Bremen – The news, kept short and to the point, came on a Monday afternoon at the end of November and thus at a time when it no longer fell into the “big headline” category. SV Werder Bremen announced on its website that professionals Niklas Schmidt and Fabio Chiarodia had contracted the corona virus and had therefore gone into quarantine at home.
Since it had also caught many of their teammates in the weeks and months before and Corona infections had long been ubiquitous within society, the message shrank to the character of a personnel update, as clubs also publish when professional xy tweaks their thighs. For Niklas Schmidt But an extremely difficult time began with her, as the 24-year-old revealed on Friday. Long after his infection, the midfielder of the SV Werder Bremen to deal with the consequences of Covid-19.
Werder Bremen: Niklas Schmidt always with ups and downs – and draws his lessons from it
“The first few months were awesome,” said Niklas Schmidt, “I was partially out of breath. That was extreme.” Not all long-term effects have gone away to this day, but with the help of the athletic trainer he has managed step by step “that I am now almost at 100 percent again”. During the 1-0 home win against Darmstadt 98, fans and observers were able to see for themselves. Schmidt replaced the corona-infected Leonardo Bittencourt, delivered a conspicuous, good game in midfield – and thus helped in his time Werder Bremen reported back once more.
Exactly this pattern – suddenly very close to the first eleven, then far away again for various reasons, only to then be noticed again – it runs like a red thread through Schmidt’s entire professional time SV Werder Bremen. “I’ve been at this for so long and have had so many ups and downs. There were highs and lows in every season,” Schmidt looked back. In the meantime he has found a way for himself to deal with this constant inconsistency in the best possible way: he remains relaxed, which is possibly a lesson from his anything but linear career path.
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Werder Bremen: Because of Corona, Niklas Schmidt has to stand in line with coach Ole Werner
After Niklas Schmidt already during his time as a youth player Werder Bremen was considered a great talent and made a name for himself with his strong passing and shooting technique, the leap into the professional field was anything but smooth for him. Which also had to do with his eating habits at the time, which didn’t necessarily fit into life as a professional footballer. Times that are long gone. Schmidt now eats a vegan diet, has worked a lot on his fitness and also developed his football skills during his loan spells at SV Wehen Wiesbaden (2018 to 2019) and VfL Osnabrück (2019 to 2021). Before the current series, however, there was again such a low – Werder publicly announced that they would no longer plan Schmidt – which was followed only a short time later by a surprising high: Schmidt stayed, took his chance under coach Markus Anfang and was among the first Game days of the season one of the best Bremen.
When he signed his contract in October Werder Bremen had extended, the services promptly went downhill. Seven games without a bet, also because of the said corona infection. Thus was Niklas Schmidt not there when Ole Werner followed in the beginning and from then on had to live with the role of supplementary player – which brings us back to Schmidt’s relaxed handling of all this. “In the games where we were successful, the boys just did really well. We all have one big goal: to rise. Sometimes you just have to stand in line and bite your tongue, even if it hurts,” emphasized Schmidt. And further: “But it wasn’t that difficult for me.” To which Ole Werner in turn made a major contribution.
Werder Bremen: Niklas Schmidt finds the trainer’s statements “cool” and finally wishes for consistency
In numerous conversations, the coach gave his player the feeling that he was needed despite little playing time. That has at Niklas Schmidt Leave an impression. “The coach came to me after the games and explained to me why I was substituted on or not. We’ve always been very clear about that. I really always got explanations, even if he didn’t have to do it at all. I think that’s cool.” And it helped Schmidt to be patient with his chance Werder Bremen has waited, once more.
It seems unlikely that he will remain in the starting XI after Bittencourt’s upcoming return. against Darmstadt Niklas Schmidt but shown to be there when needed. At some point, according to the 24-year-old’s goal, it should be like this week after week. “I would like to stay on the same page and be consistent in my performances,” said Schmidt, “because I would like to play in the Bundesliga at some point – ideally with them Werder.“ (dco)
Topical image: © gumzmedia
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