“No other club could have offered me that”

Niclas Füllkrug is back at Werder! News of the 33-year-old’s loan move to SV Werder Bremen quickly spread throughout German football. There was therefore plenty of interest in Werder’s number 10 when Füllkrug was presented to the media at the Weserstadion on Wednesday afternoon. The striker spoke about…

…his arrival: “It’s been pretty hectic. I’m delighted to be here. I thought carefully about it and knew this was the right move. The talks went well and we’d always stayed in touch. It’s important for me to be in the right environment, and in terms of both the people and the football, there’s nowhere better for me than Werder Bremen.”

…taking a pay cut: “I don’t see it as giving something up. I’m just being paid in a different currency, and that currency is emotion and passion. No other club could have offered me that. I was in regular contact with Clemens, Peter and Markus and we also had to respect West Ham’s position. Once we were fortunate enough to get the green light, it was just a case of working out the details. Going home on loan sounds a bit strange because, to me, it feels much more like simply coming home.”

…his time away from Bremen: “My time at Dortmund was positive throughout and perhaps the best year of my career on the pitch. When I went there, I had to raise my game to another level and thankfully I was able to prove myself. After spending 15 years in the Bundesliga, you start asking yourself whether you want to experience something different. It definitely wasn’t the most successful period of my career, but wearing the number nine shirt for AC Milan was certainly something special. Anyone who watched the games will also know that I did a decent job there. I’m proud to have that club on my CV.”

…whether he will need time to settle in: “I’m in good shape. I’ve been training properly throughout and only had to work individually during my final week at West Ham. When you’re fit, you’re able to put the work in. I don’t need any time to settle in off the pitch. The only person here I haven’t worked with before is the coach. I’ve already shown that I can perform here and I want to take that confidence into what comes next.”

…how Werder compare with his previous clubs: “Werder are well placed in that respect. It’s the people who make a place special. It’s quite remarkable how many players want to come back to Werder. Players keep choosing this club even when more successful teams are interested. My experiences at Dortmund, West Ham and Milan were fantastic. But I practically lived at the stadium here, and I’m completely happy to be back.”

…his view of Werder’s season last year: “I wasn’t as worried about Werder as you might think because I understood the situation. There have been great years here, with Champions League football and huge games. But the reality for Werder has changed over the years, even though expectations of the club remain high. Despite where they finished in the table last season, the club still managed to develop players and increase their market value. If you play with players who are 30 or older, you naturally have a certain level of stability and calm on the pitch. But the club chose to put its faith in young players. That’s a process Werder have been going through for several years. That in itself is an achievement and shouldn’t be overlooked.”

…the influence he can have: “If what I bring can help us win games, then it’s important that we make use of that as a team. Who I am and what I stand for have developed over time. I wasn’t always like this. Salim might bring a bit more youthful exuberance, while what I bring is experience. As a team, we need to make the best possible use of everything we have if we want to do well. I had a lot of bad luck in my first two years here, but the promotion season was probably the most enjoyable of my career. It was so much fun because the togetherness within the group was special, and that’s often what creates special moments.”

…where the team are at ahead of the new season: “The fact that the pre-season results haven’t all been positive doesn’t necessarily mean much. I’ve had pre-seasons where everything went brilliantly and then the season itself was a disaster. We’re not reading too much into it. The first thing that matters is getting the job done convincingly in the DFB-Pokal. Freiburg will then be a good test for us on matchday 1, and we’ll need to work incredibly hard and play with real intensity to get a good result. After a World Cup, nobody really knows exactly where they stand. There’s plenty of quality in this squad.”

…wearing the number 10 shirt: “It’s a special number, but I didn’t ask for it. I told the club that if they thought I was the right person to wear it, I’d be happy to. I’m pleased to have the number now, but I’m pretty relaxed about it.”