Ex-Munich resident in an interview
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At 2.01 meters, Jamie Lawrence is one of the tallest players in the Austrian Bundesliga. But he stands out not only because of his size, but also because of his good performances in central defense at WSG Tirol. At Transfermarkt, the 22-year-old talks about his development, how his time at 1. FC Magdeburg made him mature, how Miroslav Klose and Martín Demichelis impressed him and the fact that, despite his size, he has yet to score a headed goal.
Particularly in the last few weeks, the sometimes icy weather did not encourage running in the early morning. But Jamie Lawrence didn’t let that stop him during his winter vacation. “Of course I prefer to run when it’s 20 degrees and sunny. However, the sub-zero temperatures don’t really bother me because it’s just part of it and I’m grateful that I can be a part of professional football,” says the Munich native.
He had a personally very successful first six months with the Tyroleans, not missing a single minute of play in the league and thus earning a reputation as “Mister Reliable”. “I am very happy with the first half of the season. For a young player there is nothing more important than playing time and match practice. Even though I received praise from many quarters for the first half of the season, I know exactly where I still need to work on. I’m a very inquisitive player and this shows in the fact that I want to absorb everything so that my game can improve even further,” explains the 22-year-old.
As the games progressed, his self-confidence grew again significantly. Something that had suffered in the previous season, after all, he was only used sporadically at his former club, 1. FC Magdeburg. “A good or bad performance depends, among other things, on self-confidence. Through my experiences in Magdeburg, I have matured a lot, especially on a mental level. I have been working with a mental trainer for a year. Since this collaboration, I have become much more aware of certain things because I am working on topics such as mindfulness and attention training. I see the positive effects on the field. At WSG Tirol I play much more concentratedly, much more consistently and with more foresight, also because I am more in my inner center.”
Lawrence has also become calmer and more relaxed in his playing. A few years ago things were completely different. In his debut season in Magdeburg, he was sent off twice early with yellow and red. At that time he had to take some criticism. “Of course some of the statements bothered me. However, you have to look at it from the perspective that, as a 19-year-old, I moved from the Bavarian Regional League to the 2nd Bundesliga and had to learn a lot, sometimes the hard way. At times I was very critical of myself. If I made a mistake, I was immediately too tense and not clear-headed. This resulted in me acting very insecurely. For example, I was thinking about the last pass in my head while I was already playing the next pass. Today I know that every single thought, no matter how small, has great power. Depending on whether I think positively or negatively, it affects my entire game,” said the defensive player.
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And adds: “I had to learn that as a young player it is completely natural to make mistakes. But the most important thing is to be honest with yourself and your own mistakes and to learn from them. I also had to understand that it’s not always about playing the most beautiful diagonal pass or acting spectacularly in duels, but about, even if it sounds mundane, defending solidly with absolute determination so that the goal is to keep a clean sheet.”
Lawrence about teammate David and his hobbies
After two years on loan in Magdeburg, he moved to Austria last summer. At WSG Tirol he is a regular and top performer. With 21 goals conceded in 16 games, the club conceded the fewest of all teams in the bottom half of the table. At the Green-Whites he harmonizes well with his German defensive colleague Jonas David, who joined the Tyroleans last November. “Jonas and I are on the same wavelength. We also get along very well off the pitch. Which is because we have similar careers behind us. I think you can see that we complement each other but also make each other better because we push each other.”
When it’s not about football, he devotes himself to photography, hiking and reading. “The hobby of photography has developed in recent years. I realized that it was important and energizing when I did something that had nothing to do with football. That’s why I use my free time to enjoy nature or to educate myself through books,” emphasizes Lawrence.
Youth at FC Bayern: Lawrence raves about coaches Klose & Demichelis
The former German youth international spent most of his youth in the youth ranks of FC Bayern Munich. Looking back on his time with the German record champions, he particularly raves about two coaches: Miroslav Klose and Martín Demichelis. While he learned how a striker thinks and ticks from the 2014 World Cup winner, the Argentine helped him to develop an even greater understanding of his role as a central defender.
“In my opinion, both of them are two top trainers who have great strengths in the interpersonal area. Because of their active careers, the two of them gave us perspectives that we would probably never have received in this way. I remember that Miroslav Klose often took time for me and clearly explained to me what happens when I stand ‘wrong’ or when I stand ‘right’, so to speak, when do I invite the striker to score goals and when do I do so I gave him a damn hard time. I got the finishing touches from Martín Demichelis. Boxing line-up, chain behavior, he left nothing to chance,” says Lawrence, who remembers the crossbar shooting challenges with Klose with a smile. “He was very ambitious, but it was incredibly fun. We often played for lunch. In general, he conveyed to us that football doesn’t work without fun and joy.”
But he not only benefited from the two former top professionals, but also from active Bayern players. At that time he was allowed to take part in training with the first team on several occasions. “In fact, I was surprised at the humility and kindness the players showed. As soon as I entered the cabin, I noticed that there was a special atmosphere. Whether Leroy Sané, Joshua Kimmich or Thomas Müller, they took a lot of time for us young players. What made a lasting impression on me was the attention to detail and the meticulousness with which Julian Nagelsmann worked during training. Every pass had to be played with incredible precision. In Nagelsmann’s eyes, every pass had a meaning.”
Although the FC Bayern campus is considered one of the best and most innovative youth training centers in Germany, in the past only a few talents made the sustainable leap to the professional ranks. Lawrence has a reason for this. “We’re talking about one of the world’s best teams, filled with players who have incredible, brutal skills. You not only need the appropriate quality to get to the top, but also the necessary luck or a player’s bad luck with injuries in order to slip in. For my part, I can say that I enjoyed an absolutely high-quality football education at the Bayern campus and now it’s up to me to assert myself in professional football.”
Lawrence keeps his fingers crossed for 1. FC Magdeburg – wants to become a header monster
Things are currently going well for his former clubs, Bayern are at the top of the Bundesliga table and Magdeburg is at the top of the second division. He is not surprised by the FCM’s soaring heights, but rather he is keeping his fingers crossed in the fight for promotion. “The success of the FCM comes as a surprise to many, but not to me. The team is characterized by a high level of unity, everyone fights for each other on the pitch. Christian Titz’s style and style of play fit the team 100 percent. Christian Titz works very conscientiously and meticulously. I absolutely trust the team to be able to play at the top until the end and of course I would like everyone involved to see Magdeburg in the Bundesliga next season.”
However, he focuses entirely on the WSG Tirol. Where the club can go in the second half of the season is completely open. The WSG is currently six points ahead of bottom-placed Altach, but the gap to sixth place, which entitles them to take part in the championship round, is only seven points.
The performances in Tyrol have apparently brought Lawrence back into the focus of larger clubs. But he doesn’t want to know anything about that at the moment, instead he’s putting his full concentration on staying in the league with the WSG. “If one thing is certain in football, it is that it is impossible to plan your career. There are too many uncertain factors that you cannot influence yourself. I’ve gotten into the habit of thinking in small stages and looking from game to game. My goal for the second half of the season is to build on my performance from the first half of the season. I also really want to score a header goal. “After all, because of my size, I would have to be a monster in the air. That hasn’t worked out so far, but I’m working on it,” Lawrence concludes with a laugh.
By Henrik Stadnischenko