Brentford's Vitaly Janelt reveals he had almost stopped waiting for Germany call-up

After receiving his long-awaited first Germany call-up, Brentford midfielder Vitaly Janelt has revealed that he had almost stopped waiting for the opportunity.

Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

Jürgen Klopp included a lot of new faces in his extended first 44-man squad as Germany coach, including Brentford midfielder Vitaly Janelt.

Janelt has now linked up with the second part of the squad for the upcoming games against Serbia and Greece and gave an interview to German media at the national team camp.

At the age of 28, the central midfielder revealed that he had almost given up hope of ever receiving a call-up to represent his country.

“I’m relatively relaxed about the whole topic,” Janelt said, according to Kicker.

“Of course, I would have liked to have been involved earlier and hoped that I would get a chance. But I talked about it so often in the past that, eventually, I didn’t feel like talking about it anymore.”

The 28-year-old did add, however, that he didn’t want his comments to be interpreted as a message from an overlooked Premier League player to previous Germany coaches.

“Brentford isn’t Chelsea, Manchester United or Manchester City, I’m well aware of that. I’m not angry with anyone. Every coach has their own ideas,” he said.

He is aware that Klopp’s knowledge of English football from his time as Liverpool manager is likely an advantage.

“That’s probably good for me,” Janelt said.
 

“I do the dirty work”

In terms of what he believes he can offer the Germany team, who are still searching for their first win under Klopp, Janelt explained:

“I think I’m good for a team. I see myself as a team player.

“I do the dirty work for the guys in front of me.”

In addition, the 28-year-old believes he can add something to the squad off the pitch because of his experience, even though this is his first call-up.

“I try to be a link between the younger and older players. That’s one of my strengths,” he said.

“I’ve made the most appearances for my club in the Premier League and built something for myself at Brentford.”