Andreas Voglsammer: Between euphoria and a story of suffering

Finally a Bundesliga professional, bad luck with injuries and Corona - the special year for the 28-year-old from Dorfen.

Dorfen / Bielefeld - It wasn't all bad in the sporting year 2020. This is especially true for Andreas Voglsammer.

With his promotion to the Bundesliga, the Dorfener has fulfilled a lifelong dream.

On the other hand, he and his Bielefeld Arminen were not allowed to celebrate with the fans because of the corona pandemic.

And there is still his personal injury story: He cured his metatarsal fracture during the Corona break, injured again during the preparation for the season, then came back before calf problems slowed him down again.

We spoke to the 28-year-old about an extraordinary season and about the Bundesliga in general.

Mr. Voglsammer, was that the best football year of your life?

For sure.

After all, you don't get promoted to the Bundesliga every year.

But it was also a certain reward for our long hard work.

Of course it was a shame that we couldn't celebrate with our fans.

Which brings us to the corona pandemic.

How much has it changed your life?

Even if I don't know anyone personally who was infected: It changed everyone's way of life.

We've all strictly followed the rules and still do.

It is very gratifying that we have not yet had a single Corona case at Arminia.

The pandemic came at the worst time for your fans.

That we had to play without our audience was a huge shock at first.

Games without our fans, who support us so much - that was bitter.

But there was no alternative to that, and that's what happened to every team.

All traditional clubs are hit extremely hard when the fans are missing.

As an outsider, aren't you particularly disadvantaged in the Bundesliga?

Against the top clubs, the fans can maybe shout you to victory.

They can carry you at a home game, that's right.

But I don't want to claim that we won against Bayern or Dortmund in front of a full house.

With or without a spectator - two completely different games come out.

The support from the fans would certainly have been better for our performance, but there are many other things that have to fit against top teams.

How is it actually in normal away games?

Do you get piqued when opposing fans abuse you?

Hard to say.

I actually always focus on my game.

But when things go well, it can be really awesome when the stadium is against you.

To go back to the ghost games: I found something very interesting.

Namely?

That the claim that sometimes comes from the outside is not true that footballers don't talk to each other during the game.

Now you can clearly hear how coaching is being carried out from outside and inside.

The best example is Thomas Müller.

He talks 90 + x minutes.

Let's come back to what is probably the most beautiful football moment of the year.

What else do you think of of the celebrations?

It was an indescribable feeling.

It's a shame that we could only celebrate it within the team.

We would have loved to do that with our fans.

When did you realize that you would be a Bundesliga player next season?

In all honesty, it was already clear to me in December 2019.

In general, we were not trusted to do that.

After the winter break, we were predicted that we would break in.

But then we won against Bochum right away.

The same announcement by the media after the Corona break: We will break in.

Our answer: We haven't lost a single game.

Our appearance was so dominant that we weren't afraid of anyone.

Speaking of the corona break: you personally even benefited from it because you were able to heal your metatarsal fracture.

In a way, that's actually true.

I was there again from the moment the 2nd Bundesliga started again.

But of course you don't want that.

I would have much preferred a normal season with our fans and without the pandemic.

And then the preparations for the Bundesliga started.

And the old wound broke open again.

Don't you despair at some point?

Under no circumstance.

It was the very first week of training.

And I thought: Okay, you have five weeks left now.

Better now than straight to the start of the Bundesliga.

I was at peace with myself relatively quickly.

But the same injury again ...

We looked at the x-rays.

It had nothing to do with the January injury.

What happened there was a stupid coincidence that happened on a difficult place with a dull lawn.

Let's get to the Bundesliga: After a decent start, there were several defeats.

How did that affect the mood in the team?

I took care of my rehab during these weeks, so I wasn't that close to the team.

But as far as I could tell, the mood wasn't bad.

You have now sniffed a little Bundesliga air.

What is different than in the 2nd division?

I've had three short assignments so far, after which I had to pause again because of muscular problems with my calf.

So I don't want to say much about that.

And the three missions weren't normal games either.

Rather?

Well, against Leverkusen we conceded the 1: 2 in the 89th minute.

Then I came in and there were only long balls flying around to compensate.

It was similar with the 1: 2 in Leipzig.

And when we beat Mainz we had to defend our lead - so long balls again.

But one thing is already clear: the pace is much faster.

What I also noticed: Every team absolutely trusts the quality of their players.

With the win against Schalke, hope probably came back.

We didn't lose hope before either.

If you look at the games so far, then we just didn't have a chance against Bayern and Union.

Otherwise we were always close.

Even against Leverkusen, Leipzig and Dortmund, which won because of two standards, there was something in it.

We just have to use our chances.

We don't have to make ourselves smaller than we are.

You have a chance against everyone.

There is no team in the Bundesliga this year that has not weakened before.

Even Bayern.

You have already mentioned your recent injury.

How is it currently?

I hope to get back into team training in the next two weeks.

Your wish for the sporting year 2021?

That we keep the class with the Arminia.

And that I stay injury-free so that I can help the team again as I did in the promotion season.