Jude Bellingham: “We can really do something special!”

Jude, the kicker magazine just crowned you as the best Bundesliga midfielder. And they even claim that your're a bubbling volcano. But in a controlled way. How do you react to that? 
“It's really nice to be appreciated for what you're doing on the pitch and for people to have that opinion. I think, you know, we live in a time where it's easy to just say something's bad when you don't really think it. So, it's nice that people give you praise for when you're performing well. But ultimately, I'm just trying to help the team. Like I always say in every interview I do with you and it's not me being cliche. That's my main focus. And, you know, I know the qualities that I can bring to the team, and I'm just glad it's been recognized.”

It is recognized. But overall, how do you feel at the moment? Do you already feel like playing football and going at it again?  
“I'm itching to play in the Bundesliga. I know we've got two games here in Marbella, but it's really hard when you've got all the other leagues playing and you're watching on TV and just think, I can't wait to get back to it. After the World Cup I was just drained physically. And I said to myself, I want to have a nice long rest. But then about two weeks into it, I thought, nah, nah, I need to go back in and get to work and finally be back. And I can't wait to get going again.” 

How long have you been on holidays? 
“It's been three weeks or just over three weeks. I was really grateful that the club gave me that long to just refresh.”

Do you feel good now?  
“I’m still managing some things from the World Cup. But I think overall, I feel ready to go.”

“I can't wait to get back to it”

If I'm not mistaken, you celebrated New Year's Eve in Birmingham. Tell me. 
“I was in Birmingham for all my break, I was there from the day we got knocked out to the day we had to be back in for the testing. I loved it. I didn't go on holiday to Dubai or wherever else. I think when you're so often away from home, it's nice to just be back home with your family, with your friends, and I know a lot of people around the city. There’re always things to do, really. I went out and had a good time with them just to take the pressure off my mind, and it felt really good.” 

Now you're here for the first time with the team in Marbella and in this training camp. How do you like it? How do you sum it up so far? 
“The facilities that we’re training at are brilliant. The hotel is amazing. You get the sense straight away that you feel so welcome that they really want you here. And it's like almost a pleasure for them to have you here. Whereas for us, it's a pleasure to be here. There's that mutual respect from both, and it's just really nice to come out here. Another change of environment for the next few days and ultimately the best place to work hard and get us ready for the for rest of the season.”

And the weather's probably a little better than it was in Birmingham… 
“Yes, slightly. Slightly.”

Did you have the time to have a little beach promenade walk?  
“I've been by the pool. When it's sunny, you've got to make the most of it. I've been to the cafe down the bottom. I might have a walk out into the beach. I've had a little explore and a nice time away from the pitch.”

Working so hard you probably must be tired of the training twice a day and maybe rest is more important than a stroll around. 
“Definitely. It's a lot of work and it is tough for the body. You got two sessions where the intensity is really high. It's normal that you're going to feel stiff and tired. But I think when we've got this hotel where you have so much to do to relax, you feel good and ready to go the next day. It’s the most important thing that both complement each other.”

Now we want to look back a little bit. On the 10th of December, England lost the quarterfinals against France. How long did it take you to come to terms with it that you were eliminated? 
“I think you come to terms with it pretty quickly, to be honest. But I still think about the game at times. There was an instance in training where I had a shot and I thought that was just like the one that I had in the France game. And if I put it more to the left, would we have gone through? I was involved in the first penalty where I flicked it to Bukayo. And the second one, when I put the pass behind to Mason. And I always think, what if I'd just put it on Mason's toe and he went and scored, and then there would have been no second penalty. You overthink things, but I think you come to terms with it quickly because you can't change it whether you like it or not. Then you're on the plane home and think, we gave everything. We had a tournament that the country can be proud of. We put up a really strong fight against one of the best teams in the world. We went out narrowly and you learn to kind of use it as ammunition for the next ones. And I think that's how I've taken it.”

You had a very strong impression at the tournament. How do you look back on your personal World Cup? 
“I think it was really good. I was really proud of it. But you can't be satisfied because you go with the intention of winning it. And I really did feel like we had the chance to, especially after we got through against Senegal and you realise only three more games. Had we beaten France and gone through, who knows what can happen, but it's all ifs now. I personally enjoyed the kind of pressure of the games and the responsibility that the manager gave me. My best game was probably against Senegal when I was most free and when I got given the licence to be decisive and run around the pitch. And I think that's when you saw my best performance of the tournament and it was just nice to play with that freedom. Regardless of the pressure I had so many good teammates around me. That just kept encouraging me to do what I was doing.”

How do you cope with all that pressure being so young and so talented? 
“I think you create the pressure yourself through lack of preparation and confidence. Luckily, I don't lack confidence and I always try and stay prepared. I'm always quite confident that I can achieve the things I want to achieve.” 

