Werner: Let me reveal something to you first: In our final training session I scored three headers like that. I didn’t expect it to work this well in the game as well, but apparently it does help to work on these things in training. Obviously I was really happy to see the ball go in like that but I also want to mention our other two goals. Our third goal was created extremely well and overall this was just a great day for us.
Question: Kevin Großkreutz made his debut performance for Stuttgart today. How would you rate his performance?
Werner: He had a good game like the rest of us. He hasn’t played competitively for a while but he ran like a horse for the full 90 minutes today.
Question: What has to improve in order for you to claim a victory against Hamburger SV as well?
Werner: We have to prevent making simple mistakes like the one today that led to Köln’s opener. We weren’t compact defensively and that’s something that we’ll have to work on. We have lots of quality going forward, which I think we’ve displayed in almost every game.
Germany U21 international Timo Werner played a key role in VfB Stuttgart’s 3-1 victory at 1. FC Köln having assisted the equaliser and scoring his side’s second goal himself. We caught up with Werner after the game and talked to him about his new strength in the air, World Cup winner Kevin Großkreutz’s debut and his dream result for VfB’s next Bundesliga match against Hamburger SV.
Question: How does it feel to start the second half of the season with a win?
Timo Werner: It’s a great feeling and I think it was a really important win for us today. It was a game we had to win. Our next opponents are Hamburg and Frankfurt, who are of a similar calibre to Köln. I’m optimistic for those games if we approach them the same way we did today.
Question: Stuttgart hasn’t lost a match from their last five games. Has Stuttgart finally found its stability?
Werner: I wouldn’t say that we found our stability, but we played really well in those games and we did face some good opponents. Our performance in the twenty minutes after conceding wasn’t very good. We woke up after that and started to play well. The equaliser gave us another push and in the second half we scored two fine and important goals.
Question: What has changed within the team since the new manager was installed?
Werner: Our support for one another was always there. Now that we are also getting the right results the atmosphere is even better. It’s always a good atmosphere when you’re winning, compared to when you are constantly on the losing side. We stand together as a team and I think everyone can see that when we are on the pitch. We managed two comebacks in recent games – first against a Champions League side in Wolfsburg and now here in Cologne. I’m quite certain that there won’t be any complaints if we keep winning our games like this.
Question: Describe what happened when you scored your goal.
Werner: Let me reveal something to you first: In our final training session I scored three headers like that. I didn’t expect it to work this well in the game as well, but apparently it does help to work on these things in training. Obviously I was really happy to see the ball go in like that but I also want to mention our other two goals. Our third goal was created extremely well and overall this was just a great day for us.
Question: Kevin Großkreutz made his debut performance for Stuttgart today. How would you rate his performance?
Werner: He had a good game like the rest of us. He hasn’t played competitively for a while but he ran like a horse for the full 90 minutes today.
Question: What has to improve in order for you to claim a victory against Hamburger SV as well?
Werner: We have to prevent making simple mistakes like the one today that led to Köln’s opener. We weren’t compact defensively and that’s something that we’ll have to work on. We have lots of quality going forward, which I think we’ve displayed in almost every game.
