“The ketchup bottle effect is no lie”

In an interview with WERDER.DE, Füllkrug spoke about his current form, mental training and the ketchup bottle effect.

WERDER.DE: Moin Niclas, you’ve been on an incredible rollercoaster ride in the last few years with play-offs, relegation, promotion, the World Cup and now perhaps being top scorer. Where was the turning point for you?

Niclas Füllkrug: The turning point was definitely the game against Sandhausen, where I scored my first goal of the season last year after struggling to find the net before that. Afterwards, things only improved and since then everything has been going well, touch wood!

WERDER.DE: So sometimes just scoring a goal is enough?

Niclas Füllkrug: Yes, this ketchup bottle effect is no lie. Sometimes it takes a bit longer, but when the first goal comes, you pick up momentum. But I think the most important thing is to have as few of these periods as possible in your career.

WERDER.DE: You said in the podcast “kicker meets DAZN” that you are a big fan of the second division and enjoyed playing in it. It’s also okay in the Bundesliga now, right?

Niclas Füllkrug: Yes, the Bundesliga is cool, too, of course (laughs). Almost every stadium is nearly sold out, there are always great fans. In addition, the opponents are at the very highest level. Nevertheless, I’m a fan of the second division and I’ve loved playing in it, so I don’t think it’s a bad thing to play there.

Niclas Füllkrug sitting alone on the substitutes bench at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. He is wearing a green hoodie.

Füllkrug was cheering on his team from the sidelines during the 4-2 win against Hertha BSC (Photo: nordphoto).

WERDER.DE: How hard is it for you at the moment not to be able to play your part and having to watch from the sidelines?

Niclas Füllkrug: It’s very tough for me at the moment, but I hope that this will change soon.

WERDER.DE: How do you try to influence things from the outside, from the stands or the bench?

Niclas Füllkrug: Of course, it’s almost impossible from the stands. I just tried to think positively from the outside and give the boys on the pitch a good feeling. Against Hertha, I was very active and tried to give the boys encouragement in the dressing room. I think I was able to give them a bit of energy.

WERDER.DE: Despite your absence, you have a very realistic chance of being the top scorer in the Bundesliga this season. When did that turn from a dream into a realistic goal for you?

Niclas Füllkrug: It actually didn’t at all. Even now I don’t think about it much at all. I am just trying to get back to full fitness quickly. When you haven’t missed a game in such a long time, you soon realise that health is the most important thing. The rest comes by itself if you work hard.

WERDER.DE: You would still rank the name Niclas Füllkrug alongside Ailton, Basler or Völler. Klose was also the last Werder top scorer in 2006.

Niclas Füllkrug: If the time comes, it would be a great honour, but you always have to be realistic about it. I play for a promoted side that is doing quite well as a team in terms of goals scored. That shows that we have an attacking style of play, which I also benefit from. Nevertheless, I also know that players like Robert Lewandowski or Erling Haaland have not been here this year and that’s why one or two names are missing from the list.

Then it comes down to mental training. Most things are in your head.

Niclas Füllkrug

WERDER.DE: You’re talking about the attacking style of play, plus your instinct. You also say that you can influence many things in your head.

Niclas Füllkrug: As a team, we work with psychologists, as do I personally. Then it comes down to mental training. Most things are in your head. If you are stable and focused and train to be consistent, you have a very good chance of doing well. I think that was the decisive point for me, that everything works consistently at the level it is now.

Marvin Ducksch pointing at Niclas Füllkrug as they run off to celebrate a goal.

Füllkrug and Ducksch are also combining very well in the Bundesliga (Photo: W.DE).

WERDER.DE: Your strike partner Marvin Ducksch plays a significant role in your goals and has set up one or two for you. Have you ever had teammate that you harmonise with as much on the pitch as Duckschi?

Niclas Füllkrug: No, it’s something special with Duckschi. It’s extraordinary above all because there’s no competition at all and I’m as happy when he scores three goals against Hertha as if they were my own. I hope that he continues to score and also assist, because I think that’s also one of his qualities, as it’s one of mine. I’ve also set up a few goals for him and some of the other guys. That’s what we rely on in attack, that we are unselfish, that the team is the bigger picture and that everyone plays for each other.

WERDER.DE: Of all the goals, which has been the most important for you in your career?

