Only few players have been crowned German champion with two different clubs without ever having played for Bayern Munich. One of them, Christian Gentner, swapped the Bundesliga for the Swiss top flight this summer after racking up a remarkable 430 appearances for VfB Stuttgart, Union Berlin and of course VfL Wolfsburg. In this interview, Gentner reveals who he keeps in touch with at VfL and shares his thoughts on Saturday’s game between the Wolves and Union.
Christian Gentner, you’ve been an FC Luzern player since the summer. How’s it going for you over there?
Christian Gentner: “Last year’s cup win – the first trophy in a very long time – generated a great sense of euphoria here, but we haven’t won any of our first nine games and have only drawn five. That said, it’s been a complete success from a personal point of view. Being part of the team is fun, I’m feeling good physically and I’ve played every single game apart from one, which I missed due to illness. We’re also really happy as a family. It’s even better than we imagined.”
How are you feeling about the game between your former clubs?
Christian: “It doesn’t trigger anything in particular in me, but I’m still really interested in this game. Unfortunately I won’t be able to watch because we’re playing ourselves that day. Otherwise I’d be there in person, ideally in the stadium.”
Your spell at Union Berlin wasn’t that long ago, but how strong is your connection to VfL?
Christian: “It’s very strong thanks to Marcel Schäfer alone, because we’re really close friends. We keep in touch very often. I’ve always been on good terms with long-time kitman Heribert Rüttger too.”
Union have just won three games in a row, while VfL’s results haven’t been that good of late. How do you rate both teams at the moment?
Christian: “Both clubs have started well. What has struck me about Wolfsburg is their really intelligent signings. I think players like Dodi Lukebakio, Luca Waldschmidtand Sebastiaan Bornauw are really smart acquisitions, especially after managing to keep the core of the team together. They’ve got great strength in depth as a result.”
How do you see Saturday’s game going?
Christian: “I’m excited to find out. Berlin haven’t lost at home for ages. They’ll be physical, they’ll have the crowd behind them, but they’ll be up against a team who are very strong – both physically and in playing terms. I think set pieces will play a decisive role. Union have very good dead-ball specialists and target men, like Marvin Friedrich and Robin Knoche. On the other side you’ve also got Wout Weghorst and John Brooks. I don’t dare make a prediction. It could go either way in my eyes.”
