XtraTime Web Desk: Like all other FIFA World Cups, Germany is gearing up with their surprise package of this FIFA World Cup in Russia as well.
German forward Nils Petersen has built a reputation as a supersub, holding the record for most Bundesliga goals off the bench, and he hopes he can score his way to the World Cup.
With 20 Bundesliga goals as a substitute, the 29-year-old holds the all-time league record but his unexpected nomination in Germany’s preliminary World Cup squad comes on the back of a stellar season for the Freiburg captain.
“I think stats don’t lie and I have always operated well as a joker but it was really good this season to distance myself a bit from that image,” uncapped Petersen, a former youth international who also won silver at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, told reporters on Friday.
This season Petersen was anything but a substitute at Freiburg, scoring 15 goals in the league, almost half of the entire team, to help them stay up and prompt Germany coach Joachim Loew to call him up.
“Obviously my reputation did help a bit to bring me here and I am always ready to grab whatever I can get when I am brought on,” he said, speaking at the team’s training camp in northern Italy.
The tall forward was once considered a major talent, big enough for Bayern Munich to sign him in 2011.