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News from Betzenberg
Photo: Imago Images
“It was definitely very hectic,” says Jacob Rasmussen, looking back on his turbulent days at the end of last week: On Thursday he had to travel with RB Salzburg to the Europa League game at Aston Villa. On Friday we went straight to Kaiserslautern: arrival, medical check, contract signing, first training session. And on Saturday the first appearance for the FCK, initially only as a substitute for 15 minutes, when the defeat against Elversberg was practically sealed when they were outnumbered. The contact to Kaiserslautern came about – as DBB already suspected – through sports director Marcel Klos, with whom Rasmussen worked at Vitesse Arnheim in the 2021/22 season. “I spoke to Marcel several times during the transfer window. We know each other from before and have always had a bit of contact. He only told me good things about Kaiserslautern.”
“Of course the goal is to play in the Bundesliga at some point”
But another important companion was also a deciding factor in Jacobssen’s decision in favor of FCK: his player agent is Bjarne Goldbaek, who was a Red Devil himself 35 years ago and became German champion, crowd favorite and goalscorer against Barcelona. Lautern’s new Dane talks about his compatriot, but also about himself: “My advisor used to play here too. He told me about the culture here. And I just like that. I’ve played in Germany myself (at Schalke, St. Pauli and Aue; editor’s note). I like the football here, I like the atmosphere. I’m happy to be here and look forward to the next time – it was the right decision for me.”
“I quickly got a great impression of the team, of the whole scenery, of the city,” reports the 28-year-old of his first perception of his new surroundings. At FCK he is supposed to strengthen the defense, which has improved compared to previous seasons but is still too vulnerable. Will he be the Red Devils’ new defense chief? “It’s not a bad thing if we have several bosses. It doesn’t have to be just one. In a team, many players have to take responsibility.”
However, Rasmussen’s goal is clear: sooner or later promotion to the Bundesliga. If everything goes perfectly, maybe this season. And otherwise next year. The left-footed central defense player FCK has been looking for for a long time says: “At the moment it’s just going from game to game. But everyone also knows: Kaiserslautern is a huge club. It’s also a club with Bundesliga potential. The season is still long, there’s still a lot of points to be played. Clearly, the goal, not just of me but of all the players, is to play in the Bundesliga at some point. We want to give everything and try everything. That definitely won’t be easy. There are also other teams in the second division. Bundesliga who want to get promoted.” x
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