“The buzz you feel before the start of the season is always something special”

After an injury kept Karl Hein from being able to feature in last weekend’s 3-0 win in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, the goalkeeper is now looking forward to making his first appearance of the season on the opening weekend of Bundesliga football. In an interview with WERDER.DE, the 24-year-old spoke of the hard work he put in over the summer, his new neighbourhood and his interest in learning new languages. 

WERDER.DE: Moin, Karl! Let’s start with the most important question first: how are you feeling? 

Karl Hein: Moin! I feel great, thanks for asking. I’m fit and ready and can’t wait to get underway again. 

WERDER.DE: Your competitive debut this season had to be postponed by a week due to injury. How did you keep an eye on how the team were doing in the first round of the DFB-Pokal?  

Karl Hein: I had a rehab session later that morning, so I wasn’t able to watch the game from the stadium. Instead, I watched it on TV at home. It was important for us to reach the next round, as we’ve had some issues doing so in recent years. It gave us some positive energy ahead of the opening weekend of Bundesliga football. 

WERDER.DE: How excited are you for the Bundesliga to finally get back underway? Head coach Daniel Thioune had already confirmed that, if fit, you would be starting in goal in Freiburg. 

Karl Hein: That buzz you feel before the start of the league season is always something special. Especially when you see that other leagues have already started and the fans are all lining up to attend the games. It’s great to see and really adds to the excitement ahead of Sunday’s game. 

WERDER.DE: This summer’s World Cup meant that the break was a bit longer than usual. What did you think of pre-season and the two training camps the team had? 

Karl Hein: We worked extremely hard during pre-season and during both training camps. Personally, it was important for me to be able to get some game time again, especially after my injury at the end of last season. I was able to do so with Estonia in June and in several friendlies with Werder. I hope that that will be evident on Sunday and that we’ll be able to start our league campaign with a strong result. 

WERDER.DE: Would you describe yourself as a patient person? After all, you had to wait for your chance to come to be able to play at Werder. 

Karl Hein: I just go with the flow and I believe that there’s a right time for everything. I knew that if I continued to work hard, that I would get my chance. Now, I’m ready to take it. 

WERDER.DE: There’s a very positive vibe within the goalkeeping set-up. What do you enjoy most about working with ‘Kiki’ Vander and the other keepers? 

Karl Hein: That’s true! The atmosphere within the group is great. Although we’re competing with each other, we also all support each other. It’s the perfect vibe and that was also the case previously when Mio [Backhaus] was here – I’m really looking forward to seeing him on Sunday. We’ve been able to add a great goalkeeper and person in Alex Schlager. It’s a lot of fun getting to work with Kiki and the boys. 

WERDER.DE: You just mentioned Mio, who will be in goal for SC Freiburg at the weekend. Is that a special situation to be in? 

Karl Hein: I’m just extremely happy for him and that we’ll be able to see each other again soon. My focus is on myself and our performance. It’s about starting the season with three points and picking up a strong result. But it will definitely be something special for us both. 

WERDER.DE: You just moved within Bremen and now live close to the Weserstadion in the Peterswerder neighbourhood. What drove that decision? 

Karl Hein: My wife and I wanted to move into a bigger place and we were able to find that in Peterswerder. I really like it here! It’s a nice neighbourhood and the architecture here is something I really like. I’m also able to walk to the stadium, which I enjoy doing when the weather is nice. 

WERDER.DE: You were already familiar with Chuki from your time together at Real Valladolid in Spain and your Spanish is good as well. How is your German coming along and what drives your interest in foreign languages? 

Karl Hein: My Spanish is no longer as good as it once was. I’m just very interested in about learning about new cultures and languages and I like being able to talk in the native language wherever I am. It’s something that’s important to me. That’s why I’m learning German at the moment and I hope that we will be able to do another interview in German in six months’ time! 

WERDER.DE: Thanks for taking the time to speak with us and good luck for Sunday!