The fact that he is only a spectator at the European Championship has “torn everything from under his feet” for Robin Gosens. In a documentary, the Union professional speaks openly about Julian Nagelsmann’s words, his tears – and a text message from Sandro Wagner
When the Bundesliga season was over, Robin Gosens (29) had to leave Berlin for a while, but not to Dubai, Ibiza or the USA, but to Emmerich, his birthplace on the Rhine. Although he had managed to stay in the league with Union at the last moment, he wanted to “have a little cry with mom and dad”: shortly before the 34th matchday, Gosens had received the news that he would not be nominated for the European Championship at home
“Nagelsmann said: The season at Union will unfortunately blow up in your face “
“It felt absolutely shitty,” the 20-time international reported in the ZDF documentary “Heimvorteil” about Julian Nagelsmann’s call on May 14. “I was just on my way to training after the defeat in Cologne, which was extremely bitter, and I was already in a really bad mood. He said: ‘Robin, I’m incredibly sorry, but I can’t take you with me. Believe me, it wasn’t easy for me, I really appreciate you as a guy and also believe that you can help the team, but unfortunately the season at Union is flying around your ears'”
When they both hung up, tears started to flow. “I cried for myself, then immediately called my wife and said: ‘Hey honey, unfortunately I didn’t make it. Then we cried together on the phone for another two minutes,” says Gosens in the interview, which was conducted six days later. “You can’t prepare for a moment like that. If you subordinate everything to it, if it’s an absolute childhood dream that just disappears into thin air. Having that certainty – it pulls everything out from under you. “
“I’m reorganizing myself in the summer “
And that just a few days before the decisive game of the season with Union. “I knew the club couldn’t take that into consideration right now, they have completely different problems. But they need a Robin Gosens as a leading player who is positive and has the right mindset. At the same time, it was one of the worst days of my life because everything just collapsed,” he says, describing this inner conflict. “That’s why I’m just so happy that at least the season ended with a happy ending for the club and therefore also for me. “
And the “complete emptiness” he felt after Nagelsmann’s call, the feeling that “I don’t want to have anything more to do with all this shit”, had already awakened his fighter’s heart the next day when Nagelsmann’s assistant contacted him. “Sandro Wagner wrote to me: ‘Hey, I’m sorry you’re not there. Then I wrote him back, and I meant it with full conviction: ‘It really sucks right now, but I’ll sort myself out in the summer, and believe me: I’ll be back in full attack then.”
Whether he will still be a Union professional then is still up in the air, despite having a contract until 2028. For now, Gosens, who excelled at the 2021 European Championship but missed out on the 2022 World Cup, has resolved to watch the games at his home European Championship despite his disappointment. “I’ll probably be sitting in the stadium or in front of the TV on June 14 and cheering the boys on. “
