Zimmermann on late starters for the DFB team: “Well advised not to give up on players too early”

The defender waited a long time for a breakthrough

For Darmstadt defender Christoph Zimmermann, it is a “very interesting trend” that so many older professionals such as Niclas Füllkrug, Pascal Groß and Marvin Ducksch have made it into the national team as late starters. “It’s actually suggested that you have to make your breakthrough as young as possible in order to make it,” said the 30-year-old in the “Kicker” interview. “The 16 and 17 year olds play in Barcelona and still score with braces. If you haven’t made the jump by the time you’re 24, it’s often over.”

Older players feel like they have to prove themselves over a longer period of time. “When it comes to Füllkrug, many people were initially surprised at what he was supposed to do in the national team. His ratings show that he is completely right,” said Zimmermann. At the age of 29 years, nine months and seven days when he made his debut, the BVB attacker is one of the six oldest DFB debutants since the European Championship title in 1996. “You are well advised not to give up on players too early. Some mature like a good wine with age (grins). I’m really pleased that some of them are currently making it into the national team in their second or third spring.”

To make a career as a professional, you also need a lot of luck, as he experienced. Zimmermann started at Borussia Mönchengladbach, then played for the second team at Borussia Dortmund until former coach Daniel Farke brought him to Norwich City and he was promoted to the Premier League twice. The fact that he is now playing in the Bundesliga with Darmstadt 98 is something special for him. “I think there are a lot of people for whom it’s the most normal thing in the world to play in the Bundesliga.” For him, it’s “anything but normal: I see the time as a bonus and know how to classify everything correctly.” This season he is the third oldest novice in the Bundesliga.

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