The 37-year-old former Germany forward grew up in the Polish city of Zabrze – then headed home to sign for Gornik in the summer of 2021
Sean Cole
INTERVIEW
After spending the past six years playing in Turkey and Japan, what was the motivation behind your move to Gornik Zabrze in 2021?
It was about following my heart and coming back home to my roots. This is where everything started. I’m from this city: I grew up next door to the stadium, I started playing football on the streets here and my whole family supports this club. When I played for other teams, I always had a dream to finish here. You can’t plan your career to the letter, but I feel really good and that’s why I chose to carry on playing. That’s why I’m here. It’s similar to when I rejoined FC Köln for a second spell [in 2009] – it’s about going back to help the club.
How have you found the experience of playing for Gornik so far? What have been the highlights?
Every day I’m here is a highlight for me, because I started playing football when I was a little kid and I’m still able to do it. I can do what I love every single day: go to training, be with the people and fight for three points, of course. I’ve loved doing that at every club, but here it’s special because this is my club – my parents are from here. To be able to say that I started here and finished here is the perfect story. I’ve seen a lot during my career – I’ve played at World Cups and European Championships and I’ve won titles at different clubs – and it was finally time to come back home.
How does the standard of football in the Ekstraklasa, Poland’s top flight, compare to the other leagues you have played in?
The standard is very good. There are many new stadiums in the first and second divisions, and the football is improving. But the potential is not yet there, as it is in other leagues. I’m not quite sure why that is when you have a country like Poland, with their huge passion for football, and when you’ve got a population of 40 million people, so you can squeeze more out of that for each club. But the league has made steps forward in the last few years.
What do you hope to achieve during your time with Gornik?
I’ll try to do my best here, but I can’t say, ‘We’ll finish in the top five or six’ because you can’t plan a season. The ambitions of every club are always so high, but we’re not a club that can say, ‘We will be the champions this year or next year’. It takes time to build a team and a club to fight for something more than mid-table.
What’s your relationship like with the Gornik fans?
Great. Not only
