It’s his second chance to make a breakthrough in Bremen and Leon Andreasen has every intention of taking it. The young Dane made that very clear on Thursday in an open and frank exchange with the media and took the opportunity to clear up any confusion about recent headlines and his position. In particular he wished to clarify that : “I never said that I wouldn’t like to go back to Werder, as it appeared in print a number of times.” Andreasen did admit though that he did spend a lot of time considering his return and requested understanding for his situation.
“I had the absolute best time in my life in Mainz and having gone through some tough times in Bremen, I went there, became a first choice player in the starting eleven and really was made to feel like a part of the team. That wasn’t the case before hand with Werder. During that time I played my first full international and scored my first goals. Becoming an international was my wildest dream come true and I was really worried that I would lose all those feelings again if I returned to Werder. I think that is understandable that I wasn’t exactly jumping for joy at the thought of returning to Bremen. That’s all I’d been trying to say in the last few weeks.”
There is no question as to the leaps and bounds Andreasen made in Mainz. He has matured and explained the transformation with the following words: “I’m back here again now and am going to approach the tasks ahead in concentrated fashion. We are not in kinder-garden here and I’m not going to start whinging. The competition for places, as it is in Bremen, is the same at all big clubs. I have a good feeling though. I’ve made a distinct improvement in recent months and I intend to keep working on that.” The Danish international pointed to some very open discussions with Werder’s sporting fraction for his decision. “I spoke to both the trainer and Klaus Allofs about my predicament. I told them that I understand Werder is a super club with fantastic fans and that Bremen is a great city where I feel very comfortable but my feelings for the club were a problem that I would have to deal with myself. It was a very positive discussion anyway. Both of them were aware of what went on in Mainz – that I played every game and came on a lot as a player. They both had very positive reactions to that.”
The trio also discussed the young Danes position, which may well have been a reason for his stagnation in Bremen the first time around: “Of course I’ve spent time thinking about why things didn’t work out at Werder. I went to Werder as a defensive midfielder and got one chance as a central defender. As I played well there it was seen as my set position, which is not optimal for me. I always feel most comfortable as part of a duo in front of the defence”, explained Andreasen, who still plans to remain as flexible as possible.
On a sporting level he wishes to rise above the disappointment in Mainz, where, despite a strong second round, the club were relegated. Not everything at Mainz went to plan either: “naturally it wasn’t nice to go down at the end. I did notice that the quality of the players in the Mainz squad was not as high as it is in Werder’s squad though”, registered Andreasen, whose goals dried up before the end of the season too: “Until the game in Bremen things went well but after that I didn’t score again.”
There were no notable inhibitions on Norderney to speak of. In training he gives his all, he is one of the fittest when it comes to running on the beach and his dynamic style makes him a danger in front of goal He has every intention of continuing his improvements in Bremen: “I don’t wasn’t to be seen as one of those players who is always walking a tightrope. I never had personal problems with Werder and I don’t want any either”, explained the midfielder who also commented on rumours of a possible deal with FC Schalke 04: “That’s nonsense, I read about their interest too.”