First Bundesliga goal and win for Florian Flick

Having checked his phone after the match, Flick realised that he hadn’t been dreaming. “I had a few more messages on my phone than normal,” grinned the first-time scorer. For Flick, it was a dream come true to score his first goal in the German top flight. However, one thing was even more important to the 21-year-old: “The most important thing was that we played well as a team and beat a very good opposing team.”

For Flick, who played the full 90 minutes in midfield just as he did against TSG Hoffenheim and Hertha BSC, it was not only his first goal, but also his first win. “We could have picked up points in the other two games as well, but right now I’m just delighted that we won,” said the Mannheim native after the 4-3 victory over Eintracht. “We worked well together as a team, gave it everything we had, and got the result we wanted.”

He didn’t think too much about his goal, reveals Flick. “When Matthew Hoppe played the ball to me, I just said to myself that I wanted to put it in. The way that it worked out so well was an incredible feeling.” Just a few minutes before his goal that made it 3-2, another player from the U23s had also scored – Blendi Idrizi. “He scored in his second Bundesliga game and I scored in my third, which is amazing. I’m so happy for Blendi,” said Flick.

A busy week

Both U23s players had a busy week leading up to the match on Saturday. “A few weeks ago, I couldn’t have imagined that I would be playing in a Bundesliga match at the VELTINS-Arena and that I would score as we picked up three points,” said Flick, who has also made 33 appearances for the U23s in the Regionalliga West this season.

He and the other youngsters have been warmly welcomed by the older players into the first team dressing room, reports Flick. “The experienced players have helped us a lot, given us tips, and made us feel that we belong there right from the beginning.”