Waldemar Anton has been leading the way for VfB this season – and not just because he is now the team captain. The defender has played every minute of all five Bundesliga games so far and covered more ground (54.57 kilometres) than anyone else at the club.
A vocal driving force on the field, Anton has successfully marshalled the VfB rearguard in 2023/24, helping the team to be as miserly at the back as they are prolific up front. Sebastian Hoeneß’ side have kept two clean sheets so far and conceded just once in two other games; the defeat in Leipzig is the only anomaly of the campaign at this stage.
Anton attributes the team’s success to their hard work on the training pitches. “Nobody eases off in training – in fact, the opposite is true,” the VfB skipper said. “We give 100 per cent every day and everyone tries to make everyone else better. The mentality and team spirit are great, and that’s what makes us strong.”
VfB are eager to demonstrate that strength again on Saturday, when they travel to 1. FC Köln on Bundesliga Matchday 6 (kick-off 15:30 CEST). “It certainly won’t be an easy game, especially in front of their fans,” Anton said. “But we want to go into it fully focused and we want to win it.”