For Luca Caldirola it will be a reunion this weekend with many old friends. The centre-back was at Darmstadt 98 for a year and he still gets messages daily from supporters of the Lilies. When Darmstadt come to the Weser-Stadion on Saturday, he will be up against former teammates, fans and many old friends. “A few Italians are coming to the game to watch. It will be a very special match for me,” revealed Caldirola in an interview with WERDER.DE.
You can see that he still has a special relationship with SVD and that his former home still feels very familiar to him. “I had a fantastic year there. Darmstadt is a small city with a lot of Italians. I was only there just a few weeks back with my wife to visit friends,” explained Caldirola. There was a lot for him to be happy about during his time with the Lilies. He played every minute of every Bundesliga league game and he described his time on the pitch for the club from Hessen as “pure fun, regardless of whether we lost or not.” Expectations and pressure were low whilst he was there due to their promotion against the odds, their fourth in nine seasons and the one that confirmed their return to the Bundesliga all the way from the Oberliga.
Now in a Werder shirt, things will be different when he comes up against Darmstadt this time round. Luca Caldirola had not been able to feature this season until two matchdays ago. The metal plate in his left foot still reminds him of the painful break he suffered in his lateral malleolus. He has been battling to return to full fitness step by step since September, undergoing operations, rehabilitation, regeneration training and finally returning to training with the first team. “I have been injured for nearly six months. It has been a very difficult situation,” the defender admits.
Caldirola suffered his lowest point at the training camp since his time on the Andalusian coast was dominated by more pain. “I actually thought after the winter that everything was ok,” the 26-year-old reflected. That was not the case. It was not until one month ago that the pain began to finally go away. “It’s been getting better every day since then,” explained the Italian, who was especially pleased to have successfully completed a game with the U23s in the third division just two weeks ago. A return to the squad for the Bundesliga fixture against Wolfsburg followed and a return to the Weser-Stadion finally beckons for him, against his former club and league rivals of all teams. “Of course I’d be delighted if I also get to play. I was last on the pitch back in September. That is a long time.”
It’s as important a matchup for Caldirola as it is for SV Werder. Despite the weaknesses of Darmstadt on the road, who have lost every Bundesliga away game since the summer, the match against the last placed team will by no means be a walk in the park. “The game is more dangerous than those against Mainz or Wolfsburg. It’s not straight forward when you only have 12 points. For example, they won against Dortmund and will always fight the whole 90 minutes.” warned Caldirola, who despite this believes that the points are going to stay in Bremen.
For all the joy of the reunion for Luca Caldirola on Saturday night, there won’t be any gifts for the visitors, he assures. “Firstly, I hope we avoid relegation and collect the necessary points for that to happen. If the same happens for Darmstadt, then of course I’d also be pleased.”
