Given that both of his parents are very tall, it's no surprise that Jiri Pavlenka stands at 196 centimetres. Werder's new number one doesn't just put his size down to genetics, however, "When I was a child I drank a lot of milk and cocoa. That made me big and strong," said the goalkeeper, laughing.
It's a shy laugh. The Czech Republic international is a quiet, reserved addition to the Werder family. 'Pavlas', as his new teammates call him, is a man of few words, his jokes somewhat subtle and one can rarely tease a laugh out of him. However, he can laugh about his countryman, Jaroslav Drobny, really laugh. His fellow goalkeeper helps Pavlenka with translating and understanding in training. It sometimes seems as if the 25-year-old new addition and Drobny, who is 13 years his senior, could hardly be more different.
However, the two of them get along, which is important given that the goalkeepers often train separately from the rest of the team with goalkeeper coach Christian Vander. The give goalies have done hours of practice already at the training camp in Zillertal. "The first few days of pre-season are always very tiring. It is here where you lay the foundations and it's a nice feeling when you start to notice things getting easier from day to day," said Pavlenka.
Just two weeks ago he was still at Slavia Prague who won the Czech championship last season, whilst Felix Wiedwald still stood between Werder's posts. Pavlenka was aware that the change in keeper was seen as somewhat controversial on social media. The keeper understands that some Green-White fans may criticise the swap. "I want to convince the fans. You can only do that with good performances," he said without hesitation.
His first taste of action in a Werder shirt came in the friendly against Ajax, but the Czech was not totally happy with his performance. "Of course I was pleased to make my debut, but it didn't go completely smoothly. We've analysed it with Kiki Vander and we're now working to improve," said Pavlenka. Obviously, he's come to Werder in order to play. "But I know that I need to give good performances. That's my job."
Werder's new number one would prefer not to say too much about the game against Ajax because of the tragic incident involving Abdelhak Nouri: "It was a very difficult situation which pushes the football into the background." Pavlenka doesn't wish to talk too much at all, rather he wants to let his performances on the pitch do the talking. "I don't like talking about my strengths, I prefer to let others do that," said the Czech. In this regard, he's very similar to Jaroslav Drobny.
