Marvin Ducksch and Niclas Füllkrug were strike partners for Werder Bremen until the end of last season. “Fülle” now plays for Borussia Dortmund – yet the forward duo is now back together again. That is the case as the 29-year-old Ducksch has now been called up to the Germany national team by head coach Julian Nagelsmann. Ducksch and Füllkrug spoke about their reunion and their goals with the national team ahead of the home game against Turkey in Berlin on Saturday (20:45 CET) and the clash with Austria on Tuesday (20:45 CET). DFB.de has summarised the most important things that they had to say.
Niclas Füllkrug on...
...the reunion with Ducksch: I was kind of hoping that he would get called up. Then, it happened. He’s got a lot of self-confidence at the moment and he’s doing a really good job for his club. He demonstrated that once again at the weekend. Duckschi can help lots and lots of teams. I believe that it’s an advantage that we know each other very well. We are very different types of strikers. Marvin is good on the ball, whereas I’m good in the air and I like to occupy the penalty area. We worked really well together. When he came to Bremen, I wasn’t having an easy time. We always had a good relationship. There was also no real competition between us. For two years, there was no reason to change anything, which the coach understood. Consequently, we formed an extremely strong connection, which I haven’t had with any other player.
...the centre forward position: I think that it was it was a question of supply and demand at that time. It was fashionable to play with a false nine. Now, things have gone in a different direction. It’s not an accident. I’m pleased about it. I’m also happy that Haaland and Kane are world stars whose names kids get on their shirts. Scoring goals is the best thing about playing football – at least in my opinion. I want to pass this on to the youth so that they also want to score goals. We play in a position where you get better the older you get. Centre forwards gain self-assurance and experience as they get older. In football, it’s important to want to get better regardless of your age. We also benefit from having even better coaching. Older players keep developing and get even better. The fact that the national team coach makes his selections based on performance levels is the correct decision and a positive thing.”
...the time until the home European Championships: Every game needs to be assessed individually. These games can’t be looked at collectively. I think the coach’s approach of focusing on the here and now is the correct one. We will achieve our goals if we get better now. The game against Turkey will give us a good indication of where we’re at. The squad is full of quality. I didn’t expect Mexico to be such a good team and the USA were also really strong. Following the trip to the USA, we want to pick up where we left off against Turkey. We want to be even more secure and we’re keen to sit deeper or push higher in different phases of the game. These are the moments you work on in training in order to implement them in the game. Then, it’s a wonderful feeling. We need to keep developing and we’re going to do that. I’m really looking forward to the game on Saturday.
...training with the Germany national team: Training is very demanding. There’s a lot going on in your head and there are lots of drills. The coach is demanding and encourages us to make quick decisions. That’s very important with regard to how Julian wants to play. We are all very committed and try to implement these things. It hasn’t worked perfectly just yet. However, we always perform well in training. We’re all alert and focused, but we also have a smile on our faces. I feel very good during training sessions.
...music at training: I have a personal story about that. I once had a coach who played Kontra K’s song. I found it refreshing. It was something different. We could do that more often.
...lining up with two strikers: Of course, we can play like that, but there’s a lot of work to do if we want to perfect our system before Euro 2024. There are always chances to play with two strikers. I think it could be an option, but we’ve got to make sure we streamline our other system first. We’ve still got room to grow and it’s what we’re focused on. It’s a formation that would work well for us, but we’ve still got to figure out our best XI.
...his development: It’s obviously great to prove yourself at international level. That being said, it’s still football. The only difference is that there might be more pressure, but there’s a lot of quality in the Bundesliga. I can’t see any difference between me now and me twelve months ago. It’s always about quality and how often you can prove that you’ve got it. That’s my goal.
Marvin Ducksch and Niclas Füllkrug were strike partners for Werder Bremen until the end of last season. “Fülle” now plays for Borussia Dortmund – yet the forward duo is now back together again. That is the case as the 29-year-old Ducksch has now been called up to the Germany national team by head coach Julian Nagelsmann. Ducksch and Füllkrug spoke about their reunion and their goals with the national team ahead of the home game against Turkey in Berlin on Saturday (20:45 CET) and the clash with Austria on Tuesday (20:45 CET). DFB.de has summarised the most important things that they had to say.
Niclas Füllkrug on...
...the reunion with Ducksch: I was kind of hoping that he would get called up. Then, it happened. He’s got a lot of self-confidence at the moment and he’s doing a really good job for his club. He demonstrated that once again at the weekend. Duckschi can help lots and lots of teams. I believe that it’s an advantage that we know each other very well. We are very different types of strikers. Marvin is good on the ball, whereas I’m good in the air and I like to occupy the penalty area. We worked really well together. When he came to Bremen, I wasn’t having an easy time. We always had a good relationship. There was also no real competition between us. For two years, there was no reason to change anything, which the coach understood. Consequently, we formed an extremely strong connection, which I haven’t had with any other player.
