Ulisses Garcia feels comfortable in the mountains. The left back grew up in Switzerland and told WERDER.DE that Zillertal is "basically home" for him. His roots, however, lie...
Ulisses Garcia feels comfortable in the mountains. The left back grew up in Switzerland and told WERDER.DE that Zillertal is "basically home" for him. His roots, however, lie...
Ulisses Garcia feels comfortable in the mountains. The left back grew up in Switzerland and told WERDER.DE that Zillertal is "basically home" for him. His roots, however, lie a long way from the Alps - the 19-year-old was born on Cape Verde, the small Portuguese-speaking island-state off the West Coast of Africa.
Origins and personal identity are very important to Werder's new signing. Born in Geneva with dual Swiss and Portuguese nationality, the left back doesn't feel like a true Swiss national despite making a handful of appearances for the country's youth teams. "I can't say for sure who I feel like I belong to. It's hard for me to answer," chuckled Garcia. "I often spend my holidays in Portugal, sometimes even in Cape Verde. My roots, my parents' roots, play a big role in my life," he said.

Garcia grew up speaking three languages. At home he speaks Portuguese and French, and then he learnt German at school. He also speaks English with his colleagues. "Ulli", as he is known by his teammates, has taken on the next chapter in his life at Bremen, but has made a somewhat false start in his new city. "I only arrived here as training began and then we went straight to Neuruppin. I haven't seen anything of Bremen yet - once we get back from Zillertal, I'll move out of the hotel into my flat," he says. The talented left-footer is very much looking forward to settling down in his new home.
Garcia has however already made himself at home at his new club, in a very short time - even if he would consider himself as "reserved and quiet". "I've had a very good impression of the team up to now. The boys have welcomed me in really well." He's getting on especially well with Anthony Ujah, his roommate since their first day in Neuruppin. Ujah is a very different personality to Garcia - chatty, outgoing and always up for a practical joke.

But once Garcia gets on the pitch, he's a different animal altogether. After crossing the white line, the youngster becomes lively and full of energy. "I love to have the ball at my feet," he admits. The left back has had ample opportunity to show off his skills to the coaching staff in his first weeks at Werder, getting a lot of minutes in the first pre-season friendlies. "My legs ached during and after the game against Neuruppin, but it's getting better each day. The beginning was very, very hard," he laughed.
Behind Maximilian Eggestein and Levin Öztunali, Garcia is the third-youngest player in the Werder squad. The fact that the club is looking more and more to younger talents like him was "the most important reason why I chose to move to Bremen. You can sense the youthfulness here every day." "Ulli" aims to establish himself long-term as a Werder player, and to live his Bundesliga dream. He wants to show what he can do in the coming days, as he looks to achieve this goal. Here, in the Zillertal Alps, close to home - the Cape-Verde-born Swiss who has already become a true Werder player in just two weeks.
