Florian Kainz has taken his seat. The 23-year-old is looking out on the pitch from one of the stands at the Weser-Stadion, where he will be plying his trade from the start of next season. Kainz has just signed a contract with the Green-Whites and the Austrian has since been familiarising himself with his new home alongside WERDER.DE. Looking towards the east stand, Kainz remembers images he saw of the fans at Werder’s final game of the season against Frankfurt – a game he followed carefully.
In an interview with WERDER.DE, the signing from Rapid Vienna speaks about making the step-up to the Bundesliga, his very short summer holiday and he reveals who is to thank for him already following Werder for many years.
WERDER.DE: Welcome to Werder Bremen, Florian, and a warm welcome to the Weser-Stadion. What made you decide on a move to Bremen?
Florian Kainz: "The club tried really hard to get me and playing in the Bundesliga has been a dream of mine. I am very happy that this has worked out. I am looking forward to this new challenge. It is the right step for me and I think that I will be able to continue my development really well here."
WERDER.DE: Despite your young age, you have already played more than 160 times in the Austrian Bundesliga and are relatively experienced there. But now you are making the step-up to German football, what do you expect from this step?
Florian Kainz: "I would like to get to know the team, the people in the club and the style of play as quickly as possible so I can integrate as best as possible. I want to play, and of course have success here with Werder. Quite obviously that is my aim."
"It was not a tough decision for me to sign for this club"Florian Kainz
WERDER.DE: Do you have any long-standing relationship with Werder?
Florian Kainz: "Yes. Since Basti Prödl moved to SVW, I have followed the club closely. We know each other from our time together at Sturm Graz. I followed the team particularly closely last season. What happened at the end with the fans was amazing. That’s why I am really looking forward to playing in front of the fans here at the Weser-Stadion."
WERDER.DE: Have you had any contact with Basti about your transfer?
Florian Kainz (grinning): "No, I think he has enough on his plate at the EUROs. But I have spoken with Thanos Petsos. It’s good that I already know someone here. But even without him, I don’t think I’d have a problem here. I am looking forward to finally getting going."
WERDER.DE: And how were the talks with Thanos?
Florian Kainz: "I called him immediately after I found out about Werder’s interest. He has been on holiday lately but he’s asked me every day whether everything was in place yet. He and everyone else have said that I should definitely move to Werder. I have also spoken a lot with Richard Strebinger. He was really enthusiastic about the club and only told me good things. So it was not a tough decision for me to sign for this club."
WERDER.DE: You are the eleventh Austrian to wear the Werder shirt. What does this long tradition of Austrian players such as Pezzey, Herzog and Junuzovic mean to you?
Florian Kainz: "It seems like Austrians like it here. I think that Bremen is a super city where I will settle in quickly.”
WERDER.DE: You had already begun training with Rapid, but there are still three weeks of holiday left for Werder players. What is your plan from now until the start of training on 8th August?
Florian Kainz: "That’s right, we have already had one and a half weeks of training, but now I have a lot of things to sort out with the move. I have to give notice on my flat in Vienna and find one here. I won’t be going on holiday. I will do some training and make sure that I am fit and ready for pre-season."
