National team: Füllkrug and Duksch – reunion of the “ugly birds”

It was mid-January 2022. Werder Bremen, where Niclas Füllkrug was still employed at the time, was about to play a game in the second division against SC Paderborn. Füllkrug was sitting at a press conference two days earlier when he was asked what nickname he would spontaneously give to his congenial strike partner Marvin Ducksch and himself. The duo was on a roll back then and caused a stir: Füllkrug had seven goals and six assists at that time, Ducksch had ten goals and six assists.

Füllkrug, visibly surprised, thought about the question a little. “I would rather use a word like that,” he began. “But nothing that combines the names,” he continued: “I have no idea,” he started again, “anything that describes us. A synonym.” Short pause. “The ugly birds maybe.” He smiled – and many of the media representatives in the auditorium also smiled.

On Tuesday, more than a year and a half later, the self-proclaimed “ugly birds” sat together on the podium in the media room on the campus of the German Football Association (DFB) in Frankfurt. Füllkrug, who now plays for BVB and has been a national player since the end of last year, and Ducksch, who will be appointed by new national coach Julian Nagelsmann for the first time for the upcoming international matches against Turkey on Saturday (8.45 p.m./RTL) and on Tuesday against Austria (8.45 p.m./ZDF ) was called up to the DFB squad.

Marvin Ducksch (l.) is about to make his debut, Niclas Füllkrug (r.) has already played eleven international matches

Source: dpa

They were in a good mood. And they quickly let it be known how well they got along, whether on or off the pitch. Behind them was a training session in which the injured Leon Goretzka and Mats Hummels were missing, and in which almost 100 fans were allowed to watch – as well as the media representatives present, who are normally only allowed to do so for 15 minutes. At the beginning, when it was time for the national players to stretch and warm up, music was playing in the background. For the playlist, which includes “Still DRE” by Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg or “Can’t stop” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nagelsmann also provided two requested songs. One of them: “Success is not luck” by Kontra K. A song that says, among other things: “… And even if the rest give up, you have to bite hard. Hang in there, tense up and hold your ground…”

Füllkrug’s criticism of Terzic

Lines that obviously appeal very much to Nagelsmann – and which, if you project them onto his task, into working with the national team, could be symbolic for the coming months until the home European Championships in 2024. A tournament in which Nagelsmann aims for the greatest possible success. And with Nicals Füllkrug, if the 30-year-old striker doesn’t get injured or slip into a dip in form by then, he should have his place in the squad secure. After all, he has already scored nine goals in just eleven international matches. A remarkable quota. It remains to be seen whether Marvin Ducksch, 29, will also be there as another striker.

also read

It was a special week, reported the Werder striker, in which he was told on the sidelines of a training session to always keep his cell phone on in the coming days. That’s what he did until he received a call from a number he didn’t recognize – that of Julian Nagelsmann. He was very happy about the nomination and needed a little time to realize the whole thing before he contacted Niclas Füllkrug, who was sitting to his right on Tuesday. “I’ll be honest, I was kind of hoping and expecting him to get a call. You can tell he has a lot of self-confidence. He’s doing a good job and is in good shape,” said Füllkrug, before answering questions about the nickname he created. “Ugly birds goes international,” said the Dortmund native with a smile on his face. “I said that back then and also picked up a small grater for it,” he added and looked at Ducksch: “But we can laugh about it. That’s our way.”

also read

As demanding as the previous training was, the striker duo’s performance at the press conference afterwards was just as good. Open, direct, always with a funny saying. As a striker, you would enjoy the fact that after years in which football relied on the “false nine” in attack, i.e. on players, as Füllkrug put it, some of whom were short and had good technicians, now it would be in go the other way again. Towards the classic center forward.

“I’m happy when players like Haaland or Kane are world stars and children buy their jerseys because it’s just nice to score goals,” said Füllkrug. In unison, he and Ducksch referred to their experience – and to their position, which would improve with age. They would also benefit from the training, which has continued to develop and become better in recent years. “That helps us a lot,” said Füllkrug – and briefly took the opportunity on Tuesday to correct something regarding statements made last weekend. Critical words he said following the 1-2 loss at VfB Stuttgart were interpreted as criticism of coach Edin Terzić. Füllkrug reported that he sought contact with the coach on his own initiative and said that it was not his intention to criticize the coach. “It’s not my place to criticize the coach. I’ve never done that before. I’m pleased that I was able to clarify that now,” said Füllkrug – and turned his thoughts back to the national team.

Two strikers who value each other

It is questionable whether they will have the opportunity to play together on the pitch like they once did in Bremen. “It’s not unknown that we have a few good midfielders in our ranks here,” said Füllkrug with a wink. They definitely enjoyed training together on Tuesday. Especially Ducksch, who said that although some things were new to him, he learned quickly. “I have a very risky game and am a bit of a free spirit,” he said about his style of play. “I try to develop the game forward quickly and with few contacts,” added the Werder attacker, about whom national coach Nagelsmann had said in relation to his nomination that he would give the national team a special touch. “We want to see how Marvin does it – I’m in good spirits,” said Nagelsmann, “because he has a good flow. And he also brings a good level of crazy, which we need too.” When Ducksch was asked about Nagelsmann’s comments and the word “crazy” was mentioned, he had to wait a moment before answering because Füllkrug beat his colleague to it and said with a smile into the microphone: “Crazy, yes.”

National coach Julian Nagelsmann (r.) and assistant coach Sandro Wagner observe the national team’s training on the DFB campus

Source: dpa/Arne Dedert

There were two football professionals sitting next to each other on Tuesday who didn’t just harmonize on the pitch. They like each other, they value each other. Füllkrug reported that Ducksch came to Bremen at a time – he moved from Hannover 96 to Werder in 2021 – when things weren’t going so well for him. Nevertheless, there was never a big idea of ​​competition. Of course there would have been friction at times. “But friction creates new energy,” said Füllkrug: “It was always positive. We created memories together on the court.”

The strikers and the rest of the national team will be in Frankfurt until Friday before heading to Berlin for the game against Turkey. The game in the Olympic Stadium is almost sold out with 75,000 spectators, only a few tickets are still available to see the German national team after the 3-1 against the USA and the 2-2 against Mexico in the third game under the direction of Nagelsmann to follow close.

also read