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When, if not now?
The national team is always a time issue, and the stars seem to be favorable for Philipp Lienhart to finally get his first real A-team opportunity.
If the ÖFB legionnaire were the team leader at SC Freiburg, he would be in the starting eleven: “I think I would line up.”
Another answer would not be smart either. And there are arguments for actually being in the starting lineup at the start of qualifying for the World Cup in Scotland (Thursday, 8:45 pm on the LIVE ticker).
With Martin Hinteregger and Stefan Posch, two centrals are left out. Lienhart himself is playing a strong season in the eighth table of the German Bundesliga.
The Lower Austrian is seeded for Breisgauer and missed just 45 minutes this season. On Sunday he scored his fourth goal of the season in a 2-0 win over Augsburg. He was also nominated for the eleven “Kicker” of the day.
Unmatched door
“Of course, it is very nice to be able to join the national team with a win. Of course, I am also satisfied with the goal, of course. I am coming off a good run, the Freiburg team is playing well. Having 37 points and a situation nice ”, nothing Lienhart in the wave of euphoria.
It is no coincidence that he scores with remarkable regularity for a defender: “I tried to develop myself more and, of course, I also trained scorers in training.”
Prank Training Video
When it comes to his development, Lienhart logically cannot ignore one name: Christian Streich, Freiburg’s long-term coach.
Lienhart scores his fourth goal of the season against Ausgburg
Photo: © getty
“The video training sessions with Mr. Streich helped me a lot,” explains the 24-year-old, who has described his development process since moving to Freiburg in the summer of 2017 as follows:
“It is a growing process when you have been working with a team of coaches for a long time. The processes are becoming clearer and clearer, it is getting better and better. Then it is hard work in training and the experience of 73 games of the Bundesliga at this point. This is how I feel more developed. “
30 international matches for the U21
In the summer of 2014, Lienhart went from Rapid to Real Madrid offspring. Most football fans in Austria have known him at least since then.
As expected at the time, it managed to establish itself in one of the best leagues in adult soccer. In this way, he also gained experience in no less than 30 international Under-21 matches and served as captain of the year that played the final of the European Under-21 Championship in 2019.
The fact that Lienhart only has two A-internationals on his résumé may seem surprising, but it also shows how much time Aleksandar Dragovic and Hinteregger have spent at defense headquarters. If an alternative was needed, Posch usually came last.
So far, the Freiburg legionnaire has only had two rather insignificant A internationals. He made his debut in 2017 when he said goodbye to Marcel Koller in Moldova. Last fall, team boss Franco Foda allowed him 90 minutes in the test in Luxembourg, which was mostly completed in the second set.
Lienhart: “I’m ready”
Therefore, Lienhart switched between the Under 21s and the A-Team substitute bench over the years.
“I’m ready to face the competition here too,” Lower Austria said, knowing that they are not only in a good mood, but that the timing could also be favorable.
However, the team leader would decide and accept any decision. The blonde does not want to show impatience: “Of course I want to play, but all the players who come here want it. In the end, only eleven players and the few who enter can play. Of course, the coach tries to find the best line-up to find “.
You know the quality of Dragovic
This time it’s not a sure hit either, because Lienhart only admits to the fact that Dragovic is only given so little time in Leverkusen to a limited extent:
“Of course it is true that ‘Drago’ does not play much at the moment, but we all know the quality he has. There are also other quality players like Marco Friedl or Gernot Trauner. I am trying to prevail against them.”
“The dream would be to play internationally one day. But I’m not pushing myself. It doesn’t have to happen this summer or next.”
Given that Lienhart will miss the test of strength with Denmark because he has to travel back to Freiburg shortly after the Faroe Islands match due to local requirements in fighting pandemics, a deployment to Scotland would certainly be the long-awaited big opportunity. of the ÖFB. .
How is it going at the club level?
Regular international appearances would also be good for market value. Lienhart’s contract in Freiburg expires in 2022, but he has not yet been intensively concerned with his medium-term future:
“Actually, I don’t have a deadline here. I try to focus on the league. There are a lot of dates. After the Bundesliga comes the Euro. I don’t have enough time to think about that.”
However, the central defender does not hide a goal at the club level; I’d rather the international deadline be stressful for the league:
“The dream would be to play internationally one day. But I’m not putting pressure on myself. It doesn’t have to happen this summer or next. I just want to play well, then I’ll see how far it goes.” . “
Text as: © LAOLA1.at
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