SJonathan Burkardt accepted a managerial position in the German U-21 national team with the same unexcited self-evidence as his professional mission as a reliable goalscorer at 1. FSV Mainz 05. “Jonny felt the captain’s armband do him good,” says his association coach Antonio Di Salvo about the precocious Hessian , who, thanks to his talent, discovered the joy of playing football at SV Darmstadt 98 and has lived it out more effectively from year to year at the Rheinhessen Bundesliga club since 2014.
Someone like him, who talks about himself and his assignments or abilities in a sonorous voice and with an inner sense of balance, has never allowed himself to be dazzled by the limelight in which he stands week after week. Whether as the U-21 European champions in 2021, whether as a reliable supplier of goals for his club with eleven goals in the past season, whether as the leader of the current U-21 selection of the German Football Association (DFB), whether as a highly traded candidate in spe the senior national team: Burkardt goes his way undeterred and free of vanity.
Guarantee of success in the European Championship qualification
This was also the case with the two most recent victories of the DFB’s oldest team, i.e. the 4-1 win in Osnabrück over Hungary, to which he contributed a goal, and the 2-1 win in Lodz early on Tuesday evening when his 17-year-old Dortmund striker colleague Youssoufa Moukoko was the focus of attention thanks to his two goals scored in a spur of the moment decision.
Burkardt played from start to finish both times and was a guarantee that Di Salvo’s team was able to qualify for the EURO 2023 finals in Georgia and Romania on the penultimate matchday. “As a seasoned player and as a captain, he can exert more influence, and he also demands that,” says his association coach about the eleven-time goalscorer for the U21s, who, when Moukoko is the central attacker, is more active as a hanging striker or as a right winger Is on the way.
Di Salvo, as the successor to the communication professional Stefan Kuntz, like his model student Burkardt, is not inclined to snappy jokes, knows that his leader “has drawn attention to himself with his achievements” and believes “that there are considerations,” someone like that To promote the 1.81 meter long Mainz sprinter, duel and executor to the senior team.
Even then, Di Salvo would probably not have to do without Burkardt when the U-21 European Championship finals are due next summer, since the elite squad of national coach Hansi Flick will not be required to play in a major tournament again until 2024 at the European Championship in their own country.
“Pull the boys along and lead the way”
Burkardt himself, always anchored in the here and now, saw part one of the current U-21 mission in Osnabrück as a complete success. “We managed the first stage very confidently,” he said after qualifying for the EM finals in 2023. He was also a little proud of his first experiences as a recognizable leader of his team. “I believe that I can pull the boys along and lead the way,” he defined his natural claim to leadership as a young man with a armband.
The way he grabbed the jersey of a sorely missed colleague after his penalty goal in Osnabrück to make it 2-0, demonstrating to the spectators and showing the team sympathy for Manuel Mbom from Bremen, who had been missing for months after a torn Achilles tendon, was a lovely gesture of togetherness. “He’s a super guy that we all really appreciate,” Burkardt said of the SV Werder full-back.
Praise from Herrmann Gerland
On his own behalf, the Mainz center forward has accepted his somewhat different role in the association jersey without grumbling. “I play what the coach tells me to do. That’s fun for me.” And that’s what it looked like when Jonathan Burkardt initiated the offensive actions with his deep runs or helped out on the defensive with his tackle strength. Hermann Gerland, for many years junior head coach or head coach assistant at FC Bayern Munich and now an important assistant in Di Salvo’s coaching team, says about Burkardt, who would love to be European U-21 champion again: “He’s just smart, smart about football.”
And because he is so smart, the young professional who is being courted can imagine staying a little longer with Mainz to continue to mature there. Jonathan Burkardt feels, as he said in an interview with the Sky TV channel, “super comfortable” with the 05ers. “I just got a super coach – Bo Svensson – and a lot of match practice. I appreciate that very much.” Although every player “strives to get as high as possible”, “you also have to be aware of what you have at the moment”. And with that, this Realo, who doesn’t tend to make cheeky statements, is currently “very satisfied” with fantastic prospects.
