Frankfurt hero Durm reflects on hard-earned win: "I can hardly remember such a physical jousting contest"
It's been a long time coming for the 28-year-old once heralded as German football's next big thing.
Erik Durm remains a World Champion, despite not logging a single minute for Joachim Löw's 2014 World Cup side.
The converted midfielder now gets a chance to talk about being a participatory hero after his incredible performance against Wolfsburg.
One has to travel all the way back to March 2016 for the the last time that Erik Durm scored a Bundesliga goal. The strongest candidate for man-of-the-match honors in the 4-3 rollercoaster ride Frankfurt win on Saturday afternoon snapped a five-year-drought to lash home what proved the game winner in a crucial match.
Erik Durm remains a World Champion, despite not logging a single minute for Joachim Löw's 2014 World Cup side.
The converted midfielder now gets a chance to talk about being a participatory hero after his incredible performance against Wolfsburg.
The 28-year-old also grabbed a magnificent assist on the SGE's first goal of the match, making this the first time in his entire Bundesliga career that he has bagged two scorer points. After the final whistle, a visibly exhausted Durm could hardly find the words in front of the Sky microphones.
"It was a mega-strenuous game," he exhaled into the mic, "Back and forth. I can hardly remember such a physical jousting contest."
Durm seemed far too drained to be anything other than modest, or perhaps his many years spent out of Bundesliga starting XIs conditioned him to be nothing else.
"Of course I'm happy that I could play a role in the victory," he answered when asked about his performance, "[However], it's always the team that counts. That's not an empty phrase. You can see that with us."
To be sure, the fact that Frankfurt topped the team just ahead of them in the table via four different goal-scorers (Durm, André Silva, Daichi Kamada, and Luka Jovic) is a testament to what a profound team effort the massive win was.
One nevertheless wonders where the SGE would without Durm's contribution. His incredible hustle to catch up to Kostic's switch in the 8th and jaw-droopingly good cutback ensured that his team only trailed for two minutes. His wonderful finish in the 61st proved the difference.
The win provides a huge boost for Frankfurt in their quest to qualify for the 2021/22 UEFA Champions' League. With six fixtures ahead, they will lie ahead at least seven points ahead of fellow aspirants Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen. Eintracht also gained significant ground on Wolfsburg, resting just one point below them in the battle for third place.
"We are very happy," Durm concluded in a glib, colossal understatement.