Wolfsburg youngster
©IMAGO
Only half a minute passed from his substitution last Sunday in the Bundesliga game against Eintracht Frankfurt to the final whistle. 30 seconds that 18-year-old Wolfsburg native Pharell Hensel will remember forever – and that made him want more. According to the club, the youngster is the fourth Wolfsburg native to make his debut in the VfL jersey in the upper house.
“To be honest, I haven’t fully realized it yet – it was a moment I’ve dreamed of forever. And every time I think about it, I get nervous again. At the same time, this debut is a huge incentive: I want to continue to show myself, give it my all in training and hopefully earn even more minutes in the future. That was a milestone – but also just the beginning,” explained Hensel, looking back on his Bundesliga debut in an interview on the club’s own channels.
In view of the sporting crisis in Lower Saxony (only three wins from the last 14 competitive games), there was already a call among fans and the regional media during the week to rely more on their own talent again in the future. The 18-year-old defender Jan Bürger had already played his first Bundesliga minutes in the game against Bayer 04 Leverkusen the previous week. “It feels totally surreal. Not many youth players make it to the top – and the fact that there are two of us in such a short time is a really good sign. We’ve known each other for what feels like forever, have always played together and have a very good relationship. It’s nice to share these special moments with him,” said Hensel.
The ranking of those players who came from our own youth ranks and who played exclusively for VfL until their Bundesliga debut is led by a wide margin by Maximilian Arnold (click here for an overview). “Not many Wolfsburg players have managed to play in the professional team here. The fact that I am now one of them makes me extremely proud. I was born and grew up here. I can’t really imagine anything else. Wolfsburg is my number one,” explained Hensel, who has already played 53 games in the Wolves’ youth ranks under Wolfsburg’s interim coach Daniel Bauer. “If you think about it, it’s really crazy: He brought me up to the U19 as a U17 player – and now I’ve made my Bundesliga debut under him. Unbelievable.”
The coach called him in the run-up to the Frankfurt game “and said that – depending on the score – it might work. Nevertheless, I went in without any great expectations. When Julian Klamt told me that I was about to be substituted, my head was suddenly empty. I was completely in the tunnel, I didn’t think anything else – and I couldn’t make a sound either.”
Hensel is one of the top scorers for the Lower Saxony U19s and has scored ten goals in twelve competitive games this season. Bauer told him when he came on as a substitute against Frankfurt, “that I should attack every ball, put every opponent under pressure and just play like I always do.” There wasn’t much time for that, although his debut seemed significantly longer for the midfield talent. “I saw the videos afterward and thought, “Okay, was it that short?” But I still had contact with the ball, the pass to Mattias Svanberg – the situation stayed in my mind. To me it felt more like a few minutes. And in the end it doesn’t matter how many seconds it was: it means everything to me.”
The youngster didn’t hold back about the fact that he had tasted blood. Being called up to the professional squad showed him “that dreams can come true if you stick with it. The debut was a huge moment, but now I want more. I want to keep learning, keep working – and hopefully be back on the pitch for the professionals soon.”