Ludwig Augustinsson is focused. The Sweden international has an exciting season ahead of him. As of 2018/19, our left-back will be taking on a new role at the club: "I would like to be an important player and take on more responsibility, both on and off the pitch," he made clear. Ludwig is approaching the new season with determination and ambition, just like the Werder fans are used to.
With the departure of certain leaders within the team, such as former captain Zlatko Junuzovic and Thomas Delaney, Ludwig sees it has his duty to "help the new players, explain things to them and show them things." Augustinsson knows what head coach Florian Kohfeldt expects, Augustinsson knows the system. With 29 Bundesliga appearances and four starts out of four games in the DFB Pokal, he has learnt a lot in the last twelve months: "In your first season at a new club the focus is on yourself, on fitting into the team, but now I’ve been here a year and know everything."
The time has come for Augustinsson to step up to these new responsibilities. The Swede wishes to communicate more with his new teammates and take them under his wing to help them. This ‘24/7 professional,’ as Copenhagen teammate Thomas Delaney once dubbed him, has always been a role model on the training pitch: "I think can set an example with my professionalism and the way I train."
However, Augsustinsson joined the club’s pre-season training programme a month late, missing eight out of nine friendlies. "Villareal was my very first game, but I feel stronger every day and closer to where I want to be every week," he said, assessing his current situation. "I am ready," he added, but he also admits to needing "a couple more games to reach my top level. I need more training sessions for this and obviously some game time as well."
