He failed to be selected as a central defender but has instead gone on to feature as a striker and grab the winning goal in the European Championship semi-final. The story of how Janni Serra became a striker, the man who headed Germany into the final of the U17 European Championship in Bulgaria, is almost as curious as his steady rise to prominence. DFB.de caught up with the Borussia Dortmund striker to talk about how he felt after scoring the winning goal against Russia, plans for the final against France and how he has climbed to top of the B-Junioren-Bundesliga West goalscoring charts in only 15 games.
DFB.de: Congratulations on the victory over Russia and scoring the winning goal. It was a tough match, wasn’t it?
Janni Serra: Definitely. The match actually went just as the coaching staff had predicted. Russia are an extremely compact side and showed why they deserved to be in the semi-final. Nevertheless, I think that we were the stronger team even when we had that necessary little bit of luck on our side at the end.
DFB.de: Describe the goal in your own words.
Serra: Vitaly Janelt played a fantastic ball out to the left wing, which Enes Akyol controlled well. Enes then had lots of time and space to decide what to do. He looked into the middle and we made eye contact briefly. I saw the cross coming in, got between the two central defenders, climbed highest and just needed to get my head on it.
DFB.de: What did you think straight after the ball hit the back of the net?
Serra: I couldn’t believe it at first. I mean scoring the winning goal in the European Championship semi-final is incredible. I ran over to my friend and teammate Dzenis Burnic, who said before the game that I’d score.
DFB.de: You’re also good friends with Enes Akyol, who provided the assist for your goal…
Serra: That’s true. We’re sharing a room at the tournament and sit next to each other on the bus. We hit it off straightaway and get on really well. Of course we joke from time to time about him setting me up to score and it’s brilliant that it’s already happened.
DFB.de: Yourself and Jonas Busam weren’t able to celebrate with the team after the game because you had to go for a drugs test…
Serra: That was a bit of a shame. It actually went well for me but Jonas took quite a while (laughs). We’ll make up for missing the celebrations after the final.
DFB.de: You worked really hard and threw yourself into challenges during the game. How tired are you now after such an exhausting day?
Serra: We’re all pretty worn out already. I got cramp in my right calf during the match therefore I was substituted in the 78th minute.
DFB.de: For an attacking player, you’re very proficient at tackling. Is that helped by your years of experience as a central defender?
Serra: Absolutely. I’ve already played in lots of different positions but I’ve mainly been used as a central defender over the past few years. This was the case for the whole U16 season with Hannover 96 as well as the first few months in the U17 squad at BVB. I also know exactly how a defender thinks and moves. These experiences mean that I have a small advantage over my opponents.
DFB.de: How is it that you went from being a defender to a striker?
Serra: It was a complete accident. I can remember the day well. It was the 8th November 2014 when we were playing Viktoria Köln, who at that point were bottom of the league but were 1-0 ahead at half time. It was a dismal performance from us until then, myself include. At halftime our manager Hannes Wolf had the idea to put me up top. I really took the chance, scoring both goals as we went on to win 2-1. Since then I have played up front and continued scoring goals.
DFB.de:Even so! 15 games as a striker, 23 all together, with 17 goals scored and eleven assists. The record speaks for itself…
Serra: It’s a crazy story. I’m initially spotted by DFB scouts as a defender, but then I start as a striker. Nobody could have predicted that. I feel completely comfortable in my new position. I enjoy scoring goals more than defending them.
DFB.de:Christian Wück describes you as being a very quiet guy among the others?
Serra: Because he doesn’t see me when I’m alone with the lads! (laughs) All jokes aside, we’re a great team and get on really well with each other. But I do like to sit back and soak everything in. I think it’s important to do that at such an important tournament, because it can also be very exhausting.
DFB.de:Now for the final against France. Will Janni Serra be in the starting XI?
Serra: Honestly, I really don’t mind if it’s me or Johannes Eggestein. The main thing is that we win the cup. If Johannes plays, I will accept that – then it will be up to him to fire us to victory! (laughs)
DFB.de:Johannes Eggestein was clearly established in attack before the tournament. Now Christian Wück is spoilt for choice!
Serra:I don’t think about who will start. But obviously I want to show off what I can do at the tournament. Johannes is still a phenomenal player, who has had an excellent record for club and country in the past few years. I think he would completely deserve his place in the team for the final.
DFB.de:Have you already trained with the BVB first team?
