
“I am just looking ahead”
August 23, 2018
By Sascha Staat
INTERVIEW – He is considered one of the biggest talents on the goalkeeper position in all of Europe and prior to this season he transferred from Danish Holstebro to the German champion, SG Flensburg – meet Torbjorn Bergerud. ย Following his new team’s 33:26 ย loss at the 2018 PIXUM Super Cup in Duesseldorf, he had this to say.
Before we talk about yourself let’s speak a ย bit about your match against Rhein-Neckar Lรถwen. You can’t be satisfied with the result?
TB: No, we are not happy. It is never fun to lose matches especially, by seven goals – it’s way too much.
Did you expect it? You had a tough loss against Kiel during pre-season and considering that six of the seven starters from last year played most of the game, I expected a closer outcome.
TB: I think the match was close for a long time, but in the second half we fell behind. ย We were always trying to catch them but overall a defeat by seven goals was a bit too much. Still, seven goals are seven goals.
You had a great run over the last couple of years together with the Norwegian national team. But you are a rather young goalkeeper with a lot of time ahead of yourself to develop further. ย At the same time you’re joining the German champion, maybe timing is not as good as Mattias Anderson just left and expectations run high?
TB: Noooooo! It’s good that Flensburg won the championship last season, it was a great achievement for the club. But I haven’t been thinking about it too much. There are many new players on the team and we have to find each other on the court – I think it will get better and better as time goes by. ย We certainly have to work hard, improve and play better than we did in the Super Cup. I hope we will win the upcoming matches.
Did many of my colleagues ask you about following in the footsteps of Mattias Andersson?
TB: Some have asked, but as I said, I don’t think about the past too much. I am forward looking and as you say I’m a young goalkeeper and I hope to develop and get even better. I consider Anderson a very good goalkeeper, but I have to find my own place in this team. It’s always difficult to get into a new squad, getting to know new players and the defensive system is a little bit different compared to the one that I have been used to. But, we will be very good when we find each other and once I build some more confidence.
So, it’s all a question of time and patience?
TB: Yes, a little bit. Still, we have to play well from the start and everyone knows it’ll be difficult. We just have to focus and practice to get to the right level – I think we are on the right track.
It’s obvious who will get the most minutes in goal. Is it a disadvantage for you that you don’t know the Bundesliga yet and he (Benjamin Buric ed.) does?
TB: Itโs difficult to say. I think we are going to have a good goalkeeping team and we will have to work together. ย That’s how it is when you get to this level – you play together โฆ we are both good goalkeepers and when one of us doesn’t play well, the other one has to step up and perform. ย It’ll be bad if we don’t.
How is your German coming along, by the way?
TB: My German is terrible – maybe Iโve been a little bit lazy until now. I’m a slow learner, but I hope it will come to me very fast when I focus on it a little more.