Jean-Manuel Mbom had voluntarily sat out two U-21 internationals before the decision was made for Germany. Now the man from Bremen wants to continue the winning streak against Poland and San Marino.
For the DFB or Cameroon? Decision “you don’t want to make just like that “
Despite his nomination, he took the precaution of foregoing the first two European Championship qualifiers in San Marino (6-0) and Latvia (3-1) in September, only to decide in favour of Germany and against the Cameroon option after careful consideration. “I didn’t hesitate, I just wanted to talk to my family and take my time. A decision like that at the age of 21 is already something big, you don’t just want to make it like that,” explains Jean-Manuel Mbom in retrospect, “but it was actually clear to me that I would choose Germany, I went through all the DFB youth teams and am very grateful to Germany.”
With the next competitive match after his 21st birthday, national players with corresponding choices are fixed for that nation under the latest FIFA regulations, so Mbom has been playing for the DFB since October and the victories against Israel (3-2) and in Hungary (5-1).
Now the next hurdles on the way to the European Championship finals are the games against Poland on Friday and San Marino next Tuesday. “It would be perfect to end the international year with two wins,” Mbom hopes, “we’ve won all our games so far, a great team, good morale, we want to continue like this.”
The Göttingen native has been through all the U teams and also hopes to make the final step at some point. “If you choose Germany, it is of course the dream to play for the senior national team at some point,” assures the professional, who was trained as a midfielder but has recently been used more as a right-back.
Leaving Bremen “was not up for discussion “
Bremen’s own youngster had to take the bitter step into the 2nd league with Werder. “A change was not up for debate, I have a long-term contract in Bremen and wanted to concentrate fully on promotion,” said Mbom. “Of course, after relegation you needed a time to recharge your energy reserves, now I’m fully focused on it.”
But after 13 games Bremen are only ranked eighth, after all Mbom travelled to the U21s with the tailwind of the last-minute win in Nuremberg (2-1). “I’m a positive person and I definitely believe in getting back up,” Mbom declares confidently, “but it won’t be easy, we have a lot of good teams, it feels like anyone can beat anyone. “
You can’t hide as Werder Bremen, we were in the 1. league for a long time, we have to perform accordingly.
There is a gap of five points to make up on third place. “You can’t hide as Werder Bremen either, we were in the 1. Liga for a very long time, we have to perform accordingly,” says Mbom with a broad chest, “we want to use the positive trend now and get three points against Schalke, ideally right away.” And before that, six points with the U 21.