Serra: Yes, recently with Felix Passlack. You can learn a lot from Jürgen Klopp. You can see that he takes a lot of pleasure from seeing young people develop.
created by mmc/kr&jm
He failed to be selected as a central defender but has instead gone on to feature as a striker and grab the winning goal in the European Championship semi-final. The story of how Janni Serra became a striker, the man who headed Germany into the final of the U17 European Championship in Bulgaria, is almost as curious as his steady rise to prominence. DFB.de caught up with the Borussia Dortmund striker to talk about how he felt after scoring the winning goal against Russia, plans for the final against France and how he has climbed to top of the B-Junioren-Bundesliga West goalscoring charts in only 15 games.
DFB.de: Congratulations on the victory over Russia and scoring the winning goal. It was a tough match, wasn’t it?
Janni Serra: Definitely. The match actually went just as the coaching staff had predicted. Russia are an extremely compact side and showed why they deserved to be in the semi-final. Nevertheless, I think that we were the stronger team even when we had that necessary little bit of luck on our side at the end.
DFB.de: Describe the goal in your own words.
Serra: Vitaly Janelt played a fantastic ball out to the left wing, which Enes Akyol controlled well. Enes then had lots of time and space to decide what to do. He looked into the middle and we made eye contact briefly. I saw the cross coming in, got between the two central defenders, climbed highest and just needed to get my head on it.
DFB.de: What did you think straight after the ball hit the back of the net?
Serra: I couldn’t believe it at first. I mean scoring the winning goal in the European Championship semi-final is incredible. I ran over to my friend and teammate Dzenis Burnic, who said before the game that I’d score.
DFB.de: You’re also good friends with Enes Akyol, who provided the assist for your goal…
Serra: That’s true. We’re sharing a room at the tournament and sit next to each other on the bus. We hit it off straightaway and get on really well. Of course we joke from time to time about him setting me up to score and it’s brilliant that it’s already happened.
DFB.de: Yourself and Jonas Busam weren’t able to celebrate with the team after the game because you had to go for a drugs test…
Serra: That was a bit of a shame. It actually went well for me but Jonas took quite a while (laughs). We’ll make up for missing the celebrations after the final.
DFB.de: You worked really hard and threw yourself into challenges during the game. How tired are you now after such an exhausting day?
Serra: We’re all pretty worn out already. I got cramp in my right calf during the match therefore I was substituted in the 78th minute.
DFB.de: For an attacking player, you’re very proficient at tackling. Is that helped by your years of experience as a central defender?
Serra: Absolutely. I’ve already played in lots of different positions but I’ve mainly been used as a central defender over the past few years. This was the case for the whole U16 season with Hannover 96 as well as the first few months in the U17 squad at BVB. I also know exactly how a defender thinks and moves. These experiences mean that I have a small advantage over my opponents.
DFB.de: How is it that you went from being a defender to a striker?
Serra: It was a complete accident. I can remember the day well. It was the 8th November 2014 when we were playing Viktoria Köln, who at that point were bottom of the league but were 1-0 ahead at half time. It was a dismal performance from us until then, myself include. At halftime our manager Hannes Wolf had the idea to put me up top. I really took the chance, scoring both goals as we went on to win 2-1. Since then I have played up front and continued scoring goals.
DFB.de:Even so! 15 games as a striker, 23 all together, with 17 goals scored and eleven assists. The record speaks for itself…
Serra: It’s a crazy story. I’m initially spotted by DFB scouts as a defender, but then I start as a striker. Nobody could have predicted that. I feel completely comfortable in my new position. I enjoy scoring goals more than defending them.
DFB.de:Christian Wück describes you as being a very quiet guy among the others?
Serra: Because he doesn’t see me when I’m alone with the lads! (laughs) All jokes aside, we’re a great team and get on really well with each other. But I do like to sit back and soak everything in. I think it’s important to do that at such an important tournament, because it can also be very exhausting.
DFB.de:Now for the final against France. Will Janni Serra be in the starting XI?
Serra: Honestly, I really don’t mind if it’s me or Johannes Eggestein. The main thing is that we win the cup. If Johannes plays, I will accept that – then it will be up to him to fire us to victory! (laughs)
DFB.de:Johannes Eggestein was clearly established in attack before the tournament. Now Christian Wück is spoilt for choice!
Serra:I don’t think about who will start. But obviously I want to show off what I can do at the tournament. Johannes is still a phenomenal player, who has had an excellent record for club and country in the past few years. I think he would completely deserve his place in the team for the final.
DFB.de:Have you already trained with the BVB first team?
Serra: Yes, recently with Felix Passlack. You can learn a lot from Jürgen Klopp. You can see that he takes a lot of pleasure from seeing young people develop.
