FC Augsburg had nothing to celebrate at the weekend. For Arne Maier, however, there was a joyful aspect in the 1:5 in Leverkusen. In his 91st Bundesliga game, he scored his debut goal and thus a long-awaited goal.
At one time, the 23-year-old was considered one of the top talents in German football. In the 2017/18 season, Arne Maier became German champion with Hertha BSC’s U 19 – also thanks to his offensive strength. While the midfielder scored on average in every sixth game in the U-17 and U-19 teams of the capital club (60 games/10 goals) and in the junior national teams of the DFB (U 15 to U 21) almost in every fifth (51/9), in the Bundesliga the zero stood until the end.
Maier: “There’s a long way to go “
At the same time, he has been working for some time on transporting the finishing qualities of days gone by to the professional level. “Of course that is one of my goals. But you can’t compare youth football with professional football. To get there, it’s a long road where you develop in different ways, also in terms of position and strengths on the pitch. My job is basically to provide defensive stability, but also to boost the attacking play with dangerous balls into the front third and thus provide a scoring threat,” Maier reported in an interview with Monday’s edition.
The spell was broken in the 91st game
On Saturday, the strong and versatile right-footed midfielder was barely allowed to play in a more offensive role instead of his recent six, and the spell was broken in his 91st game. At FCA he now wants to make the final breakthrough after his promising career at Hertha once faltered. “I feel super comfortable here in Augsburg. The city and the surroundings are doing me a lot of good. Despite my young age of 23, my ambition is to take responsibility on the pitch and help lead the team,” said Maier.
Coach Markus Weinzierl recently confirmed that he wants to keep his protégé, who is on loan from Hertha, beyond the summer. Regardless of the obligation to buy for five million euros, which takes effect after 25 starlet appearances this season. Maier can also imagine a long-term commitment in the Fuggerstadt: “I was also pleased that he said that, it shows how much he appreciates me. This is a super club with a lot of potential. “
Maier knows how to keep the class
He himself has the ambition to “get a lot more out of myself”. It is precisely this aspect that could be important in the relegation battle in the coming weeks and months. Especially as Maier knows from his experiences with Arminia Bielefeld in the pre-season how to stay in the class.
