WERDER.DE: You are familiar with the club because of your time with Werder from 2006 to 2009. You managed to make the step up from the academy to the first team here. What memories do you have of this time?
Max Kruse: “I have many. It was the first step in my professional career and I learned a lot. Werder is a great club in all areas, from the academy to the first team, and that was the same back then too. Young players are very often allowed to train with the first team and make the leap to the next level. Werder has always been a club full of tradition.”
WERDER.DE: Is there something particularly special that you took away from your first spell at the club?
Max Kruse: “I obviously have very fond memories of my time with the boys in the academy first team, and I will never forget my first Bundesliga match. And at the time, I always dreamed of starting a match at the Weser-Stadion…”
WERDER.DE: With Pauli, Freiburg, Gladbach and Wolfsburg, you have visited the Weser-Stadion a number of times. Has anything changed at Werder over this period of time…
Max Kruse: “Exactly what has changed is difficult to say from the outside. It was made clear that a club like Werder can no longer go on without any difficulties, like eight or nine years ago. But the potential here is huge, just like always. I think that the squad has been made much stronger in recent times, and several top performers from last season have stayed at the club. Because of this, I am optimistic that we can start to move further up the table.”