Interview with FCH goalscorer
©IMAGO
Contrary to all expectations, 1. FC Heidenheim has managed to stay in the Bundesliga. “Come to stay,” was the slogan of a choreography by the FCH fans during the 4:1 win against 1. FC Cologne on the last matchday, which saw the promoted team climb to eighth place – meaning they will qualify for the European Cup if Bayer Leverkusen win the DFB Cup final. Before the Cologne match, Heidenheim’s top scorer Tim Kleindienst spoke to Transfermarkt about the sensational relegation, his goal tally, his sporting future, teammate Jan-Niklas Beste and the German national team.
Transfer market: Mr. Kleindienst, you once described Heidenheim’s promotion as the biggest Bundesliga sensation of recent years. What then is the safe relegation?
Tim Kleindienst: Nobody thought we could do it! But it’s even better that it worked out. I think we also benefited to some extent from the fact that there were four or five teams up front who scored extremely well and seemed to have won everything. Normally, with our number of points, you wouldn’t be where we are now; we’re actually a few points short. That made it easier for us to get away from the relegation zone.
Transfer market: Until the end of October, things weren’t looking so good in terms of results: six defeats, two wins and one draw. The Bundesliga seemed a bit too big for Heidenheim at that point. Was that your impression too?
Small service: Yes… After the first few games, we didn’t think we could stay in the league. We noticed how big the difference was between the second and first division and the quality of our opponents. We couldn’t afford to make any more mistakes, otherwise we would be punished. We learned from that and got stronger during the season. We improved, we developed and were able to keep up with the times. We felt that, but so did the other teams. It became increasingly unpleasant to play against us.
Transfer market: At the end of the first half of the season, Heidenheim’s season could have taken a different course, but then they remained unbeaten in eight games in a row, winning four of them. Why was FCH so strong immediately before and after the winter break?
Small service: Because we got going. There’s a push when you start a series. We picked up a lot of points during that time to pull away. We wanted to defend the buffer we had built up – everyone knew that was our job. If we hadn’t scored so many points back then, I don’t want to know where we would have been at the end of the season.
Transfer market: While the second promoted team, Darmstadt 98, basically turned its squad inside out for the Bundesliga, Heidenheim only made isolated reinforcements and managed to keep its key players. Was that also a key to success?
Small service: Definitely! It was extremely important that the framework remained intact. We all knew each other, we were promoted together. We know how difficult it can be with new players. They have to get used to the style of play, get used to the intensity… that’s not something that happens automatically overnight. It can take a whole season to achieve that. And then it can already be too late.
Transfer market: Heidenheim’s greatest achievement was the 3-2 win against FC Bayern at the beginning of April – after being 2-0 down. You scored a brace. How high does this game rank in the personal highlights of your career?
Small service: It’s something special, of course! Beating Bayern Munich at home as a newly promoted team is extraordinary. But I hope we play against them a few more times so that it doesn’t have to remain something special. (laughs) We played against them at two very good times: In the first half of the season we were not clever enough to take advantage of that, but in the second half we saw that we could play well against them and be successful.
Transfer market: The Voith Arena is the smallest stadium in the league, there is a legendary kiosk on the edge of the pitch and then the opponents are suddenly called FC Bayern, Bayer Leverkusen or Borussia Dortmund. What kind of image is it when such clubs play in Heidenheim – 50,000 inhabitants, mind you?
Small service: It’s something very special for the club, for the fans and for the region. It’s great that teams like this come here. In the past, no one really expected that something like this would happen one day – but it’s possible. We’ve shown it, other teams can take an example from us. We don’t have as much financial means as the others or play the most beautiful football, but we’ve still managed to stay in the league with ease.
Tim Kleindienst: “We need to get to the point where we can show a broader facet”
Transfer market: If you could write the next chapter in Heidenheim’s fairytale after promotion and staying in the league, what would happen in it?
Small service: I would simply write it in such a way that the story continues as positively as it has so far begun. (laughs)
Transfer market: Now Heidenheim is facing its notoriously difficult second year. What will it come down to?
Small service: We need to get to the point where we can show a broader range of facets, particularly in terms of building up the game and transition play. I also think the second year is so difficult because key players often move to bigger clubs and these departures have to be compensated for. So we probably need to make good, quality transfers in order to be able to keep up in the Bundesliga in the long term. It certainly won’t get any easier.
I think there are not many players who have a playing style like mine.
