At Inter mostly jokers
Robin Gosens definitely wants to return to the German national team after missing the World Cup in Qatar. His goal is now the home EM 2024, even if he was again not nominated by national coach Hansi Flick for the next two international matches. “I have to get my place back, I’m in the pursuit role. I definitely want to be there at the European Championships,” said the Inter Milan winger in an interview with “Süddeutsche Zeitung“.
Gosens was still the surprise in the German EM squad in 2021, after an injury break of almost five months due to a ruptured tendon in his thigh and a complicated start in Milan, he missed the World Cup in Qatar. “A huge disappointment, the sporting low point of my career so far,” emphasized the 28-year-old. In David Raum from RB Leipzig and Christian Günter from SC Freiburg, there are now two left-backs in the squad, as in the European Championship, who at least sometimes play in a back four in the club like in the national team. “Hansi Flick has already made it clear to me that he is currently using the back four and that he sees my strengths above all as a left winger in front of a back three. But I don’t think that I’m out of the question for a back four. I know how it works and I’ve already played it,” said Gosens. For him, the national team remains “the highest of feelings”.
Thiaw new: Flick’s squad for the internationals in March
First he wants to fight for a regular place at Inter, then “I think I can have legitimate hopes. Then I should at least be a serious candidate, I have that claim.” Gosens has been playing for Inter since January 2022 and has played 42 games there to date, in which he has scored three goals and one assist. In the current season, 33 appearances (two goals) are mostly as jokers because teammate Federico Dimarco is usually in the lead. “If you change as a left-back for almost 30 million euros, that’s a lot of money. Then you hope to take the position,” said Gosens.
Gosens on Inter: “I play for one of the biggest clubs in the world”
Born in Emmerich, he hoped that the move to Inter would increase his chances of staying on the national team. But “the opposite” was initially the case. He attributes this primarily to the after-effects of the injury, which he “totally underestimated”. About the phase after the long downtime, he said: “I’m a player who lives from the physique. And I couldn’t catch up on my fitness deficit for a long time. That meant I wasn’t who I wanted to be on the pitch. I got everywhere a second late. I was up front in the penalty area when the ball was already gone. In the defensive duel, I either fouled or didn’t catch the opponent at all.”
The bottom line is that he is “not the one Inter was hoping to buy”. When asked if moving to Milan was a mistake, Gosens replied: “I play for one of the biggest clubs in the world! We are currently among the top eight in Europe!”
He recently completed a correspondence course in psychology and wants to use it as a professional. That helped him during the difficult time: “But I would say even more that it helped me in dealing with other people. I’m trying to understand my team-mates on a different level now.” If you don’t deliver what you’re used to from him for several days in training, “there may be a reason for that. Then I try to take the time to talk. I don’t hang that on the big bell. But after that I might know why he runs the meter less – and I’m not upset about it,” he said.
To home page