First Team

“I’m here for a reason”

Mattias Svanberg about his role and development in the VfL squad.

Mattias Svanberg missed six games between October and November because of an ankle injury before marking his comeback with an assist in the 5-1 victory at RB Leipzig. The Swedish international was edging ever closer to reclaiming a starting berth before the turn of the year but has started four league games in succession since late January, and even wore the captain’s armband in the absence of injured Maximilian Arnold in the recent win in Stuttgart. In this interview, the 26-year-old midfielder talks about his leading role in the squad, the importance of the Wolves’ mental resilience and the upcoming clash with VfL Bochum.

Mattias Svanberg, you led the Wolves onto the pitch as captain against Stuttgart last weekend. How did that make you feel?

Mattias Svanberg: “It was a very proud moment for me. I’m very happy with the trust the coach placed in me. The fact that we won made it even more special. I’m very thankful for the support among the squad.”

Head coach Ralph Hasenhüttl said you bring “mentality, professionalism and smartness” to the table. How would you describe your role?

Mattias: “I want to be professional because I’m here for a reason. I always want to improve physically, tactically and mentally as a player, in order to handle intensive situations well – whether they are successful or unsuccessful ones. I’ve been playing outside Sweden for nearly seven years now and still feel very young (laughs). I’m in a good moment and I want to build on that.”

How would you assess your development at VfL?

Mattias: “I’ve improved slowly but consistently in all areas. I’ve learned a lot from German football. The training is also different compared to Italy. Last year in particular, I was able to improve my game significantly. I’m feeling really good on the pitch and want to play my part in attack and in defence.”

You got the win in your first game as captain. What was the key to your victory?

Mattias: “We never stopped believing in ourselves. You can quickly lose energy after going 1-0 down, particularly when there are only 15 minutes left to play. But we know that, if we keep going the way we are, we’re mentally and physically strong. In the end, we created more chances and had the quality to score two goals.”

You’ve now collected six points in the second half of the season so far. What do you make of that tally?

Mattias: “They were tough games in which we were more efficient and clever. We maybe could have four more points on the board, but that’s always an easy thing to say in hindsight. You [always] lose points in a season, but you win them back in other periods. We have to look at it this way: It’s obvious that we could have more points, but we could also have fewer points. In that sense, we’re probably very close at the moment to where we should be. The good thing about that is that we’re capable of doing even better.”

You’re playing against Bochum on Saturday and you’re set to captain the side again. What are you expecting from that game?

Mattias: “It’s going to be very tough. It’s always hard to play against Bochum. They’re a strong team – very compact and aggressive. We need to show courage and prove that we want to win the game by any means. We can’t afford to wait for the right moments, we need to take the game by the scruff of the neck from the first minute and be the proactive team. We want to play attacking football in front of our fans. We’re strong and want to put our opponents under pressure. It’s going to be a good game.”