Thursday, November 4th, 2021
Will Burkardt storm into the DFB team?
Faster to Flick than in the faux pas
The team is one of the big surprises of the current season: FSV Mainz 05 is currently in 5th place in the Bundesliga table. One of them stands out: Jonathan “Jonny” Burkardt. Who is the top talent?
If the fans of 1. FSV Mainz 05 are cheering these days, the chances are good that Jonathan Burkardt is responsible. Last weekend, the 21-year-old attacker shone again and shot the Mainz team to a 2-1 win at Arminia Bielefeld. The 1.81-meter-tall right-footed player scored for the fifth time in the last four competitive games. In total, Burkardt now has five goals this season in the Bundesliga, plus three goals each in the DFB Cup and for the U21 national team in the European Championship qualification.
His latest achievements have now put the captain of the German U21 on the radar of national coach Hansi Flick. The blond boy is not deterred by this and thinks – be careful, phrase – from game to game. Because already in the evening it is against Bayern-Schreck Borussia Mönchengladbach: “Then I want to play a good game again and score a goal.” So that the fans of the 05er can cheer again, as with the three successes against Augsburg (4: 1) in the league, against Bielefeld in the cup (3: 2 after extra time) and in the league game at Arminia (2: 1).
The hype surrounding his person apparently leaves Burkardt indifferent. Experts say the top talent could be one of the next debutants in the DFB team. Before the game with the FSV against Gladbach Flick announced at noon the line-up for the World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein on November 11 in Wolfsburg and on November 14 in Armenia. According to “Kicker”, the Mainz-based player should help secure the European Championship ticket for the U21 team. The jump to the senior team could follow later.
Flick’s presence is “a minor matter”
With ten scorer points in twelve games, Burkardt has a noticeably large share in the Mainz soaring this season, who surprisingly find themselves in fifth place in the table after ten game days. “Scored another goal and won three games as a team in the English week. That is outstanding,” he said after the game in Bielefeld. “Development is going well, I can’t complain.” And the next stage is already on the horizon.
In the game against FC Augsburg two weeks ago – when Flick was sitting in the stands – Burkardt snapped twice at 4: 1. “We are in a good position and I am in focus – but that has no effect,” emphasized the Darmstadt native. The presence of Flick at his double is a “nice minor matter. What is more important to me is that we won.”
This professional attitude is also reflected in his behavior off the field. He tries to always stay focused, which also includes avoiding social networks like Facebook or Twitter – because he “doesn’t want to dive into this illusory world”, how he explains his abstinence, which is quite unusual in football circles. In this way he avoids the faux pas that other young stars in the professional business of football are only too happy to jump into. Careless statements, piquant details from private life, escapades far away from the grass: Burkardt has never had any of this before, so it offers little attack surface and the focus is on the sporty.
Resistance makes him better
It was not always easy for “Jonny”: At the age of 17 he suffered a serious injury and then has problems making the connection with the professionals, said coach Bo Svensson recently in the ZDF sports studio. “That resistance made him better and will make him better. That is the key to the young player that we are talking about in such high notes.”
But now he is an indispensable part of the team. Last season, with 29 appearances, he played a major role in the club’s long-seemingly unthinkable relegation. He also caused a sensation in the U21 national team and won the European Championship title in June. During the tournament he came off the bench as one of the younger ones in the squad, and now he’s even captain of the most important junior team at the DFB.
The offensive all-rounder is characterized above all by his strong dribbling and high speed. In addition, the 21-year-old plays very helpful to the team, conquering many balls as a striker. For a long time, however, there was a lack of graduation. Now that the efficiency is finally right in front of the goal, nothing stands in the way of the next step in your career. And maybe it will escalate on social media.