Rosenfelder representative Oermann: "The English have been warned"
Following the injury to Max Rosenfelder, Tim Oermann was called upon at short notice for the European Championship semifinal – and delivered. Just as he did in the group stage match against England, the team's final opponent on Saturday.
"You have to be prepared for anything": Tim Oermann (right) is expected to start in the European Championship final. Picture alliance / BEAUTIFUL SPORTS
Tim Lüddecke and Michael Pfeifer report from the U-21 European Championship in Slovakia
Suddenly, Tim Oermann had to be ready: Just eleven minutes had been played when he, somewhat unexpectedly, found himself on the pitch in the U-21 European Championship semifinal against France. After the already injured Max Rosenfelder fell to the ground at the corner flag, it immediately became clear that the central defender would be out of action.
This was followed by a corresponding signal to Oermann on the German bench: "Of course, your pulse goes up quickly," reported the 21-year-old, who subsequently experienced a "not so easy" personal cold start: "I was also pretty pumped in the first few minutes."
What helped the future Sturm Graz loanee defender against Mathys Tel & Co. were the clear procedures in the DFB selection: "It definitely felt good and I was quickly integrated."
Oermann: Between joy and compassionIn addition, Oermann was happy to be "allowed to play for a longer period of time" after the defender, who is under contract with his parent club Bayer Leverkusen, made his third substitute appearance of the tournament in the 3-0 win against France.
However, he felt just as much sympathy for Rosenfelder: "I told him that we won the game for him, too, and that I played for him personally," said Rosenfelder's representative. During the previous European Championship, he had already tried "to support him from the bench, too, because I think he's an incredibly good player and also an incredibly good guy."
In any case, Oermann is not worried that the SC Freiburg professional will be able to "return to his former form after his injury - because he is far too good for that."
"You have to be prepared for everything"The fact that Oermann is now likely to play a key role ahead of the final on Saturday evening in Bratislava (9 p.m., LIVE! on kicker) is, for Oermann, "part and parcel of a tournament like this," he explained: "That you have to be prepared for everything."
Now it's England again. In the third group match, the German team rotated all eleven positions due to their early quarterfinals – including Oermann, who made his only start in the European Championship so far, which was already a positive result given the 2-1 victory.
Oermann, who played confidently in this game, does not see any apparent advantage in this, but said: "I think the English have been warned. They respect us – but we also respect them."
