At 32, Tobias Kempe is an institution in Darmstadt’s midfield. Most recently, he was allowed to play there again in his preferred position. But now Fabian Schnellhardt has served his red suspension.
When Tobias Kempe is asked about his preferred position, he has to smile. “Every year it’s always the same question,” he says. “Whether I play on the outside, behind the leaders, on the six, on the eight – it doesn’t matter.” He has played everything in midfield, but the 32-year-old veteran openly admits that he has a preferred position: “Of course it’s more comfortable for me to play in the centre, because I’m not the classic one-on-one player on the flanks who comes through with pace, but prefer to distribute the balls in the middle and can be a goal threat there. “
Tough start to the new season
Kempe had a difficult start to the season, first missing large parts of the preparation due to a nose operation and then being set back by a Corona infection. When he was fit again, Fabian Schnellhardt had settled in central midfield alongside Klaus Gjasula. Kempe had to switch to the wings.
Even after Schnellhardt was sent off against Dresden, Nemanja Celic was initially allowed to play centrally next to Gjasula against Heidenheim. Against Sandhausen, Kempe then played in the middle, set up two goals in the 6:1 win and also showed a strong game in other respects (kicker grade 2). It is unlikely that coach Torsten Lieberknecht will make a change in this position for the game against Bremen (Sunday, 1.30 pm, LIVE! on kicker). Especially as Gjasula is now out, the Albanian tested positive for Corona in the World Cup qualifier.
Anticipation of the “highlight opponent “
For Kempe, the match against the North Germans is a special game from various aspects. “With Werder Bremen, a highlight opponent is coming to Böllenfalltor. More fans are coming to the stadium again, it will be a really cool atmosphere at the weekend. And it’s a good challenge to see where we are right now,” he says.
The fact that it’s against last year’s Lilien coach Markus Anfang is an additional motivation. “We definitely want to win. And Markus isn’t coming here to let himself be played to the wall and go home with a pack,” says Kempe. Anfang will be very ambitious and set his squad up well. “But so will our coach. It will be a heated game. “
Kempe’s memories of Frings and Mertesacker
Furthermore, Kempe played for the Green-Whites at the beginning of his career. “I was there for four years from the U17s to the pros, still played with Torsten Frings and Per Mertesacker and all their names,” he recalls. He trained with the professionals under Thomas Schaaf and played with the U23s. “I learned a lot there and have fond memories of the people in Bremen. It’s a super club. In that respect, it’s sad for me too that they’ve been relegated. “
