Maximilian Eggestein still remembers his first appearance as a right-back. It has been 15 months already since that day and it wasn’t against Düsseldorf or Hoffenheim, but Mainz. "Maybe Flo remembered and he knew I could play there," said Eggestein.
Maximilian Eggestein still remembers his first appearance as a right-back. It has been 15 months already since that day and it wasn’t against Düsseldorf or Hoffenheim, but Mainz. "Maybe Flo remembered and he knew I could play there," said Eggestein.
On the final day of the 2017/18 season, Milos Veljkovic (before the match), Niklas Moisander (warming up) and Sebastian Langkamp (in the first half) all got injured. Right back Theodor Gebre Selassie moved into the center and Eggestein made his debut at right back. "That was a similar situation," recalled the midfielder.
Back then Werder had a lot of defenders injured and they find themselves back in that same situation now. In addition to Milos Veljkovic and Sebastian Langkamp, who have been missing since the start of pre-season, head coach Florian Kohfeldt will be without left-back Ludwig Augustinsson and newcomer Ömer Toprak for several weeks.
"At the moment, personal needs just have to be put on hold. Due to our injuries, we don’t have much squad depth anymore. It's no longer about playing your favourite position," said Eggestein, adding that: "everyone knows I'd rather be in midfield, but the situation doesn’t allow for that. I think I’ll be fine at right-back in any case."
The 22-year-old started his new assignment at right back against Hoffenheim, with the central midfielder playing much deeper than he usually does. "I tried to be cautious in the first half and not play too attacking. In the second half I tried to get forward more but that was also because of the scoreline," said Eggestein.
The "new right back” has already received some advice from the experienced Theodor Gebre Selassie, who has been playing that position at Werder for years. "There’s nothing wrong with listening to Theo’s advice and implementing a few of his tips out there on the pitch." Gebre Selassie has been in the same situation before, having also been temporarily moved to centre back for a period. Against FC Augsburg on Sunday, Eggestein could be required to implement his advice once again.

