WERDER.DE: Are there superstitious elements, for instance having the number one shirt that gives you additional strength?
Pavlenka: “I take strength first and foremost from good performances from me and the whole team. The number on the back of my shirt isn’t very important for me but I do have two pre-match rituals – firstly I always run onto the pitch with my right foot first and then I knock on both posts and the crossbar before the match. I am a bit superstitious then, I guess (laughs).”
WERDER.DE: But hand on heart, what do you make of the statistics? You have in terms of saves, the highest number of stops out of all the goalkeepers in the Bundesliga.
Pavlenka: “The coach also told me about that. I don’t really look at statistics or give them much thought but that statistic is quite a pleasing one for me. But being higher up in the table would be more pleasing for me.”
WERDER.DE: Do you ever watch your performances or your great saves afterwards on TV?
Pavlenka: “We analyse the games really intensively afterwards of course. To be honest, I am more interested in the goals we concede than the saves I make. I always want to improve.”