Niclas Füllkrug: Many come to mind, such as my goal for Hannover 96 in the derby against Eintracht Braunschweig, which gave me a different level of connection with the fans that I really enjoyed. Then, of course, the goal against Regensburg, a very important goal in a decisive match for promotion that put us on the right track. The goal against Spain for the national team also has a very special significance.

WERDER.DE: After that goal in the World Cup, the perception of you changed.

Niclas Füllkrug: The perception of me as a person and my character has not. I am still seen in the same way as before, but just more widely and to a greater degree now. Of course, I notice that. There are always headlines, always lots to say and I am more often the centre of attention.

Niclas Füllkrug running with his arms out.

Füllkrug has scored more times this Bundesliga season than anyone else (Photo: W.DE).

WERDER.DE: Both the Werder and national team shirt with your name on the back have been bestsellers this season. How is it to see so many people wearing Füllkrug shirts all at once?

Niclas Füllkrug: It makes me happy. It means that people can identify with me, that they aren’t just football fans, but also go along a little with what I am trying to represent. It makes me proud and I’m pleased that many fans choose to wear my number on their backs.

WERDER.DE: It’s never been going as well in your career as it is now. Since your run has been going on for so long, it’s hard to speak of just a small spike in form. Is it your experience that has made you better?

Niclas Füllkrug: It was important for me to show that it’s not just a small run of form. I always wanted to prove that this is my form and my ability that I have been working on. This is the performance level that I can play at. Whether it’s in the second division or the Bundesliga, it’s not easy to score consistently over two years, and so far I’ve done that. This motivates me to train even more and work even harder. I’m extremely hard-working, train a lot on and off the pitch, also, as I said, psychologically. I think that in connection with experience and fitness, the fact that I have been fit for longer, these are the factors that enable these performances.

WERDER.DE: Here your self-confidence also comes into play.

Niclas Füllkrug: I try to work on my self-confidence in training sessions and through additional training in the gym, so that I can go out onto the pitch with self-confidence and know that the opponent will definitely find it difficult playing against me.

It has always helped me with my injuries that I have then buried myself in strength training. You then just have an indescribable will to keep working.

Niclas Füllkrug

WERDER.DE: The sessions in the gym have clearly made you a lot more robust physically than in previous years. Have the injuries that you have had to fight back from again and again played their part in this?

Niclas Füllkrug: It has always helped me with my injuries that I have then buried myself in strength training. You then just have an indescribable will to keep working. Accordingly, I have always tried out lots of different ways to improve during this time. As well as strength training, there were also additional sessions in terms of match awareness and peripheral vision or also on different nutrition. Over this whole time, I’ve got to know myself better and have now found the perfect cocktail for how my body works best and what it can handle best. This has already made me stronger in this area than before.

WERDER.DE: Let’s take a big leap into the future now. Given your current condition, could you imagine yourself also playing in ten years time, so still playing in the Bundesliga into your early forties, like Claudio Pizarro did before?

Niclas Füllkrug: If my body allows it, yes. Definitely.

Niclas Füllkrug celebrating with his arms raised.

Niclas Füllkrug: I would like to play amateur football. I can imagine playing there at first and later then also watching it. Here, everything is still a bit more intimate, just completely honest football where it is just about playing football and money doesn’t really play a role. That’s what I really, really like about that level.

WERDER.DE: If we now come back to the present. What is special about Werder for you?

Niclas Füllkrug: I look forward to every home game. I have been able to experience it a few times from the stands now. The wohninvest WESERSTADION, along with the people that fill it, are just really something special. For me, it is one of the top stadiums in the league. If there is still a team on the pitch that tries its hardest then the games are always special, regardless of how they end up. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, in the top flight or second division, the stadium is always sold-out, so you can see that the fans are coming to watch us and not just to see the away team.

WERDER.DE: Many thanks for this conversation, Niclas.

Füllkrug was cheering on his team from the sidelines during the 4-2 win against Hertha BSC (Photo: nordphoto).

WERDER.DE: How hard is it for you at the moment not to be able to play your part and having to watch from the sidelines?

Niclas Füllkrug: It’s very tough for me at the moment, but I hope that this will change soon.

WERDER.DE: How do you try to influence things from the outside, from the stands or the bench?

WERDER.DE: Despite your absence, you have a very realistic chance of being the top scorer in the Bundesliga this season. When did that turn from a dream into a realistic goal for you?

WERDER.DE: You would still rank the name Niclas Füllkrug alongside Ailton, Basler or Völler. Klose was also the last Werder top scorer in 2006.