"It was pure emotion"
Once his shot had crossed the line, there was no more holding back for Wilfried Kanga. Hertha’s number 18 sprinted towards the Ostkurve, jumping effortlessly over the advertising hoardings behind the goal, before celebrating with the fans. The winning goal in the 2-1 win against Schalke was his first competitive goal for the club. “I just kept running and let my feelings out, it was pure emotion that broke free,” reported the attacker, who described the goal as “the rewards for our work together” with his teammates. The 24-year-old spoke to herthabsc.com about what approach Hertha need to pick up points against SV Werder, how his phone was completely blown up on Sunday evening and how strongly he already feels at home in Berlin.
herthabsc.com: Willy, to kick us off: How many messages did you have on your phone when you looked after the Schalke game on Sunday evening?
Kanga: Oof, I didn’t count… (smiles). But it was loads, I received a lot of congratulations and supportive words. I was unbelievably happy about that and it rounded off a beautiful moment.
herthabsc.com: Relating to that, with a bit more distance from it now, can you tell us what was running through your head after your winning goal? You kept running straight in the direction of the Ostkurve after being through on goal...
Kanga: … Honestly in this moment I was really not thinking about too much (laughs). When you score a goal after such a long time, and above all such an important goal, and then also at home – it releases so much inside of you. I just kept running and let my feelings out, it was pure emotion that broke free!
herthabsc.com: Your teammates were really pleased for you and lots of them emphasised how much they thought you deserve praise for how you played and for the result. Do you also feel this support behind you in your day-to-day work with the team and the coaching team?
Kanga: The staff, the coach, my teammates – they have all been behind me, always pushed me forwards and always believed in me. This has also made it easier for me to keep believing in myself and in my abilities. As a result, I’ve kept going and have just kept working away. I knew that it would happen for me at some point and exactly that has happened. I have the group to thank for that, because they have always offered me support and helped me get better every day. The goal was the reward for our work together – and I would like to help the team by scoring more goals! To do that means staying focussed, working hard and at the same time always believing in your own abilities – this is important, especially for an attacker! With a certain amount of self-confidence and the necessary hard-work you will get chances. I am certain about that.
[>]I have the group to thank for that because they have always offered me support and helped me get better every day. Now, I would like to help the team by scoring more goals![<]
herthabsc.com: Looking now at your first few weeks here with us. How at home do you feel at the club, in the team and in the city?
Kanga: Thankfully really at home already! It is important that my family, my kids are here with me and we feel really comfortable together in our apartment, which helps me enormously. I also feel really at home in the team. We have a great working environment and a really good atmosphere; we joke together but also are really focussed on our work at the same time. We need to keep exactly this kind of togetherness as a group.
herthabsc.com: Berlin is not completely new to you, you told us in the summer that you have been here before – have you found a few new favourite spots in the city in your first few weeks?
Kanga: I couldn’t name one particular place, but I try to discover and look around the city as much as possible with my wife and our children. We are really happy here in general because there is so much to see but also quiet corners. This varity, with this amount of opportunities is brilliant! I also have found the people that I have met in Berlin to be really nice. We are happy here!
herthabsc.com: Recently you have built a strike partnership on the pitch with Stevan Jovetić, after having played as a lone striker at the beginning of the season. which role do you like more and can you explain to us how your game changes when you are playing alongside someone else up top?
Kanga: (considers briefly) A preference is perhaps too strong – at the end of the day it is down to me to put in place what the coach and his team want from me. But with a second striker alongside me there is obviously more space in the middle of the pitch, because the opposition defence is not able to just concentrate on me and we have shorter distances for our passing play. We can also then switch a bit, one of us drops deep and then we have more total variations to our play, in order to occupy the defence – I like that!
herthabsc.com: If we now turn our attention to the task ahead. On Friday, the team is already back in action in Bremen. How does the short training week influence your preparation for Werder?
Kanga: The content of training doesn’t really chance but obviously it is more important than at other times to best use the time we have to prepare. We have to put the hard work in to be at our best and to be ready to claim the three points!
herthabsc.com: Bremen have been strong away from home but have been struggling a bit at home. How do you have to go about the game in order to take the points back with you to Berlin?
Kanga: We need to be on to them from the beginning, figuratively speaking go for the jugular, and put Werder under pressure on the pitch. We can’t give the Werder players any time to get into the game, then there will be something in it for us!