You came to Borussia Dortmund in 2020. Two and a half years later, you're still here. You've been wearing the captain's armband already. What would you have said if I've told you back then, just wait two and a half years and you will be leading this team onto the pitch?
“I would have said no chance, too early in two and a half years. Give me maybe eight years or so. But my teammates, the coaches and the staff have helped me to develop. I came to the club as a talented lad, but I have added elements to my game that have taken it to the next level, and I think that's down to them mainly. I've put the work in, but it's them that have put me in the environment to make it happen. They've added the kind of leadership side to my game as well, particularly Marco Rose. It's just learning every year, taking stuff in my stride and trying to use all the experiences that I've got so far and other people's experiences when I talk to them to add to my game. I just try and be a sponge and pick things up as much as possible.”

You seem to improve year after year. What aspects of your game would you say have improved the most since then? 
“I'm a bit more decisive now in terms of when I get into the final third. I always think that when I'm on the pitch I can affect the game, whether it's with a goal or an assist. The way I play, the aim for me is to be effective without that. But when you can add that it's so much more valuable to the team and to score lines, of course. That's one thing that's majorly improved and you can see it with the numbers, even though I'm not massive into players this good based on the numbers, but it is evidence that I'm getting in the box more and I'm being more clinical. And I'd say there's bits of everything that's improved to be fair. And then I've still got a long way to go on everything and all sort of bits. Defensively I still think I can position myself better at times. I think I can pick up on more balls. And even though now I've started scoring a lot more, I still think I can score more. To be honest, there's been a few games where I've had chances that were not massive. I had a few massive ones that I've missed, and I've really kicked myself for a few weeks after. And then I've had half ones that I still think about. For example, a header in the Derby. I saw it the other day on Twitter, and I had to keep rewinding it just to see how I didn't score. It was a great save. But you know, I have the mentality that I can always be better at everything really.”

“I just try and be a sponge and pick things up as much as possible”

You also have changed physically; your shoulders got a little broader. Did you work on that as well? 
”It’s something that I've especially done in the last two seasons. I've gone to the physical team and put my goals out there of what I want to be. I think going to the national team helped me a lot because you saw the players there. I'll say the Premier League is more physical. And you've seen that from the players that come to the national team. So firsthand, I see how strong they are, and I think, if I can get myself to a level where I'm physically dominant as well as technically, then you can really start to affect games a lot more. The physical staff have been brilliant in helping me and giving me the tools to get bigger, get stronger and improve my game.”

Yours is a physical game as well. You go out there for 90 minutes fighting and even if you beat it up a little bit, you still try to intercept passes and you can sometimes see yourself lying on the floor, stretched out like a like a starfish and exhausted. That fight you have in you, how much of that is will and how much is endurance training?  
“To be honest, a lot of it is mental. You don't give up regardless of what's going on, especially in the games that are close and we're winning one nil or we trail. It doesn't even come into my mind that you've done enough, or you'll be fine if you don't press this ball. While I'm on the pitch, I've got to do everything I can to make sure I win, and that's more mental. But of course, you've got to prepare yourself physically. Another thing that I've learned from the experienced players is how they prepare their body. I came from Birmingham and the lads were doing it there, but I just thought, I'm 16 and I'm fine, so I'll always be fine when it's not the case. You pick up stuff from the senior pros. For example, now I'm big into the ice baths and recovery. If you miss the small things for today, you never know how it will cost you come the weekend.”  

You really hate losing. But there were a couple of losses this season as well. How do you look back on the first half of the season? 
“Obviously in the Champions League we were really impressive. We had a really good game plan going into those games and were really effective. Sevilla away was probably my favourite game I ever played in. In the city game, even though we lost, we showed really clear signs of how we can play at our best. In the Bundesliga it's been a little bit frustrating because I think the main thing has been inconsistency. We showed that we can beat anyone but at the same time lose to anyone, which is really frustrating because with the quality that we have, that shouldn't be the case. We should be able to turn up knowing that we can be more confident. That we're going to win a game. And that's not been the case in the first round. We need to find that consistency and we need to find that kind of that balance. But it's difficult when we've got a lot of injuries as well. The team's really inconsistent. Players come in and out and you don't really get a feel and be able to create relationships on the pitch, which is really important. There's always things you can improve on. You can go on for hours after a game is done. And I think, you've got to be able to review it while you're in the game and just try and change things there.”

Is that itching or is that even fuel for you to go out there now and correct this season as fast as possible and do things better?
“It definitely does bug me. While I was at the World Cup, I was really focused on England. Then the World Cup finishes, and you have to live with the fact that you look at the table and it says that Borussia Dortmund are sixth. And there's no way we should be there in the table given the talent. No disrespect to the teams above us right now, but I feel in terms of quality, in terms of the player depth and in positions, we should be a lot higher than we are. I'm not afraid to say that to the lads and say that to the staff because that's where our ambition should be. But it's about doing instead of talking. I'm really, really motivated to turn it around. With the team that we've got and if we all step up our game a little bit more, we can really do something special in the second half of the season.”

In the second part of the interview, which will be published on Friday, Jude Bellingham talks about the 2021 Cup final, the last 16 in the Champions League against Chelsea FC and the second half of the season with BVB.

BVB-TV by 1&1: The interview with Jude Bellingham in video