Quick off the mark

Bittencourt on his start with Werder
Bittencourt was in a visibly good mood following the DFB-Pokal win (Photo: nordphoto).
First Team
Thursday, 31.10.2019 / 13:43

Leonardo Bittencourt was a highly-lauded signing when he joined Werder shortly before the end of the summer transfer window. At the time, head coach Florian Kohfeldt called him “an experienced Bundesliga player who will strengthen our attack with his talent.” The last few matches over the past months have proven Kohfeldt right. It didn’t take long for the speedy playmaker to adjust to life in Bremen and he quickly carved out a spot for himself within the starting lineup. It may have taken him a while to get going, but after scoring his first goal for Werder against Heidenheim, Bittencourt is hoping that it is the first of many.

We’re into the 11th minute of Werder’s DFB-Pokal duel with Heidenheim. After Rashica opened the scoring early on for the Green-Whites, Bittencourt added another after receiving a pass from Josh Sargent on the edge of the penalty area. It was a special moment for the 25-year-old, who grabbed the ball straight away and celebrated by putting the ball under his shirt and sucking on his thumb. “I’m pregnant,” Bittencourt joked in the Mixed Zone on Thursday afternoon, and explained “My wife is four months pregnant, so I actually would have had a bit more time to break out the celebration, but it fit quite well yesterday.”

Your first goal for a new team can never come too soon. Bittencourt had to wait to find the back of the net in his first seven appearances for Werder. Given his own ambitions, the lack of goals made him question things a bit. “I always want to help out the team with goals or assists. It’s too bad that it didn’t work right from the start. But, I knew that scoring my first goal would be a big relief. I hope that I’ve been able to break through that wall."

Too quick to catch: Bittencourt escapes the Heidenheim defenders once again (Photo: nordphoto).

If he delivers on the goals and assists, Werder’s number 10 could become an even bigger key figure for the Green-White attack. He quickly became a regular starter, also due to the many injuries that plagued Florian Kohfeldt’s squad. “I barely had any time to acclimatise myself, and had to jump right in. It actually worked quite well,” Bittencourt said about the last few weeks. Now that Yuya Osako and Co. are back, Florian Kohfeldt has a selection headache once again. Bittencourt is looking to make it a difficult choice for Kohfeldt. “I’m happy that the boys are back, but I don’t want to give up my spot in the starting lineup,” Bittencourt said. Bolstered by this self-confidence, it should make this a hard fight for his competition.

 

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