Look at the numbers, as any wise
football fan does, and it’s plain to see
why Chelsea’s £54 million acquisition
of Germany striker Timo Werner is
a move of thrilling potential.
He scored 28 goals in the Bundesliga
last season for RB Leipzig. His overall
record through four years at the club
was 95 goals in159 matches, as he
became the club’s record goalscorer.
Werner is only 24. These are
fabulous statistics for a relatively
young forward; beyond a surge of
good fortune, far beyond a one-
season dazzler who can be shackled
when opposition teams work him out.
The stats are why Liverpool were also
seriously interested in taking him to
Anfield before the financial impact of
the coronavirus pandemic prompted
them to be cautious about transfers.
In the case of Werner, however,
numbers are only part of the story.
Look at his character and personality,
and then you see why this move may
be the most significant in the Premier
League, and why it will transform
Chelsea into credible title challengers.
Werner’s career has been forged in
the heat of cruel and sustained abuse
from Bundesliga crowds over several
seasons. Rarely in the history of the
game has there been such a vicious
and widespread campaign of hatred.
His crime was committed in
December 2016 when the striker
conned the referee with a dive to wina penalty he converted in a match
against Schalke.
It was blatant cheating; he fell
without contact from an opponent. But
Werner is hardly alone in trying such
tricks in a modern game where ethics
have become an optional luxury extra.
The reaction was exacerbated by
general dislike of RB Leipzig among
German football fans, and created
an imperfect storm for the player.
“Timo Werner is a son of a bitch”
was a chant across stadiums in theBundesliga, even at matches where
RB Leipzig were not playing. They
continued for two years.
It flared up even a few months ago
when Hoffenheim owner Dietmar Hopp
was the subject of offensive banners
and chants, which even stopped a
match against Bayern Munich.
Stuttgart ultras found another way
to display their anger with a subsequent
banner that read simply: “Dietmar
Hopp ist ein Timo Werner!”
Most footballers would have wilted
amid such intense personal hostility.
Werner’s resolve was implacable, hisambition only expanded.
“It made me stronger,” is his verdict.
“I don’t think many strikers would have
scored so many goals with the
atmosphere so firmly against them.”
He believes this mental strength
came from endless football lessons as
a boy from his father Gunther Schuh,
a former professional himself.
“My dad would pass me the ball
and I would take shots at goal,” said
Werner. “First it was the right foot, and
we’d work on my technique on that.THEWORLD THIS MONTH
AT THE HEART OF THE GAME
Jim
HOLDEN
Then it was to my left foot. We even
ran up mountains together. I learned
quickly that to become a professional
you always have to do more.”
Perhaps all this explains why he is
so nerveless in one-on-ones against a
goalkeeper. Strikers say these are the
hardest to score, but Timo has become
a maestro of dinkingthe balloverthe
keeper or curling a shot pasthim.
No transfer is guaranteed to be a
success, but the feeling here is that
Chelsea have bought superbly well.
Along with his formidable mentality
and shooting accuracy, Werner is
genuinely two-footed and one of
the fastest footballers in Europe.
“Turbo Timo” is his happy nickname,
for sprinting100m in just11.11 seconds.
He can play as a main centre-forward,
on either flank or as a second striker,
dropping deeper between the lines.
What is the vision of Chelsea boss
Frank Lampard as he plots new seasons
in the Premier League and Champions
League? We will find out soon enough,
but the team he is creating will surely
be built to suit Werner’s strengths.
The German will become as integral
to Chelsea as Didier Drogba was a
decade ago. He will end the club’s
long search for a true talisman striker.Boy in blue...
Werner’s ready to
make a big impact
at his new clubThe German will become as integral to
Chelsea as Didier Drogba was a decade ago
Timo Werner: Chelsea’s new talisman