Niclas Füllkrug primarily wants to help his new club Borussia Dortmund with a lot of goals. But the center forward is characterized not only by his goal threat but also by his mentality as a footballer. An equally important characteristic of the national player, as DFB sporting director Rudi Völler explained before the German national team’s friendlies against Japan and France.
“Every cabin needs such types as abundance. It’s on fire,” Völler told the “RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland”.
Full krug was “happy like a little child” after his transfer from Werder Bremen to BVB, Völler reported last week when he congratulated him on the change of club within the Bundesliga.
“He’ll score more goals there, he’s never played in the Champions League. That’s also good for the national team,” said Völler, who himself has a long history with Werder Bremen, where he was under contract from 1982 to 1987.
The DFB sports director is certain that Füllkrug’s fighting spirit and uncompromising work ethic would help both the German national team and Borussia Dortmund: “I remember when Füllkrug came on in the 2-0 draw against Colombia and immediately struggled on the outside line . Of course that has to stay within limits, but it was the right signal. Because the Colombians went about their business as if it were the World Cup final. I missed that with us – and that’s why I was so angry afterwards.”
Füllkrug switched to BVB for 13 million euros
It is precisely this mentality and this resistance that Völler believes has been lost in the game of the DFB-Elf in recent years: “Don’t put up with everything. Despite all the quality of Messi, it was the same with the Argentines in Qatar: One ran until he couldn’t walk straight anymore, and the one who came in shaved Messi’s opponent first. You don’t win titles with actions like that alone, but you can’t win them without actions like that either.”
Niclas Füllkrug switched from Bremen to BVB last week for a basic transfer fee of around 13 million euros and made his debut in the black and yellow jersey just one day later.