“There are few similarities"

An interview with Maximilian and Johannes Eggestein
Werder’s Maximilian Eggestein played the full 90 minutes of Germany's opening match of the U21 Euros (Photo: imago).
interview
Thursday, 20.06.2019 / 16:53

Their summer break will have to wait. Both Maximilian and Johannes Eggestein are taking part in the U21 European Championship in Italy and San Marino with Germany. After a 3-1 win in their opening match against Denmark, the next challenge awaits Germany's youngsters on Thursday night (21:00 CEST) against Serbia. In an interview with WERDER.DE, the Eggestein brothers spoke about the American football training sessions with coach Patrick Esume, the differences between working with Stefan Kuntz and Florian Kohfeldt, and their short summer break.

WERDER.DE: Congratulations on your first win, boys. Maxi, how would you sum up the 3-1 victory against Denmark?

Maximilian Eggestein: “The first match is always a way to test the water, to find your way into the tournament. It took us a bit, but then the first match went really well. Especially when it came to the flow of the match—we definitely haven’t reached our pinnacle in that regard.”

WERDER.DE: On Thursday night you’ll face Serbia. What’s your approach to the match?

Maximilian Eggestein: “We know that for Serbia, it’s their last chance. We know what a strong mindset the team has and that they have extremely talented players, such as Luka Jovic. We’re aware of what awaits us and are by no means expecting Serbia to make things easy for us.”

Johannes Eggestein: “A bit of both. Of course the session was a lot of fun—everyone could see that— which the point was. Aside from a few passes and routes, it wasn’t really a football session meant to teach you specific aspects of the sport. But, in a discussion ahead of the session he told us a lot about what it’s like playing football. That was exciting. He also showed us one of his speeches, which helped motivate us for the European Championship.”

WERDER.DE: How so?

Johannes Eggestein: "He painted a picture for us of the careers of certain successful American football stars, and the passion and energy they put into following their dreams. He was able to share that in a very authentic manner and really helped motivate us all, in my opinion."

A first-time brush with American football

Johannes Eggestein will have to wait to make his debut at the U21 Euros (Photo: imago).

WERDER.DE: His point was probably that American football players are tougher than football players, or?

Johannes Eggestein: “That seems to be true, especially when you see the way in which they tackle each other (laughs). Of course, that aggression and toughness don’t really fit in with football, but the energy, power, and passion of the athletes is something that translates to our day-to-day. That was definitely a big incentive.”

WERDER.DE: Do you two follow the NFL?

Johannes Eggestein: “No, for me it was my first experience with American football. Neither of us have ever really been into the sport, but the training with him definitely made me more interested in it.”

WERDER.DE: Another great sporting success at the moment is the Women’s World Cup. You wished the women’s team luck via a video message. Whose idea was that?

Maximilian Eggestein: “I’m not sure whose idea it was. At some point there were the wigs at training. That was really funny too.”

WERDER.DE: Have you had time to follow one of the games?

Maximilian Eggestein: “Not yet, unfortunately. We know how the games have gone but we haven’t been able to follow them. For example, on Monday we played at nine o’clock and the women at six – we were already on our way to the ground.”

“I won’t get as much time off as Maxi”

WERDER.DE: The new season is just around the corner and for the first time, you will miss the preparations with Werder, not even travelling to the training camp. How is that for you?


Maximilian Eggestein: “On one hand it is a shame, because you like to be there from the beginning and also you want to travel to the camp in Zillertal. Unfortunately we’re missing that this year. But it is for good reason. Therefore we want to progress as far as we can and miss even more of pre-season (laughs).”


Johannes Eggestein: “I agree. For me it would be very important to take part in the whole pre-season but it was my aim to compete in the European Championships. That’s what I wanted and it is recognition of my performances last season. I won’t get as much time off as Maxi, because I didn’t play as much as him. I will return to Werder a bit sooner after the end of the EUROs. With the few days off, I won’t lose much.”


WERDER.DE: To what extent is the work different under U21 coach Stefan Kuntz compared to the work under Florian Kohfeldt?


Johannes Eggestein: “There are few similarities. They are two different types of coach. However, they both have the ability to understand their players, communicate well and demonstrate what they need. The man management of both coaches is very good. They just know how we are.”


WERDER.DE After the match against Serbia, you will face Austria and teammate Marco Friedl in the final group game. When will you stop being in contact with each other?


Maximilian Eggestein: “Until now, nothing has changed. I can imagine that in the days leading up to the game it will get more intense and perhaps on matchday it will stop.”


Johannes Eggestein: “And whether there is contact after the game or not all depends on the result (laughs).”

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