Werder Bremen were already leading 3-0 in the 86th minute against Borussia Mönchengladbach when Zlatko Junuzovic added his own special moment to the victory. A deflected corner landed at the Austrian's feet and he...
Werder Bremen were already leading 3-0 in the 86th minute against Borussia Mönchengladbach when Zlatko Junuzovic added his own special moment to the victory. A deflected corner landed at the Austrian's feet and he...
Werder Bremen were already leading 3-0 in the 86th minute against Borussia Mönchengladbach when Zlatko Junuzovic added his own special moment to the victory. A deflected corner landed at the Austrian's feet and he blasted the ball home to score the final goal in a 4-0 win. Junuzovic's job for the Green-Whites is not actually to score goals but to work hard and fight in the defensive midfield. "Juno" plays much more defensive for Werder than he does for the Austrian national team as he initiates offensive pushes more than finishing them off. "In the end, I can play both positions just as well. If the whole team works hard on defence, like we did against Gladbach, then of course it's easier for me. The best is when I have a lot of players to pass to and we have a lot of possession. Then I really have fun bringing the ball forward," said the 25-year-old a day after the clear victory over Gladbach.
The midfielder was clearly relieved about the important victory and his own strong showing. "When everybody is moving like against Gladbach, then I have a lot of passing options and can really have fun. The ease and looseness just follow automatically. Football is fun like this," said Junuzovic. "Juno" has matured into a regular with the Austrian national team, though he plays more of a classic playmaker role in head coach Marcel Koller's Austrian side. "I am almost like a striker in the national team. You can hardly compare that to my position with Werder. I need to run a lot more in defensive midfield, where I play with SVW. You are continually forced to close the holes that open up," said Junuzovic, who ran 13.3 kilometers against Gladbach - the most of any Bremen player in the match.
The Austrian was not the only player who brought his competitive manner to the pitch on Saturday. "The main thing was that the whole team worked on taking over the ball further up and everybody fought. I really enjoyed that," said head coach Thomas Schaaf with praise for his players. "If we show this will and this determination, then we can keep getting these results," said Werder's No. 16. "I hope that we can build upon this performance. It is important that we play week for week like this."
