Especially from the man himself: UEFA chose Kleinheisler as their ‘Man of the Match’. Another award with which he is visibly pleased: “Obviously it was a superb feeling and I am proud of it. It shows that everything is possible.” But Kleinheisler is keeping his feet firmly on the ground. “I shouldn’t get carried away with myself. It’s a good form of motivation for me to continue to work hard,” he said, on a more serious note.
Due to the EUROS, Laszlo’s summer break was cut short, as was the case for his Werder teammates Zlatko Junuzovic and Theodor Gebre Selassie. The Hungarian had three weeks’ holiday. “I was in Turkey and spent a bit of time in Hungary where I come from by the Balaton.” But after only a week and a half he had to return to pre-season training. Since then he has been working hard both individually and in team sessions. He is said to have “caught up completely”, so there is little worry over setbacks due to having missed the training camp in Neuruppin.
Kleinheisler is mostly excited about what lies ahead. The European Championship has inspired the tricky winger, but he doesn’t wish to incite to many expectations of him. “I would like to show something and hope I get the chance to prove myself again.” Most of all, he would like to support Werder “with lots of goals.” Ideally, that will mean by the end of the season people say: Kleinheisler was a pleasant surprise.
