Dennis Abrosimov played at the highest level in his youth. However, he explains in the RS questionnaire why it didn’t turn into a professional career.

At the age of 25, Dennis Abrosimov has already seen a lot in the football business. Born in Essen, he played for Rot-Weiss Essen and Borussia Mönchengladbach in his youth. In the 2016/17 season, Abrosimov played 21 Bundesliga U19 games for Gladbach. After that, he played in the Oberliga for FSV Duisburg, SpVg Schonnebeck and VfB Homberg, as well as in the Regionalliga West for SV Straelen (6 games).

Since the current season, the all-rounder has been lacing up his boots for the district league top team Blau-Gelb Überruhr. Abrosimov voluntarily moved down two leagues because his job takes top priority. The 25-year-old works as “regional manager Ruhrgebiet” at the Grenzland football academy, as a U12 coach at the youth academy of Borussia Mönchengladbach and is in the final stages of his sports management studies.

Now Dennis Abrosimov faces the forecasting questionnaire:

My greatest strength is… my will and my diligence.

My greatest weakness is… my right foot and my low self-confidence.

In our dressing room… there is always a lot of laughter.

The best moment of my football career was… the Youth League games in Manchester and Turin, which were broadcast on Sport 1. The next day I came to school and the teacher said that he had seen me on TV. Those were really cool moments, and against such top clubs.

The best goal of my career was… unfortunately I didn’t score many (laughs). I would say it was a goal in the hall against Hertha BSC. It was a shot with easily 130 km/h.

My best teammate was… Ba-Muaka Simakala. He now plays for Kaiserslautern. Some Bundesliga professionals can’t do what he can do.

My best trainer was because… in the youth sector I had very good trainers throughout, but the last two were really top: Sven Schuchhardt and Thomas Flath at Borussia Mönchengladbach. In the senior sector I only had well-known trainers: Christian Mikolajczak, Stefan Janßen, Marcus John and Dirk Tönnies. They were all really good. But of course Dirk Tönnies had the greatest influence on me – personally, but also athletically. He was actually a trainer for higher levels.

My worst trainer was because… I don’t want to publicly expose him now. But there definitely was one. He really had no idea.

When I was a little boy, my role model was… Michael Ballack and Andrey Arshavin.

I didn’t become a professional footballer because… there are a few reasons for that… I’ve certainly made a lot of wrong decisions in my sporting life. I was a regular in the Gladbach U19 team and then couldn’t get into the regional league – that was pretty weird. Then I had a very good first season in the senior team at Schonnebeck and the move to Straelen broke my neck. I also never had a good player’s agent to place me. Many players who play in the Regionalliga or 3rd division are just lucky with their agent, that’s just the way it is. Besides, I think I didn’t have enough talent to go pro. And what still gets in my way today is my self-confidence. One bad training session, one bad game and my head’s down. It’s been that way ever since I was a Bambini.

The best thing about the Ruhr area is… the love of football.

Either, or?

Dortmund or Schalke? Actually Gladbach, but if I had to choose between the two, then Dortmund, definitely.

Beer or water? 100 percent water.

Club or bar? Then rather club, although I rarely visit either.

Natural or artificial turf? 100 percent natural grass. Many amateur footballers get injured on artificial turf. Many young players sustain so many injuries over the years on artificial turf. I was talking to a sports scientist about the subject recently. He showed me how bad artificial turf actually is for the body. That’s why I definitely prefer natural grass.

Warrior or artist? Warrior!!!

Cinema or Netflix? Both are great.

Football on TV or in the stadium? In the stadium, of course.

Finally, a few questions:

Who would you like to have a beer with?

My idol, Cristiano Ronaldo. But then it would probably be more of a protein shake. What he has achieved with his discipline in his career is beyond words. In terms of emotion, he is the greatest footballer of all time.

What was the most extreme team trip you ever experienced – and why?

With Schonnebeck 2018 on Mallorca. That was just awesome! And the characters we were with: Cello Grote, Marc Enger, Tommy Denker. It was more than outstanding.

What makes you laugh?

I laugh a lot about many different things. I like Matze Knop a lot.

My best vacation was?

With my girlfriend last year in Turkey.

What is indispensable for you?

The three F’s: family, friends and football

What kind of music do you like to listen to and what is played in the dressing room?

I like Apache, but also Helene Fischer. In the dressing room in Überruhr, we have Albanian or Brazilian music. It’s always a good atmosphere.

If you could start over, what would you do differently in your life?

I’m happy with myself. I hope to finish my studies soon, I work at the largest football academy in Germany and I’m a youth coach at Borussia Mönchengladbach. If I weren’t a youth coach, I would still be playing in the top league. But the most important thing that many people forget is: as long as you are healthy, it is the greatest luck you can have.