Transfer market: In May 2023, you said on Transfermarkt that it wasn’t that easy to score goals in the Bundesliga – now you’ve scored twelve goals and provided five assists. How big was the difference compared to the second division?
Small service: It’s something completely different: you’re playing against world-class central defenders or world-class teams that do it really well. Leverkusen, Bayern, Leipzig, Dortmund… they’re a different caliber compared to the second division. We didn’t have to make the game, but could focus on transition situations. That’s how we scored a lot of goals. We didn’t tell ourselves that we had to play everyone into the wall – we can’t do that. It was important that we could identify with what we’re capable of. We implemented that well, especially the strength of set pieces that we’d already shown in the second division.
Transfer market: In the eyes of your coach Frank Schmidt, you are one of the best strikers in the league. Do you agree with him?
Small service: It is not up to me to judge that, but it is a special honor when the coach says that. It is a great thing for me that it can work out the same way in the Bundesliga. I was the top scorer in the second division last season with 25 goals, but I could have only scored two or three this time. But I was able to maintain my form and am high up in the list of goalscorers. I don’t think there are many players who have a style of play like me – but I think that will come back and the classic number nine will become more present again.
Tim Kleindienst: “When offers come in, you always look at them”
Transfer market: According to your own statements, you looked intensively at offers last summer, your contract runs until 2027 and there is speculation about an exit clause. Can you imagine seeing anything other than Heidenheim at almost 29 years old?
Small service: I can imagine that, of course, but whether it makes sense is another question. When offers come in, you always look at them, that’s in the nature of a footballer. Everyone strives for the maximum in their career, and I’m no different. Looking doesn’t do any harm, but you have to stick to yourself and see what you have. Unfortunately, you don’t get any younger, so you have to weigh up what fits and what doesn’t. The move to Belgium (2020 for KAA Gent; d. Ed.) wasn’t good, but it was an experience that I took with me and it was important to experience something like that.
Transfer market: This season, Jan-Niklas Beste has replaced you as Heidenheim’s top scorer, and his performance has exploded. What is your explanation for this?
Small service: He was able to show his game extremely well in the Bundesliga, his qualities were really evident. That inspired him. Of course, he also benefited from the fact that we are so strong at set pieces. I think that he got a huge push over time – and then you get into a flow, you think: Great, a lot is going well at the moment, I’m trying out a lot, maybe more than usual. Then you just slam a free kick into the corner. (laughs)
Transfer market: National coach Julian Nagelsmann did not include a Heidenheim player in his nomination for the European Championships. Beste was called up to the DFB team in March and, among the German strikers, only Deniz Undav, Maximilian Beier and Kai Havertz scored more goals than you. Should Nagelsmann have stopped by Heidenheim?
Small service: Unfortunately, I never saw him here. (laughs) You only get into the national team through performance, which is why Julian Nagelsmann couldn’t avoid inviting Niki at least. Whether he is taken to the European Championships or not is another matter. But it’s nice to see what is possible for a smaller club like Heidenheim. Why not next season too? It all depends on performance.
Transfer market: In the meantime, the question of a striker in the German team was unresolved, with only Niclas Füllkrug considered a certainty. There was a vacuum behind him, with players like Kevin Behrens and Marvin Ducksch being nominated. How close do you think you were or are to making the national team?
Small service: It’s difficult to shine as a striker for a newly promoted team so that you get into the national team – before a European Championship, mind you. On top of that, there were only international matches in March, so no other dates for experiments. I was never called, so I don’t know how close I was or am. Or whether I was even spoken about. It’s a dream, of course, but there’s no point in getting your hopes up or thinking about it too much – that would be counterproductive. The best thing is to stick to yourself, show your performances and be at peace with yourself. If an invitation comes, it would be something special.
Transfer market: How will you follow the European Championships at home and what do you think the German team can do?
Small service: In any case, I am not in the stadium, I didn’t get any tickets – like many others, I failed miserably when it came to buying tickets… (laughs) I would have liked to have seen it live, Stuttgart and Munich are not far away. But I’m watching it on TV, maybe I’ll set something up in the garden with a few friends and then we’ll keep our fingers crossed. Even if things haven’t been going so well recently, you should never write off Germany. We are a strong nation, we have good players and above all some who are in form, like Deniz Undav. There’s always something in it for us. The important thing is to start with a sense of success in order to get into the flow. I hope that everyone is excited about the tournament enough to be able to win it.
Interview: Pascal Martin (p_martin)
2024-05-25 07:58:00
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