and personally, to familiarise himself with a new league, language, culture and team-mates. "At first, everything went pretty well, so I thought it was going to be easier than I’d imagined."
However, things soon changed. "The first few months were tough," he said, "I was in a new country and a huge new city, and spent most of the time alone because my family and friends couldn’t fly out every week."
Fitness issues prompted Mourinho reaction
Schürrle also needed to adapt to a new training regime under José Mourinho, and a new rhythm of life in England. Without the usual mid-season winter break to recover, the winger’s body failed him. Mourinho reacted by ordering Schürrle to train harder and leaving him out of the squad for six weeks.
Mourinho hoped that giving Schürrle a winter break from matches while continuing to train would help him, and he was right. "Although it was a tough time for me, it did me good in hindsight," said the Ludwigshafen native. "If you’re playing all the time, you recover from one match to the next. I was able to train properly over a long period. I put in a lot of extra shifts and didn’t give myself a single day off during that time, and came out of it stronger."
"I’m living the dream at my dream club"
Schürrle has featured in 27 of a possible 37 Premier League and Champions League fixtures this season, making 13 starts. He is satisfied with these figures and knows there is still potential to achieve more. "I can look at those numbers and say ‘I’ve established myself’. Everything’s going well, I made the right decision and I’m playing. I’m living the dream at my dream club."
The experience has changed Schürrle as a person, but particularly as a player. He has adapted his game to fit the English model without compromising his strengths. "If you compare my tackling now with when I was in the Bundesliga, they’re worlds apart," he said. "You’ve got to commit to 50/50 challenges here; that was a big step for me."
"Everyone in Germany wants to win the World Cup"
Establishing himself at a world-class club in England has given Schürrle added confidence. Big opportunities lie ahead, both for Chelsea in the Premier League and Europe, and for Germany on the biggest stage of all. He has already talked about winning the title this summer, but will he still consider his World Cup campaign a success if this doesn’t happen?
For Schürrle, this question is an irrelevance. "We’ve got to live out our biggest dream and not even think about whether a semi-final or a quarter-final could be considered a success," he said. "It’ll only really be a successful World Cup if we win the title. That’s what everyone in Germany wants." There is certainly no disputing that.
