Kevin Mbabu reflects on difficult first season in the Bundesliga
Wolfsburg right-back Kevin Mbabu needed time to get fully up to speed in the Bundesliga.
| Timo Werner (RB Leipzig) and Kevin Mbabu (Wolfsburg). | Photo: GEPA Pictures/Sven Sonntag |
The 25-year-old struggled to nail down a starting berth after his arrival and was limited to just five Bundesliga appearances in the first half of last season.
"The first months were very hard. It was new for me to work so intensively in training every day. My body wasn't used to that. That's why I always needed more time for regeneration than my teammates. I was often tired and couldn't play the way I wanted to," Mbabu said in an interview with Sport Bild and went on:
"It was very difficult because I came from a team in which I was one of the best players. I was named player of the year [at Young Boys], and it all went in the right direction for me. To then go through such a difficult period was very tough mentally."
However, as the season progressed, the Swiss right-back eventually managed to lock down a spot in the starting eleven.
"I found the switch in my head. I suddenly felt confident and didn't think about whether I was doing everything right. I started playing instinctively again," he said.