He had to wait a long time. Nico Schlotterbeck has already been called up to the national team several times, but the defensive giant of SC Freiburg has not yet been allowed to play a minute.
That will finally change this Saturday evening. At the international match in Sinsheim, the Swabian from Weinstadt can officially call himself a national player. Because the national coach has promised him his starting eleven debut in the center of defense against Israel alongside ex-Freiburg player Matthias Ginter: “Now I’m here for the fourth time,” said Schlotterbeck before his first international match, “that makes me incredibly proud and happy for to play my country”.
And Hansi Flick is full of praise for the 22-year-old: “He always wants the ball, he’s very self-confident, he acts very confidently, I like that. He also defends very well against the ball,” said the Bammental national coach the test game in Kraichgau, “he has developed enormously”.
Schlotterbeck’s steep development this season at SC Freiburg
You could say so. A year ago, many football fans and experts would have only smiled mildly if Nico Schlotterbeck had been associated with the senior national team. At that time, the nephew of the former Stuttgarter Kickers Bundesliga player, Niels Schlotterbeck, was on loan from SC Freiburg to Union Berlin. In exchange with his older brother Keven, who had been under contract in Köpenick the previous season. Nico should also gain important match practice with the “Iron” in Berlin and acclimate to the Bundesliga.
Important maturing process at Union Berlin
That was impressive, despite a long-term thigh injury in the first half of the season. Ultimately a smart personal move by the sports club: Nico Schlotterbeck returned to Breisgau last summer with 16 Bundesliga games after a strong second half of the season for the Berliners and a body toughened by numerous overtime hours in the weight room. And he started in Freiburg, strengthened by the European champion title with the U21, continued to do well.
Muscle games after goals
The young man with the strikingly light-colored shock of hair developed into a central figure in the strong Freiburg defence. He stands out, not only because of his height of 1.91 meters and his massive body, which encourages him to make dynamic advances, coupled with clever play structure. His four goals this season also show the enormous goal danger of the “Mucki man”, who likes to stretch his tense biceps at the cameras after scoring. “He goes pumping six times a week,” said the rather extroverted Nico Schlotterbeck in a recent interview, “just not on match days.”
Object of desire at FC Bayern and BVB?
The successful “flexing muscles” on the lawn have not remained hidden. Not the national coach, and of course not the top clubs Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, which are said to have increased interest in Schlotterbeck’s commitment. In its winter rankings, the “kicker” even classified him as the best central defender in the Bundesliga. Together with Noch-Bayern national player Niklas Süle. A professional, by the way, whom Nico Schlotterbeck took as one of his sporting role models: “Quiet, totally serious on the field, he always does his job”.
The whole family is sitting in the stands in Sinsheim
So now follows with the international debut, of all places in his home country of Baden-Württemberg, the next career highlight for Nico. And it’s a clear case that the football-loving Schlotterbeck family will all be sitting in the stands in Sinsheim on Saturday evening and will also rub a tear or two of joy and emotion from the corners of their eyes: the proud mom and dad from Weinstadt, plus grandma and grandpa, brother Keven from Freiburg, as well as many friends and acquaintances who keep their fingers crossed for him that it will work just as well with the eagle on his chest as with the SC Freiburg jersey. The Schlotterbeck Festival in Sinsheim, so to speak.
Hansi Flick: “Sometimes too comfortable”
Because Nico Schlotterbeck still has football deficits to work on: “Nico is sometimes a bit lazy and takes himself out of the game, but for the way we want to play football, he always has to be active. We’re working on that,” emphasizes the national coach Hansi Flick warns the index finger, always wants to see him in the national jersey under full steam. Like his Freiburg colleague Christian Streich, he also wants to continue to promote and challenge this rough diamond of a defender for a great future.
Source: SWR