In Hamburg, Antonio Rüdiger met old companions who now play for HSV. The Chelsea FC international’s career has been on a steep upward trajectory lately. And perhaps back to the Bundesliga.
Oliver Hartmann and Sebastian Wolff report from the national team
The last minutes of Hansi Flick’s and the national team’s first, extremely intensive training session in Hamburg were also watched by HSV’s second division professionals, who had previously practised on the neighbouring pitch.
Unexpected meeting with ex-colleagues – interest from Bayern?
Afterwards, Antonio Rüdiger went up to Tim Leibold and Sonny Kittel, hugged the two players and had a lively exchange with them. He once played together with Kittel in the DFB U18 and U20 teams, and with Leibold at VfB Stuttgart. “I was in the first team, he was in the second, but he often trained with us,” Rüdiger reported.
While the careers of the former companions were rather changeable, Rüdiger’s career has gone uphill in the past few years until he won the Champions League with Chelsea FC. Of course, Rüdiger has noticed that FC Bayern are also said to be interested in the defender, who will be available on a free transfer next summer. “It honours you and shows that you have done a lot right in the last few years and months,” he countered on Tuesday, “but I don’t let it distract me too much.” After all, he said, he has “a certain obligation” to his current employer: “To perform. “
Since Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard as head coach at Chelsea at the beginning of the year, Rüdiger has once again become a permanent fixture there. In the national team, this has already been the case for four years, and the new national coach Flick has also scheduled him as a constant. “Toni Rüdiger is playing convincingly, Niklas Süle has also done very well. Both gave us stability in the September games. I registered this and was very happy about it,” Flick said in the kicker interview. In the 6-0 win against Armenia and the 4-0 win in Iceland, Rüdiger and Süle formed the central defence. “The two games were meaningful,” said Rüdiger: “It’s important to continue there and to get used to the new system. “
“It’s important to continue and get used to the new system. “
ANTONIO RÜDIGER
Flick will also rely on Rüdiger and Süle in the centre of defence for Friday’s World Cup qualifier against Romania, for which a good 20,000 of the only 25,000 tickets available due to Corona have been sold. “I’ve been training and playing together with ‘Niki’ for a while now, our relationship is good. He is a super partner in defence. I really like playing together with him,” Rüdiger says about his sidekick. Süle is “big as a tree trunk, but he’s good-quick,” he says, citing his colleague’s advantages, but also emphasising the need for improvement: “Because we’re not together that often, it’s important to get used to playing with someone. “
Süle and Rüdiger in pole position – a trio as challengers
For Rüdiger and Süle, it’s all about defending the lead they built up in September. Mönchengladbach’s Matthias Ginter and Freiburg’s newcomer Nico Schlotterbeck are currently in the role of challengers, as is World Cup winner Mats Hummels, whom Flick has not included this time, also for reasons of load management, but has by no means written off.
“I hope it works out with promotion this time,” Rüdiger said at the end of the press conference, addressing his former companions Leibold and Kittel, combined with the smug observation that HSV had “had a bit of a collapse” in recent years.
Rüdiger and the national team know all too well what that feels like from their disgraceful performances at the European Championship in the summer and the World Cup three years ago in Russia.