Cajetan Lenz is one of those young players making a name for himself at VfL Bochum. Yet he remains humble.
VfL Bochum has recently performed well in the DFB Cup. Against the struggling Bundesliga side FC Augsburg, VfL—which was also struggling—did not prove to be an easy opponent—quite the opposite.
Because Bochum held their ground defensively and Gerrit Holtmann finished off a counterattack to make it 1-0, Bochum celebrated a 1-0 away victory and advanced to the DFB Cup round of 16. Just like their upcoming opponent, 1. FC Magdeburg, by the way. They secured a 3-0 victory at FV Illertissen.
“I watched the press conference. Magdeburg, so to speak, only played against a Regionalliga team. A completely different match awaits us this coming Sunday,” said Cajetan Lenz on the sidelines of training.
That Sunday, November 2, at 1:30 p.m., last-place 1. FC Magdeburg will visit second-to-last VfL Bochum. A true basement battle. “The situation in the league isn’t good right now. This game will be very important. However, the season is still long, and there are still many games to win.”
Lenz is one of the players on the roster who has already celebrated personal successes. Dieter Hecking, who was still the coach at the start of the season, had already placed his trust in him. His successor, Uwe Rösler, is also relying on the 19-year-old’s services in defensive midfield.
Rösler recently even praised Lenz as the “ideal player” for his needs. Will that go to Lenz’s head? “My parents always try to keep me grounded. But that’s just the kind of person I am. I want to keep working hard and learn a lot. There’s still a lot of room for improvement.”
Yet Lenz has already proven himself. “Of course, it’s easier for a young player to get playing time when things aren’t going so well. If everything were going great, there might not even be a need for me.” He is one of the few players to benefit from Bochum’s weak start.
VfL hopes to continue turning things around against Magdeburg. “It’s about going in with the same intensity and attitude as in the past three games,” said Lenz. with gp