Bundesliga
Luca Waldschmidt: "I want to show what I can do"
Luca Waldschmidt has said it's "special" to be back in the Bundesliga and that he hopes to star for Wolfsburg in the UEFA Champions League in order to earn a recall for Germany.
Waldschmidt returned to the German top flight in August after spending a year with Portuguese giants Benfica, for whom he scored 12 goals in 43 games.
The 25-year-old attacker - who has two goals in seven appearances for his country - is determined to use the move as a way of catching the attention of new Germany head coach Hansi Flick.
"The Bundesliga and European matches were important and decisive for me," he told Sport1. "I can identify with the goals the club has because I'm ambitious and I want to fight to get one of the European places in the Bundesliga this year too. I want to show what I can do and get back on the international team's radar. I'm in the right place to do that."
Wolfsburg finished fourth in the Bundesliga in 2020/21 and qualified for the Champions League group stage as a result. They were drawn to face French, Spanish and Austrian opponents in Lille, Sevilla and Salzburg, and Waldschmidt says he can't wait to get started with the 2008/09 German champions.
"I want to help Wolfsburg qualify for Europe again and to stay in Europe as long as we can this season," the former Freiburg forward said. "I want to deliver good performances in every game. I'm not here to just see what happens.
"I'm really keen to get involved with the national team again. I want to play a lot of games [for Wolfsburg] from the start, and to help the team by getting goals and assists."
Waldschmidt picked up a head injury in his first training session with the Wolves, but he is now ready to help them push on following an impressive start to the season. Mark van Bommel's side lead the Bundesliga with three wins from three so far, and they will seek to consolidate their position by winning away to Greuther Fürth in Saturday's Matchday 4 fixture.
Competition for places in a Wolfsburg attack led by Wout Weghorst will be fierce, since Lukas Nmecha and Dodi Lukebakio also arrived during the summer transfer window. And Waldschmidt - who got his first Bundesliga goal against Wolfsburg in a 2-1 win for Hamburg in May 2017 - knows that he has to concentrate on his club form if he is to get back in favour with Germany.
"The first step is to perform at Wolfsburg and to showcase my talent - and then to get back in the squad," he said.
"It's normal that you want to play a role [with the national team] but that's not an issue for now. I want to get settled in and play, put in good performances, put myself on show, and then we can talk about the rest again."