This season, Werder fans have often read 'Fin Bartels is back in training'. Yet good news has often been swiftly followed by disillusion. The attacker had to return to rehab, recoveries were followed by injury setbacks and a long-awaited comeback was delayed. Bartels has been back since December though, and is taking part in and working hard at the training camp in Mallorca.
WERDER.DE spoke to Fin Bartels about what he learned during his time out, his return and the relegation battle.
WERDER.DE: Fin, a simple question to start us off, one that we couldn't wait to ask; how are you?
Fin Bartels: "I'm feeling good, and the first sessions have gone well. The body is suffering of course, but that is normal at a training camp. I hope it stays this way."
WERDER.DE: How is the injury and how has the workload been in Mallorca?
Fin Bartels: "In principle, I am doing every session, two per day, sometimes individually. But that's not just for me. It's all about managing the injury. I can take part in all the intensive sessions and my injured knee is doing fine."
WERDER.DE: We have done a few interviews with you when you were just coming out of rehab and were close to a return to the first team. What's different this time?
Fin Bartels: "Good question. I have the feeling that I am further along than I was the last few times. I have done a few drills, which showed that it's working and that I haven't lost anything, like my pace etc. I am completely preparing for the Rückrunde. There's nothing stopping me from giving it 100%.
WERDER.DE: Florian Kohfeldt and Frank Baumann see you as a ‘new signing’ at the moment; the team has changed a lot in your absence. Do you feel like a new signing?
Fin Bartels: “It’s still the same Werder Bremen. Of course there are three, four or five new players that I haven’t played with a lot. There will certainly be a period of gelling together. But I still feel as if I’ve never really been away. It’s a nice feeling, and that’s different to last time. I had to work my way back in carefully and was just happy to be there. Now I want to go full speed ahead and I’m not just another name on the list; I want to play.”
WERDER.DE: Moving away from the sporting side of it, what have you learnt over the past two years, in which you haven’t been able to play much football?
Fin Bartels: “Mostly patience. And also a lot of hard work, especially difficult things such as lifting weights, 500 treatments, lots of appointments at the stadium; so you have much less free time at home. You have to do the things that don’t tend to be as fun, but the whole time you just want to be on the pitch and playing football. That’s why, above all, I’ve learnt how to deal with setbacks and frustration, and to turn that into positive energy. My family also gave me a lot of support, because they help you to switch everything else off completely. That was the same here as well; I was always given positive encouragement from the fans, the team and the staff.”
WERDER.DE: You’d think you would have had a lot more free time…
Fin Bartels: “That’s the common misconception; even I believed that before. But I’m sure I spent much more time in the training camp, in the weight room and at the physio during the rehabilitation phase than a fit player does.”
WERDER.DE: What would you prefer to do without during this stressful time? The weights room?
Fin Bartels: “Unfortunately that will always be a crucial part of my preparation and training. It’s important to keep my muscles at a certain level so that the injury won’t happen again, so it requires individual sessions in the gym. These sessions are extremely important, even if you don’t enjoy doing them.”
We're trying to ease the burden.Fin Bartels
WERDER.DE: Did you pick up any new hobbies during the free time that you had?
Fin Bartels: “As I said I spent all of my time in rehabilitation or with my family. I rarely had any time to myself, so I didn’t really pick up anything new.”
WERDER.DE: To finish, let’s quickly talk about the team again. What did you make of the first half of the season as a spectator?
Fin Bartels: “I think there were periods where we played some really good football. We had lots of games that were really tight and could have gone either way, but the opposition scored late winners. Then there came a period of uncertainty, like the game against Paderborn where we didn’t play well but were still unlucky to lose. You got the feeling that everyone was lacking confidence after that and no longer wanted the ball as much as they did before. We got into a spiral that is difficult to get out of.”
WERDER.DE: How are you feeling, going into the second half of the season?
Fin Bartels: “The Winter break is extremely important for us. We’re trying to ease the burden a bit. However, it certainly won’t be easy to shake it all off. Nevertheless, I believe that the training sessions and friendly matches will help us to regain our confidence in our football and will make us more mentally optimistic for the tasks ahead. I am convinced that we, as a team, have recognised the seriousness of the situation and will be able to turn it around.”
