Junior, in the fourth minute of stoppage time against Bayern Munich, you went into a full-blooded challenge near the halfway line and managed to head the ball into Omar Marmoush’s path. He went on to equalise and secure a 3-3 draw...
“We’ve got great forwards up front. At that moment I knew Omar was going to score. We have a lot of faith in the boys. I just do my job. Maybe in that situation you’ve seen a new version of me. I want to focus more on the basics and how I can help the team. I know how much potential I have. I never shy away from a tackle; I have no fear.”
In Eintracht’s opening UEFA Europa League fixture against Plzen, you came off the bench and scored almost straight away to make it 2-1. How did that feel?
“It was liberating for me because I hadn’t played much before that this season. It was a personal success and also a signal for me that my season is now up and running.”
I want to focus more on the basics and how I can help the team.
Dina Ebimbe
How do you assess your start to the season personally?
“I feel great now and I hope that continues for a long as possible. It’s never easy for any player when you’re not playing. But every footballer knows that moments like that can arrive. Despite everything, I stayed focused, I spoke with the coach a lot and he told me that my time would come. On the whole, I learned a great deal from what was a difficult time for me.”
A few weeks ago, head coach Dino Toppmöller reported that he had held talks with you. Can you tell us what was discussed?
“We spoke about a lot of things, including that I need to perform more consistently. There’s no problem with my motivation. It’s a matter of concentration and maybe sometimes of awareness. We’re professionals and we have to perform when we’re out on the pitch. The coach also told me that I need to improve my body language and not always show my emotions. Sometimes I’m too much of a perfectionist, which is why I worked on the mental side of my game over the summer.”
