Born in the local area and having turned pro with the club and cut his teeth in the Bundesliga with them, new Wolves signing Luca Waldschmidt has a special connection with Sunday’s opponents Eintracht Frankfurt (kick-off 19:30 CEST). The 25-year-old spoke in an interview about his Champions League debut, his first few weeks with the Wolfpack and of course about the Eagles.
Luca Waldschmidt, how was it to play your first Champions League match? How did you feel on the flight back from Lille?
Luca Waldschmidt: “Obviously the Champions League is something special and making my debut was a dream come true for me. I had mixed feelings afterwards because it clearly wasn’t the ideal kind of match, but we fought hard as a team after going down to 10 men and took a point out of it.”
How much have you managed to settle in at VfL already?
Luca: “I really feel at home here. I’ve managed to find an apartment now and since we’ve had two away matches in a row, I’ve got to spend a little longer with the squad. Trips like those are great for getting to know one another and in any case, the lads have made me feel really welcome.”
The league campaign has got off to a perfect start, and now on Sunday we host Eintracht Frankfurt – the club that you played for between 2010 and 2016. How do you look back on those times? Do you still have close ties to the club?
Luca: “It was obviously a special time for me. I spent four years there as a boarder, which was a great deal of my youth, and it’s where I turned pro and made my Bundesliga debut. Those are things that you never forget. I have fond memories of both the club and the fans.”
The Eagles have had a mediocre start to the season. How do you assess SGE currently and what’s the aim for Sunday?
Luca: “Of course we want to win and get the three points – after all, it’s a home game. Eintracht have got a lot of quality individuals in their squad. We’ll need to be absolutely focused and give it 100 per cent. If we put in the kind of performance that we’ve shown in the Bundesliga up until now, we’ve got every chance of getting a win.”
