With best wishes, those responsible in Augsburg said goodbye to their goalscorer Mergim Berisha to the national soccer team.
Even if the 24-year-old attacker didn’t play a leading role in FCA’s 1-1 draw against FC Schalke 04 on Saturday and couldn’t put in a top performance for his international debut against Peru or Belgium, the time with the DFB selection should help Berisha further.
“I’m happy for Mergim now that he can go to the national team. It’s a great experience for him. I hope he plays there, that he does well. Maybe he’ll score a goal there,” said the Augsburg coach Enrico Maassen. And manager Stefan Reuter said: “We are delighted that one of our players has been nominated for the German team. It would be best if he could collect a few minutes.”
Reuter, world champion with Germany in 1990 and European champion in 1996, would wish for FC Augsburg that Berisha would return from the national team even more confidently after a first international match so that he could go into the final sprint in the Bundesliga even stronger. “He fought for this dream for a long time. He was very happy. He has extraordinary abilities,” said Maassen about the eight-time goal scorer.
A dream came true for Berisha
A day after the nomination, which Berisha described as a “dream come true”, he did little on the pitch. A header over the goal, a dangerous cross, there was not much more to see from the powerful attacker, who Flick certifies as a good shot on goal. After 74 minutes, work was over early. “It was a difficult game for him,” Maassen said indulgently and spoke of a “decent performance” by Berisha.
By the way, the Berchtesgaden-born professional has already scored for Germany. He made 13 appearances for the U21 national team, scoring one goal and was part of the team that became European Junior Champion in 2021. He will meet up with some of the players from back then on Sunday evening in the DFB quarter in Frankfurt.
David Raum, Nico Schlotterbeck, Florian Wirtz and Josha Vagnoman were also invited by Flick for the first international matches on the way to the 2024 home European Championship.