After a great run of performances in the second half of the Bundesliga campaign earned him the Werder Player of the Season award, followed by a European Championship in which he made his mark, Romano Schmid finds himself in undoubtedly the best form of his young career. With weeks of hard work in pre-season under his belt, the Austrian is raring to go for the competitive campaign. It all starts in the DFB-Pokal at Energie Cottbus, opponents against whom he holds fond memories.
Schmid is one of only nine players still in the Werder squad who featured in the 2-1 win in the first round of the 2022 DFB-Pokal. Furthermore, it was he who got the ball rolling, netting the game’s opening goal. “There was an amazing atmosphere when we played there two years ago,” remembered the 24-year-old, who returns to Energie on Monday evening. “Despite that, we are more than confident that we will win. No one in the team is of the mindset that we will simply turn up, win, and leave again. We want to give it everything.”
The potential for surprises was evident during last season’s DFB-Pokal, with both a second- and a third-tier side reaching the semi-final. Although the midfielder has experienced falling on the wrong side of the cup drama, going out in the first round in both Osnabrück and Cologne, he also holds fond memories of the competition. “In my first year at the club, we made it all the way to the semi-final, and that was something really special,” said Schmid, remembering the 2021 season, which only ended in heartbreak in additional time of extra time against RB Leipzig. “You have to prepare for each game like it will be your last, since there are no second chances in a knockout competition. There is only one aim and that is to win.”
Despite pre-season containing few noteworthy results in the friendly games, the man from Graz can reflect on a good final dress rehearsal against Stade Rennais ahead of the first competitive match of the 2024/25 season. “We gave very little away and had some really good moments,” Schmid analysed. “We can take a lot of positives out of the game.” As the favourites in Lausitz, however, he has a clear mindset. “We need to hold our own and show that we’re the favourites.”
