WERDER.DE: “Obviously everyone is interested in your future. What are your thoughts on that?
Jiri Pavlenka: “I feel great at Werder but I still need to improve in many areas. I want to work on my weaknesses. But it’s just as important in my opinion, to constantly think about what I’m doing well too.”
WERDER.DE: The last season was a turbulent one in the Czech national team too. With the national team, you have three very similarly-matched keepers. As Werder fans, we often look at it and ask ourselves, who actually is the number one goalkeeper?
Jiri Pavlenka: “That is a typical question from a Czech reporter (laughs). The situation is unclear at the moment. Tomas Vaclik has moved to FC Sevilla and Tomas Koubek had a great season at Rennes. We just need to wait to see how it develops. I think that the performances at the start of this season will be crucial.”
WERDER.DE: Did you always want to be a goalkeeper?
Jiri Pavlenka: “I played up front a few times when I was younger. But at some point I stopped playing for about six months and then when I started it up again, I went in goal. And that’s how it happened. I actually would’ve liked to have been an ice hockey goalkeeper but it’s a really expensive sport – even as a kid. You have to buy all the equipment and every six months, you need to buy new things. Therefore that wasn’t going to happen…”
WERDER.DE: Did you have an idol when you were younger?
Jiri Pavlenka: “Yes, I looked up to Edwin van der Sar and Gianluigi Buffon when I was growing up. Then of course Petr Cech, who also comes from the Czech Republic. At the start of my 20s, I was in the national squad three times with him. He is such a big role model for me, especially because of his incredible professionalism.”