Füllkrug credits Ducksch for late-career-rise on Harnik's podcast

Trouble getting off the mark with a new club is certainly something 31-year-old German striker Niclas Füllkrug has some previous experience with. The Hannover-native's summer move to West Ham United hasn't turned out as Füllkrug might have hoped. Persistent problems with his ankle - among other things - have led to him making just three appearances for London's "Hammers". 

Despite this, in a podcast conversation with former Hannover 96 teammate Martin Harnik, Füllkrug seemed in high spirits about the future. Harnik and Füllkrug reminisced about Füllkrug's slow start after joining Hannover in 2016. Füllkrug also had to contend with goal-droughts after being promoted to the Werder senior side in 2012. Injuries led to him missing most of his first two season after re-joining Bremen in 2019. 

Somehow, the German footballer affectionately dubbed "Lücke" finds a way to thrive. He eventually helped both Hannover and Bremen achieve promotion back to the German top flight. Few could have predicted his meteoric late rise to the German national team just prior to the 2022 World Cup. Füllkrug made history one of the lowest lead Bundesliga goal-scorer in his final season with Bremen. An inconsistent BVB year still lead to the EPL move. 

"It's hard for a newcomer to join a group that has developed positively [over the course of training camp," Füllkrug told Harnik, "Many transfers don't take place until the end of August. A group forms over six weeks, and then at the beginning or middle of August, starting places are assigned. At the end of August, along comes a guy who kicks one of the starting eleven out of the team – and everyone is supposed to like him right away?”

"I just had an incredible desire to take on a new challenge and do something that really takes me out of my comfort zone," Füllkrug continued when discussing the West Ham move, "If I grow from it, then I can mature again and take another step. It's not the only time in my career that I've had some difficulty settling in." 

When it came time to address the fact that he wasn't a topic at all for the current October incarnation of the German Nationalmannschaft, Füllkrug described the call-ups themselves as having been a true honor for him. While he did admit that this summer's Euro elimination left him coping with unpleasant feelings, Füllkrug emphasized that merely serving constituted a great honor.

“The national team is the greatest for me," Füllkrug said, "An international cap feels like winning a title to me. I don't know why it's so strong a feeling. I'm so unbelievably proud every time to be able to wear that number 9 jersey. My career didn't lead to many title chases. For me ‘the journey is the objective' [logic] plays large role." 

Füllkrug's relations with former German club Borussia Dortmund cannot be described as being in the best state these days. It was such that Füllkrug preferred to focus on his striking partnership with former Bremen teammate Marvin Ducksch; a top axis pairing that unquestionably breathed new life into Füllkrug's career and even saw Ducksch briefly called up to serve alongside him on the national team.

"I felt insanely supported at Werder," Füllkrug said, "It was as if I had my nine warriors behind me who would walk through the fire with me. And I say only nine because Duckschi was there alongside me. I benefitted greatly from his  intelligent and hard-working style of play. That's why I loved playing with that team so much."