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Kjell Wätjen: flying high but staying grounded
Wätjen arrives for the meeting a little later than agreed. But for a good reason: the training session ran a little long. It was an important training session ahead of two special games. The 18-year-old had only just played in the final of the German U19 Championship against Hoffenheim – followed just 48 hours later by a call-up to the first team squad for the Champions League final against Real Madrid. A new experience for the youngster.
He can look back on a year of firsts: first European Championship title (with the U17s), first appearance for the first team (in pre-season), first match in the UEFA Youth League, first time wearing the captain’s armband for the U19s – and since the beginning of the calendar year: first training camp with the first team, first Champions League squad, first Bundesliga squad, first professional contract and finally his debut ̈in the Bundesliga. To boil it down to locations, it would be Budapest, Marbella, Berlin, Paris, London... And alongside that, sometimes even at the same time: school and A-levels.
So it's no wonder that Kjell Wätjen is two days out when asked what day of the week it is (Wednesday instead of Friday) and four days out when guessing the date. "There is a fair bit of going on at the moment – in football and at school," says the 18-year-old, immediately producing a sentence that shows how wonderfully calmly and pragmatically he looks at and tackles things: "Of course, it's stressful, but when it's over, I'll miss the time when there was a lot going on."
Kjell, with all the experiences, with all the impressions, do you still have time to enjoy it? Can you take in everything that’s happening at the moment?
"Definitely. When I lie in bed in the evening or sit home on a plane, I think: ‘What is going on here right now?’ It's pretty serious. It was like a switch was flipped, then everything started happening and now it's coming thick and fast."
At least it sounds like you can actually fall asleep.
"That's actually really good. When you’re feeling good, you generally fall asleep more easily. And honestly, I'm not someone who gets caught up in my thoughts."
Speaking of thoughts: take us on the bus taking the first team to the stadium in Mainz ̈– just one year after you played the U19s final for the German Championship there.
"I actually thought about it on the bus. In moments like that, it really shows how much you must have developed."
The development that the boy from Gevelsberg, who attended an Easter holiday course at the BVB Evonik Football Academy in 2014 and came to Borussia Dortmund a year later to join the Under-11s, has undergone is plain for all to see simply by listing his achievements over the past twelve months alone.
You can hear it all throughout the interview. According to his own assessment, the 18-year-old has developed not only with the ball at his feet, but also in his head. After being named captain of the U19s, he sat down with various people to exchange views on the responsibility that comes with it, and that has further sharpened his focus when it comes to preparing for and approaching games. And he has learned to deal with a defeat in training better. "I was bad at that, but now I'm alright. I used to go crazy every time. Today I do get very angry, but only briefly – and then I move on. Tomorrow is a new day."
Throughout all of this, school was a good counterbalance to football. And he needs something new to take its place after completing his Abitur (A-level) exams. Kjell Wätjen is mulling over several options, in search of something stable and that gives him orientation and allows him to forget about football sometimes..
Did you have any challenges that you had to overcome this year?
"Managing the switch to the first team – to be completely there, to be ready, even though you won't be brought on at first – and the U19s derby – to go ahead and take responsibility. I didn't know that I would manage it like I did. But it is probably testament to the development we spoke about."
Developments – especially at this rate – are always accompanied by experiences and an incomprehensible number of impressions that you have to mentally process. How do you do that? Who supports you?
"My U19s coach Mike Tullberg and the psychologists from the Youth Performance Centre – I talk a lot with them. I also get a lot of criticism from the guys who have been there for some time. I’ll happily take that on board. And I also talk a lot with my family about impressions. My parents can talk about plenty of situations in their lives where they too have taken on responsibility. Experiences like that from a different perspective help a lot."
Do you generally talk a lot about football at home?
"I'm not a big fan of that. The coach also told us, it’s best to keep football and family separate. I didn’t do that too well last year, but now I know what's what. However, with all the call-ups coming thick and fast recently, of course, the people at home want to hear about it – especially my little brother. But if it gets too much for me, I'll say so now. Of course, I like to talk about my development at Borussia Dortmund – but only up to a certain point. Then I have to take time to switch off to process it all."
Your first time in front of the Yellow Wall: What did it feel like? What were you feeling? What did you think?
"It's pretty amazing. I had felt it a few weeks before against Atletico. That was the ultimate for me – it was unbelievable how loud they can be, how much energy they can generate and how important that is for the team. You can sometimes see it in the course of the game; suddenly it’s 2-2 and then they come again. But if you play in front of the South stand, it's entirely different; even if it's not the Champions League quarter-finals, but Bundesliga Matchday 32. It's something very special, because of course as a child you dream of 80,000 fans chanting your name. To get this childhood dream fulfilled in that one moment is overwhelming. When I stood in the tunnel and heard Nobby read out the line-up, I actually shed a tear."
That’s understandable. But how do you manage to concentrate after such an emotional, intense moment, that you would love to never end, to make the right decisions very quickly in tight game situations? ̈
"I could and can tune out the fact that so many people are watching me at once. And then I played against Augsburg more or less as usual.”
That’s something not everyone has always managed at the first attempt in the past, even though some of them are well prepared to handle it. Even for experienced Bundesliga players, the temple can make too much of an impression, exert too much pressure, force and expectation. However, as Kjell Wätjen himself says, which distinguishes him, he said that there was not too much on the line in the home game against Augsburg. "That's why I was able to go there with freedom and I'm̈ very grateful about the timing of my debut."
However, there was plenty at stake three days later.
Can you imagine: In the morning, A-level maths; in the evening, a Champions League semi-final in Paris?
"I had a good feeling all through the day. It started well in the morning, even though the exam was tough. After that, I didn't hang around and chat to my classmates as usual – I headed straight off, got ready quickly, flew to Paris and then met the lads in the hotel."
And then the evening wasn’t bad!
"The evening was very, very, very, very good. All in all, it was a day I will never forget."
As a young player, what's the biggest thing you’ll take away from an evening like that: the atmosphere, which is electric, or a specific experience that will eventually benefit you at some stage? Key phrase: Keep calm, as Mats Hummels and Gregor Kobel like to say, there’s always the aluminium posts behind you!
"I will remember the day because it was a lot. There was also a lot of pressure on the exam, so it was a real test in the morning and in the evening. And what I took from that was that you definitely can do it all. You can deal with it and win against one of the best teams in Europe – even if it does take a stroke of good luck! That will help me, I'm sure of that."
Many really talented youngsters have been praised to the high heavens – and then never quite reached the top. Who or what keeps you grounded?
"The feeling that things are going quite well at the moment, combined with the knowledge that it can also go in the other direction very quickly. I’d never had a year like this past one – but I have already experienced the opposite. When I was 14, I had a very mediocre year, full of injuries, when everything was going wrong – everything. I was faced with the question of whether I would continue playing football. Thanks to that experience, I have respect for the feelings during good times, which can also be very fleeting. That is why I am not going crazy now either. I am actually quite relaxed, because I'm able to see it for what it is. No matter how well things went, tomorrow something can go wrong and then it's over. That's why I enjoy every day, I don't get carried away, and I make the most of it."
Kjell Wätjen, 18, is flying high in the world of sport – and at the same time is staying grounded. There is no danger of it going to his head. After the training ̈session, when it was clear that he could not keep the agreed interview time, he sent a WhatsApp message that he would be a little late, but he would hurry in the shower. He was the first to pay me that courtesy in eleven years!
Author: Nils Hotze
Photographer: Hendrik Deckers
This article comes from issue 216 of the BORUSSIA members' magazine. BVB members can receive BORUSSIA free of charge every month. Click here to register to become a member..
