Alexander Meyer on setbacks, debuts and a superstitious ritual

A year ago, you were playing against Fürth, Nuremberg and Düsseldorf; now you're playing Copenhagen, Leipzig and Manchester City. Have you had to pinch yourself?
"If you look at the games and everything that goes with them – the Champions League, the Bundesliga, the opponents too – it's a different world. You do need to tell yourself that once or twice so that you appreciate it and put it in perspective. But at the end of the day, I try not to place too much emphasis on the games. The important thing is to do my job and help the team by stopping goals. That's how I deal with it fairly well."

When did you find out that you would be making your debut for BVB against Copenhagen?
"Greg went in the day before during the final training session. After the session, the coach came up to me and said the prognosis probably wasn't so good. 'Prepare yourself well, you've done super so far. So just look forward to the match,' he said." 

How does your preparation as a starting player differ from that of a reserve goalie?
"The focus goes up a notch. In terms of your concentration, you are on a totally different level when you know that you are preparing for a match. If you're the No. 2 and you're sitting on the bench, then you also prepare yourself. You need to be ready at all times in case something happens. But in terms of the focus and concentration, you are not at the same level as when you know you're playing. That's difficult to reproduce."

And then you're on the pitch for the Champions-League anthem. Were you nervous?
"Yes, I became incredibly excited when I heard the anthem. I also had tears of joy in my eyes and had to gulp a few times. There is a certain level of tension before matches. That was a little bit more than usual, but it was still at a level that was good and also important for my game. And in the end, I simply just enjoyed it. It was my first competitive game for Borussia Dortmund, and you just enjoy it."

How was your first international away game in Manchester?
"The first away trip in the Champions League is something special and on top of that it's in England. Man City are currently one of the best teams. It's been one highlight after another. I tried to enjoy everything and soak it all up. But as I have already said, it's ultimately a football match like any other, even if there's a lot going on around it. Now we have the match against Schalke, but the break that follows that means that in the coming days there will be time to look back at everything and take a bit of a breather."

Let's go back to the beginning of your career. As an A-Youth player you were close to the first team but missed a year due to a shoulder injury. Did your dream fall apart?
"Back then I was with the first team at a winter training camp in Dubai, I had played a really good year at A-Youth level. During the week I was often with the first team and I was hoping that I would move up to be the No. 3 and play in the U23s. For a younger player, there is nothing better than training at that level. Then the first serious injury happened. I dislocated my shoulder and the doctor told me that I would be out for at least 12 months. I was 18 at the time and at an age where I wasn't familiar with this kind of thing. That was the first real setback."

From Hamburger SV you moved to TuS Havelse in the fourth division. A step down?
"Initially I returned to fitness, but the HSV management had brought in another goalkeeper; they needed to make sure the position was filled again. I didn't play a lot of games and after that long period I was also slightly missing the fun of playing football. I said that I was still quite young and finally wanted to get back to playing again. Then the contact to Havelse came about – where André Breitenreiter was the coach – via my old goalkeeping coach Richard Golz. We had a very successful time there and even beat 1. FC Nuremberg in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. But a few months later I sustained the same injury to the other shoulder. That was the second major setback. I knew what awaited me in rehab. That 'only' lasted 10 months. When I was fit again, I played my first game and with 10 minutes remaining I got stuck in the turf, sustained cartilage damage in my knee and was out for another six months. Those were three injuries which – especially when you're 18, 19 and 20 – really set me back a lot." 

Did you ever think about giving up?
"The first injury was really difficult; it was all new to me. But each injury was different in its own way. You do have a few doubts. I'm generally a sport-loving person and always spent a lot of time outdoors from a young age. And then you spend a lot of time at home; you have to do your rehab and can't let off steam that way anymore. Of course, there were doubts at that point. I tried to make the best of it. I was doing my A-levels at the time and started a distance-learning degree, I trained to be a coach and gave goalkeeping training in order to have a Plan B and make optimal use of the time." 

After four years in Havelse, you moved to Energie Cottbus. How do you look back at that time?
"Cottbus were also playing in the Regionalliga, but it was slightly different. We had professional conditions there – a training centre, grass pitches, it was like a second-tier club. We also always had between 8,000 and 10,000 spectators in the Regionalliga. I played a lot there. At one point I had a torn medial collateral ligament in the knee, I was out for 11 weeks with that. But compared to what I had experienced, it was not a major injury. I was only in Cottbus for a year but it was very intensive and a great time."

