Penalty missed, but…
Füllkrug is looking forward to an adventure in England with his daughter
Niclas Füllkrug begins his West Ham United adventure on the first Premier League matchday. His daughter is also happy for a special reason. The international striker has big plans, but his start with the Hammers could have gone better.
Little Emilia, says her proud dad Niclas Füllkrug, is already very familiar with English football traditions. “My daughter,” says the national player, “is looking forward to the bubbles. She said she wants to catch one.” In the evening, when Füllkrug starts his West Ham United adventure, thousands upon thousands will be whirling through the air again.
Unlike the soap bubbles that first fly up and then disappear in the wind as a symbol of fan dreams in West Ham's anthem “I'm forever blowing bubbles”, Füllkrug's belief in success in east London is unshakable. “There is a lot of quality in the team – and more than ninth place. Hopefully we can be better next season. I want to help with that,” says the center forward before his Premier League debut in the evening (6.30 p.m./Sky and in the ntv.de live ticker) against Aston Villa.
Füllkrug, as is clear with every word he speaks in the Hammers jersey, left Borussia Dortmund for England after just one season to make a difference. He wants to leave his mark in the best league in the world. Even in Germany, he enjoyed playing for traditional clubs like Hannover 96, Werder Bremen, 1. FC Nürnberg or BVB – West Ham fits in perfectly: “It was important for me to feel that the jersey meant something has weight.”
“Go to war with them”
This is because West Ham paid 27 million euros to solve their chronic storm problem and dream of better than the ninth place they achieved last season. The expectations are high, but the experts are definitely in favor of “abundance”. The TV expert Jan Aage Fjörtoft, also known in this country, even predicted in the “Sport-Bild” interview that Füllkrug would “make a big impact” in England and score more than the twelve league goals from his BVB season.
However, things didn't go quite so well for Füllkrug in his first test match appearance. After he came on as a substitute 30 minutes before the end of a sponsor's cup against Celta Vigo (6:5 i.e.) last Saturday, he missed a penalty in the shootout. Long run-up, aimed down the right, the goalkeeper saved. Things should go better on Saturday.
For maximum success, Füllkrug emphasizes, he is dependent on assists from his teammates; he is obviously “not the type of guy who dribbles his way through five players and then scores.” Since he has several potential suppliers at his side with experienced players like captain Jarrod Bowen or Mohammed Kudus, Füllkrug is almost euphoric: “I love it when I have the feeling that I can go to war with them.” And in the working-class areas of London they love such declarations of war – almost as much as soap bubbles.
