Guwara: "I've hit my stride"

Leon Guwara moved to the Weser from 1. FC Köln’s U19s in 2014 (photo: WERDER.DE)
interview
Thursday, 18.08.2016 / 16:56

There is a lot of competition for the positions on Werder’s left wing. Santiago Garcia played 31 matches last season, while Janek Sternberg deputized if he wasn’t available. There are now other options in Ulisses Garcia and returnee Luca Caldirola, who is also comfortable on the left. In addition, Leon Guwara signed his first professional contract with the Green-Whites in April. It wasn’t clear what the Cologne born 20-year-old’s role would be in the team at the beginning of pre-season following his first two years at Werder. Loan moves were touted as a possibility outside of the club.  

However, Guwara has taken a stand with impressive performances in training and friendlies throughout pre-season, as the European Championship and Theo Gebre Selassie’s injury opened up a space for the youngster on the right side of the defence.  The full-back spoke to WERDER.DE in an interview about the temporary switch, his aims for the new season and his right foot. 

WERDER.DE: You are at the end of a long pre-season. What’s your view of the past few weeks? 

Leon Guwara: “It was a very good pre-season for me personally. I got a lot of appearances in the friendlies and got a lot of good feedback from the coaching staff and Frank Baumann. Integrating myself into the team wasn’t a problem, as I’ve been training with the team occasionally since last winter and got to know the other players in the squad.”

Guwara got plenty of minutes under his belt in the pre-season friendlies (photo: nordphoto).

WERDER.DE: What were your aims coming into pre-season? 

Leon Guwara: “I made it clear from the start that I wanted to break through at Werder and not go out on loan somewhere else to get match practice. I simply wanted to convince with my performances here to better my chances.” 

WERDER.DE: You had the chance to put yourself forward due to Santiago Garcia and Theodor Gebre Selassie’s injuries. You could maybe make more appearances in the early stages of the season… 

Leon Guwara: “You have to wait your turn as a young player. It’s totally normal and I haven’t really thought about anything more than that. We are well stocked in the full-back positions. Young players can obviously profit if a more established player is unavailable; it’s just that you have to be there at the right time, give 100 percent and take your chance.   

WERDER.DE: You have played on both wings now. You prefer the left to the right though, right?

Leon Guwara: “I had always defended on the left but I’ve played primarily on the right in pre-season. It was difficult at the start but I’ve hit my stride over time and it’s no longer a problem.” 

Leon Guwara has set himself some definite targets for next season (photo: nordphoto).

WERDER.DE: Your left foot is known to be stronger than your right? 

Leon Guwara: “Definitely. My right foot is really just for standing on (laughs). There is still a definite difference. That’s why I am working on crossing at the moment, which is something I have to do more now with my weaker right foot. I keep spending time after training to practice it over and over again. I have to say, there has been noticeable progress.”  

WERDER.DE: What are your strengths? 

Leon Guwara: “My strengths are my pace, dynamism, passing game and perhaps my dribbling.” 

WERDER.DE: What have the coaches made you aware of that you need to work on? 

Leon Guwara: “I could be more aggressive at times and work on my positional play in the back four - both defensively and offensively (laughs).” 

WERDER.DE: You got your first taste of the Bundesliga last season in the 5-1 loss to Borussia Mönchengladbach. What did you learn from this game?   

Leon Guwara: “It was definitely one of the best moments so far in my short career, despite the result. Just standing on the pitch with the lads in front of 50,000 fans was very special. It was obviously annoying to suffer a loss like that on my debut but even though we took no points back to Bremen, all the great messages on my phone that I saw on the bus made me happy. My team mates also came and congratulated me, so I was able to smile a bit.” 

WERDER.DE: Do you have any definite aims for this season? 

Leon Guwara: “I would like to make more appearances in the Bundesliga and be called up to the national youth teams again. That would be a great acknowledgement of my performance. If I achieve these goals, anything else would be a bonus.” 

 

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