And then it was off to VfB Stuttgart. Why did you go there to be a No. 2 for the first time?
"Back then Cottbus played against Stuttgart in the DFB-Pokal and we had a very good game. The management already had me on their radar beforehand and because Mitch Langerak no longer wanted to be the No. 2, they were looking for a new goalkeeper. They saw me in that match and with two days of the transfer window remaining I then moved to Stuttgart as the No. 2 in order to be close to the Bundesliga. I was the No. 2 for the whole of the first year and then in the second year I sustained a cruciate ligament injury in pre-season, which ruled me out for six or seven months. For the final six months, I was then only the No. 3. We had a lot of coaching changes, my contract was up..."

Can one say that you then made your breakthrough at Jahn Regensburg?
"Definitely. I only became a professional at the age of 26 – in Stuttgart. And at the age of 28 I played my first professional matches in Regensburg in the second division. It was very important that I got the topic of my health under control. I also invested a lot to that end and got to know my body better and better. In those three years I was completely injury-free and became stable. When your health is right, the performances will happen by themselves. You have a different understanding of yourself when you're playing games at professional level. I know what I can do and was able to develop myself at that level as a No. 1. I also had some very successful years with the team at Jahn Regensburg."

In Regensburg, you earned yourself a reputation as a 'penalty killer' in part because the team won a penalty shootout three times a row in the 2020/21 DFB-Pokal run and you saved five penalties. Can one train that?
"Before that I had a normal ratio. In my second year, we progressed through three ties and won each of them in a penalty shootout, where I was always able to shine. That was something special for me, as we reached the quarter-finals. I saved several penalties in the league as well, I had a really super ratio there. But we didn't train that. We prepared ourselves very well with the goalkeeping coach and watched different shooters. Then there was a lot of instinctiveness and that little bit of luck that you always need."

How do you describe your goalkeeping?
"I think it's important that you give off an aura of calm at the back. Your team-mates know that they have someone at the back on whom they can rely, who can receive the ball at any time – both to feet and in the air as well. I'm also positively crazy, you need to be as a goalkeeper, and I'm always up for having fun. Sometimes it can get a bit loud on the pitch. I also like to coach, to communicate and to assume responsibility." 

What did you want the role as No. 2 goalkeeper at BVB?
"During my time in Stuttgart, I was denied the opportunity to play in the Bundesliga. Then I went to Regensburg and played my football there for three years. But I want to achieve the maximum in my career and for me the goal has always been to play in the Bundesliga. When the interest came from Borussia Dortmund, I didn't need to think about it for long. It's a different stage entirely and a different level. When you come from the second division and move to the first division, you obviously also know that you will start at the back of the queue. I knew what my position would be here in Dortmund. But I'm still someone who always wants to win, that goes for every training game too. I want to get stuck in, become better and work hard. Given the number of games here, there is a greater probability that I will play at some point. Even though you never wish something to happen to someone else, I know what it's like with injuries. But also due to game management, you need to the entire squad throughout the season across three competitions. That's why the decision was easy for me."

How is the relationship with the goalkeeping team?
"We have a very good relationship, also with Matze Kleinsteiber, the goalkeeping coach. We get on well with each other, it's fun. Goalkeepers are always a bit unique. We can laugh about some things but we're also very focused. Everyone tries to give everything during the week so that we're successful at the weekend too."

Before each match, you draw a cross with your finger on the goal. Why?
"I don't have many rituals, but that has become one over the years. I do the cross on the left, right and on the bar in the hope that the crossbar and post will be my friends. After all, they can help me to cover the goal so I give them a quick signal."

Looking back at your career to date: what has been your best football experience so far?
"I've experienced it recently: first of all, the first Champions League match against Copenhagen, but also the first Bundesliga match and the first away game in the Champions League against a club like Man City. I think all three games so far have been on par with each other. Of course the first game, just like the first Bundesliga match, will always remain in my memory, even though we lost against Leipzig. We want to make up for that at the weekend against Schalke. That will certainly be a highlight and a great experience."
Interview: Christina Reinke