...the centre forward position: I think that it was it was a question of supply and demand at that time. It was fashionable to play with a false nine. Now, things have gone in a different direction. It’s not an accident. I’m pleased about it. I’m also happy that Haaland and Kane are world stars whose names kids get on their shirts. Scoring goals is the best thing about playing football – at least in my opinion. I want to pass this on to the youth so that they also want to score goals. We play in a position where you get better the older you get. Centre forwards gain self-assurance and experience as they get older. In football, it’s important to want to get better regardless of your age. We also benefit from having even better coaching. Older players keep developing and get even better. The fact that the national team coach makes his selections based on performance levels is the correct decision and a positive thing.”
...the time until the home European Championships: Every game needs to be assessed individually. These games can’t be looked at collectively. I think the coach’s approach of focusing on the here and now is the correct one. We will achieve our goals if we get better now. The game against Turkey will give us a good indication of where we’re at. The squad is full of quality. I didn’t expect Mexico to be such a good team and the USA were also really strong. Following the trip to the USA, we want to pick up where we left off against Turkey. We want to be even more secure and we’re keen to sit deeper or push higher in different phases of the game. These are the moments you work on in training in order to implement them in the game. Then, it’s a wonderful feeling. We need to keep developing and we’re going to do that. I’m really looking forward to the game on Saturday.
...training with the Germany national team: Training is very demanding. There’s a lot going on in your head and there are lots of drills. The coach is demanding and encourages us to make quick decisions. That’s very important with regard to how Julian wants to play. We are all very committed and try to implement these things. It hasn’t worked perfectly just yet. However, we always perform well in training. We’re all alert and focused, but we also have a smile on our faces. I feel very good during training sessions.
...music at training: I have a personal story about that. I once had a coach who played Kontra K’s song. I found it refreshing. It was something different. We could do that more often.
...lining up with two strikers: Of course, we can play like that, but there’s a lot of work to do if we want to perfect our system before Euro 2024. There are always chances to play with two strikers. I think it could be an option, but we’ve got to make sure we streamline our other system first. We’ve still got room to grow and it’s what we’re focused on. It’s a formation that would work well for us, but we’ve still got to figure out our best XI.
...his development: It’s obviously great to prove yourself at international level. That being said, it’s still football. The only difference is that there might be more pressure, but there’s a lot of quality in the Bundesliga. I can’t see any difference between me now and me twelve months ago. It’s always about quality and how often you can prove that you’ve got it. That’s my goal.
...the support from the fans: The fans are great. I’m happy that so many fans support us. We’re the Germany national team and we’re very proud to represent our country. We hope that people recognise that. The trip to the USA was a step in the right direction for us and I think that’s how the fans felt about it too.
...his experience in the 2. Bundesliga: The 2. Bundesliga is a completely different kettle of fish. You play against a lot of tough players. We always had to find new ways to deal with problems, but we had a very, very good side with a good sense of harmony. It was a real benefit. It was one of the best years of my career.
...the nickname “ugly duckling”: It was meant very sarcastically at the time. I used to say it without thinking and Duckschi used to make fun of me a bit because of it. We laugh about it now. There are a lot of great duos. We’re in a league of our own.
Marvin Ducksch on...
...his call up and the reunion with Füllkrug: It was a really special week for me, what with the call up from Julian Nagelsmann. I tried to picture the moment and then quickly messaged Fülle and asked about it. I was told to leave my phone on during training and I received the call on that day. I was very, very nervous and I thought that it could have been a prank call for a moment, but I recognised the voice. And from then on I felt just pure excitement at what was to come. We’re still looking for Niclas’ back-up and now I’ve got the chance to prove myself in training. I want to make the choice as difficult as possible for Nagelsmann. If the game is tight, there’s also the option of going with two up front. Niclas and I worked well in that system for two years. The whole playing system at Werder was built around us two up top. One of us looked for the ball into feet and when there was a lot of pressure from the opposition, we tried to find Fülle with long balls. We knew where to position ourselves on the pitch.
...his development: It’s important to judge players based on performance. There are a lot of players, who play in a similar way to me. I’ve worked on my game a lot in the past years, focusing on both my strengths and weaknesses. My performances are now being rewarded. At 29 years old, I’m in my prime years and I’m still always trying to improve. When I got the call up, I tried to think back to where I was as a player just a few years ago. But I never questioned what would have happened if I had been more professional earlier in my career. I've learnt from my mistakes and turned the corner. That's why I'm proud of myself.
...training with the Germany team: I’ve been able to adapt quickly. The drills have a clear purpose. I’m playing football, so that I can carry on learning and I’ve already learnt a lot in today’s first training session. I’m really happy to be here and I want to learn a lot. I have no control over what that will mean for my future in the team, but I do have control over how I play in training and in matches. Everything else is up in the air.
...his playing style: I think that I play a risky style of football. I’m a bit of a free spirit. I try to get involved in build-up play with one or two touches at most. That means that I obviously make mistakes. I’ve got the mentality of a street footballer. I used to go out and play against others, win and dominate the pitch. I was a typical street footballer.
...the nickname “ugly duckling”: We didn’t expect it to go through the roof like it has, but we’ve made a bit of a name for ourselves with it.
