Weghorst: "I've always been different"

Wout Weghorst would probably have never made it in professional football without his ambition and determination. But the 31-year-old has achieved his childhood dream of playing in the Premier League and the World Cup, even though he was still kicking around on village pitches at the age of 18. The striker, who joined Hoffenheim from Burnley in the summer, has spoken to TSG monthly magazine SPIELFELD, giving an honest insight into his complicated route to the top and discussing his conflict with Lionel Messi at the 2022 World Cup.

Whereas most footballers nowadays arrive in the professional game optimally prepared thanks to talent centres and academies, Wout Weghorst was still going from village to village at the age of 18. "Of course, you do think about it then," the 1.97-metre-tall Dutchman revealed, adding: "It was a different path, but it was my path. I've always believed that I'd be able to get to where I wanted to be through hard work and great effort. He was already 21 when he made his Eredivisie debut, but scored in his first game and realised he had arrived at the top. "I was told very often that I wouldn't make it and that I wasn't good enough. I was always different, different to others," said Weghorst, who revealed his motto: "If you want something, you can achieve it." And he has achieved a lot: an outstanding goal ratio in the Bundesliga, many appearances in Manchester United's starting line-up last season and the highest levels in the iconic orange jersey of his homeland.

But the 2022 World Cup, which Weghorst describes as the "absolute highlight" of his career, will also be remembered for his conflict with Lionel Messi. "I see it as a compliment that such a great player was upset with me, I earned that on the pitch through my performance," said the Dutchman, who scored twice against Argentina in the quarter-finals and also converted his spot-kick in the penalty shootout against the eventual world champions.

Stephan Lerch, the head coach and sporting director of the TSG women, was also interviewed in the latest SPIELFELD. The 39-year-old is heading into his first full season as the team's coach and is hoping to continue the development of women's football at TSG. "We've implemented many steps at short notice that are paying dividends for the players. It's not about gaining 10% through one action, but about getting better across the board by making many small improvements," Lerch said.

In addition, a lot of other exciting and informative content awaits the readers in the current SPIELFELD magazine: there's a profile of Grischa Prömel, Attila Szalai speaks about his Hungarian homeland in the "Fact or fake" section and Ihlas Bebou fields questions in our "No Comment" series without uttering a single word. In addition, U23 assistant coach Aytaç Sulu reveals his most beautiful kit, which he just so happened to wear against TSG Hoffenheim. In addition, there is a tour of the region and its numerous villages, while the new arrivals all signed mascot Hoffi's Book of Friends. There are 104 pages full of exciting insights related to TSG.