Vincenzo GrifoFreiburg’s attacking winger, gave an interview to Kicker: “Julian Schuster has become a coach, we have become older and more experienced, so now we are the leaders, just like Julian was. I feel very good, very comfortable taking on this responsibility, on and off the pitch, I would like to use my experience to help the boys integrate well and get along with the whole group. As a professional, you always have to push yourself to the limit and, especially as an experienced player, I have to show that I am on the front line and I do it first. It is important that the boys see that.”
On the many substitutions in the last season.
“I am in great shape and still have the ambition to be on the pitch every minute if possible. But of course the coach always has a certain vision. In a season with three competitions like last year, you still need everyone. If the coach has the idea of letting you go early, you have to accept it, even if you don’t like it. If you look at my fitness data, I am still very high up in the team. And the goal statistics are not that bad either. But a coach always has the big picture in mind. Christian Streich once explained to me that in certain games, when the opponent is a bit tired, he preferred to have me start from the bench to strike the decisive blow.”
This year you will not play in the European cups.
“I would have really liked to be able to play every three days again. I’ve always tried to adapt my career accordingly. It’s worked out in the last two years, it’s been wonderful, with so many great experiences: Athens, London, Turin… I’ll definitely miss it a little, but now it’s just a matter of putting the same energy into training to be able to perform at my best in the league at the weekend.”