Clemens Fritz is in the midst of his 16th pre-season. The Werder captain trained with Karlsruher SC ahead of the 2001/2002 season, which was his first as a professional. Fritz has experienced plenty in his career since then, especially the tough weeks of pre-season. Fritz has reaped the benefits of toiling hard to get himself into the best physical shape possible and says that he even enjoys some of the sessions now.
In an interview with WERDER.DE, Fritz looks back on his time as a young player starting out, the experience he has gained over the years in the team and the sentence you will never hear him say.
WERDER.DE: Young players and new players are often asked what their aims are for the season. Do you still set yourself similar personal goals?
Clemens Fritz: “Yeah, definitely. Obviously I want to stay injury free and help the team with my performances. We should look forward optimistically as a team. I think a top-half finish in the league is a realistic goal. We have to stop thinking that we will end up in a relegation battle. Last season is history now and we should move on.”
WERDER.DE: Would there be a point when you would feel disappointed that you hadn’t achieved your personal goals for the season?
Clemens Fritz: “No, you can’t influence whether you get injured. If I could only play ten matches, it would be a shame but it is something you have to accept as a sportsman. Nevertheless, it’s my aim to be in a good physical condition to play at my best.”
WERDER.DE: It isn’t your first pre-season… Has your attitude towards the preparation ahead of the season changed during your career?
Clemens Fritz: “Yeah, a bit. Earlier on, the pre-season periods used to get on my nerves but now I find myself able to enjoy them to a certain extent. You know that it doesn’t come very often and learn to appreciate it when the sun shines or there are particularly good conditions. The tough training sessions used to annoy me but you see it from a different perspective with experience.”
WERDER.DE: You can even take something positive from the physical pain now?
Clemens Fritz (chuckles): “I know that we all need to be as fit as possible for the upcoming challenges. It doesn’t help if I don’t give my best in training.“
WERDER.DE: After playing for a long time, are you more sceptical about new training methods?
Clemens Fritz: “The exact opposite! I always look forward to trying or learning new things. I am not a fan of doing the same old exercises.
You should go through life with your eyes and ears open as a young playerClemens Fritz
WERDER.DE: Are there any other ways that the coaches can surprise you?
Clemens Fritz: “Yeah, just in the pre-season so far the coaches have been thinking a lot about how they can provide us with new challenges. We have worked very often on football specific things as everyone’s fitness levels were good following the break were very good. It was even unusual for me and I’ve been through plenty of pre-seasons. However, all footballers do prefer to have a ball at their feet rather than running through the woods.”
WERDER.DE: The team on average a lot older than last season. What do you think of the fact that there have been a lot of more experienced players brought in?
Clemens Fritz: “Age isn’t a decisive factor in my opinion. It depends more on how ready the experienced players are to take on responsibility. I have always emphasised the importance of spreading the burden. I have a good feeling ahead of the new season. We have brought in a lot of players who have experience that they want to impart both on and off the pitch.”
WERDER.DE: Has your role in the team changed then? You, Claudio Pizarro and two or three others were only a small group of old heads in 2015/2016…
Clemens Fritz: “It’s very early to judge that. We will see what happens during the season – especially when things aren’t going that well.”
WERDER.DE: Thinking back to when you started out, what has changed most?
Clemens Fritz: “Some things have changed in society, which have had an impact on football. You simply have to look at social media to see the way that the interest in footballers has increased. I am most definitely not a big fan of talking about how things used to be though. I don’t think it’s good to draw comparisons. It used to always really irritate me and I didn’t want to become like that. That’s why you will never hear me say to the younger players that we used to do things in such and such a way.”
WERDER.DE: How did you behave as a young player towards the experienced and established players?
Clemens Fritz: “Respectfully. I tried to take as much as I could away from talking to them. You can only learn at that age. As a young player and a young person you should go through life with your eyes and ears open, as I’ve learned a lot of important lessons along the way.”
WERDER.DE: Could you ever have imagined that you would have such a long career as a professional footballer. Was it an aim for you?
Clemens Fritz: “No definitely not. I always said that I wouldn’t play on for a very long time. I never expected that I would still be active at the age I am now but I am enjoying every day that I am able to be here. There are days that are tiring or annoying but that is just a part of the job.”
WERDER.DE: Is it just as hard to imagine what you would be doing at this time in 2017 if you weren’t with Werder in NeuruppIn, Zillertal or here at Herzlake?
Clemens Fritz: “I haven’t considered that at al. A year is a long time to think ahead. It’s not a secret that I would like to take a year out from work to travel and have a two year affiliation agreement with Werder. However, I don’t know what I’ll be doing during pre-season next year.”
