BVB: Former professional Füllkrug warns Werder Bremen of high expectations

Before returning with BVB

On Saturday, national player and ex-Werder professional Niclas Füllkrug returns with BVB to his former employer in Bremen. He considers the isolated European Cup dreams in the Hanseatic environment to be worrying – and warns against expectations that are too high. At the same time, he clearly expressed his opinion on the recent criticism of former strike partner Marvin Ducksch.

“I have to be honest: it’s crazy how well the team has developed. There were moments in the first half of the season when you wouldn’t have expected it. You now have a point yield that is crazy. The team is putting in a top performance and has done a good job together with the coaching team,” said Bremen’s home-grown Füllkrug, who left the North Germans for Westphalia last summer for 15.5 million euros, in an interview on the portal “Dike room“. During the game, the 31-year-old, who scored 49 goals in 124 games for Werder and was top scorer in the Bundesliga together with ex-Leipzig player Christopher Nkunku last year, will once again be officially farewelled by Bremen.

Despite Werder’s “remarkable” development, which will only have two defeats from eight league games in 2024, Füllkrug doubts “whether it is right to make the topic of Europe so big. The team lived a lot from humility – and not from a big mouth. If you set such a big goal, you can lose something. “It’s not that easy to deal with,” said the 1.89 meter tall attacker, who is, however, convinced that “the boys can do it.” Werder is currently in eighth place and is therefore within reach of the international places. “We simply have to have the ambition to be able to compete internationally again in the future. In my opinion, it is completely legitimate to say that we want to be in the slipstream for the international places,” said professional football director Clemens Fritz recently during a panel discussion in the “Deichstube”.

Füllkrug defends ex-partner Ducksch: “I find it sad”

Füllkrug also commented clearly on the criticism of former strike partner Marvin Ducksch that has recently become louder in Werder’s environment (background). “I find it sad that ‘Duckschi’ is viewed so negatively because he has been scoring for years and subordinates everything to football, albeit in his own way,” said the Dortmund player, who “doesn’t understand” the doubts about Ducksch’s body language. could.

“Every person is different. ‘Duckschi’ has worked a lot on this topic together with Werder because he is self-critical enough. But in emotional moments on the pitch, it’s easy to forget things like that – everyone knows that. In such situations, ‘Duckschi’ only cares about success, he wants to score the goal and win the game. You get frustrated when your colleague doesn’t play. I think he sees this much too narrowly. He is simply a great footballer! You should never forget that – and there is one thing I would like to say in principle about it. As a professional footballer, you spend the whole week focusing on playing a good game on the weekend. You put all your effort into training, you live healthily and you really do everything you can to achieve your best possible performance. Then you go onto the pitch – sometimes without pain, sometimes with pain. You sacrifice yourself completely. But the fan only sees: He doesn’t win duels, he doesn’t play well, he doesn’t score the goal. But we really try everything. And when I wear the BVB jersey, I want to be liked by the fans. That means something to me. And that’s exactly how ‘Duckschi’ feels – and many other professionals too. The best thing about football is when it’s a team spirit.”

Returnee Füllkrug expects a warm Werder reception on Saturday

Füllkrug has collected 19 direct goal involvements in his first 22 Bundesliga games for Borussia Dortmund since his summer move from Werder Bremen. Since 2004, only Erling Haaland has done better with 27 scorers (background). The striker said about his personal development: “I came to BVB on the penultimate day of the transfer window and then quickly played from the start. This shows that I can give the team something on the pitch and lead the way. As a striker, you obviously help the most with scorers.”

He recently “saw an interesting statistic: on average, I have one fewer shot on goal per game at BVB than at Werder. That’s 34 fewer per season,” continued Füllkrug. “It always depends on what you do with possession of the ball. And of course you also have teammates at BVB who put themselves out there a lot more. My game has also changed as a result.” Returning player Füllkrug is expecting a warm reception from the Werder fans on Saturday. Even if he doesn’t really believe in not celebrating, he wants to hold back from scoring his own goal for the Champions League round of 16 out of respect and gratitude to the club and the fans. “That’s why I don’t think I’ll be cheering.”

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