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Sebastian Rudy recently sat down with FC Bayern TV to discuss his career path to Bayern Munich, how he’s liked his time with the club so far, and his aspirations with the club moving forward. He admitted that as a child, it took some trial and error to ultimately wind up choosing football as his main sport:
I gave ice hockey a try when I was a little boy. But I didn't play for long. I then played tennis for about ten years. Fortunately I preferred football in the end.
Rudy joined Bayern from Hoffenheim over the summer on a free transfer when his contract expired after spending seven years with the club. He’s most often been deployed as a slightly deeper holding central midfielder, and though he’s yet to find the back of the net for Bayern, he’s proven himself to be a solid addition to a star-studded midfield, having already racked up 18 appearances across all competitions.
A byproduct of VfB Stuttgart’s youth system, Rudy spent six-and-half seasons with Hoffenheim before making his dream move to Bayern, accumulating a total of 12 goals and 35 assists from a total of 212 appearances across all competitions. Speaking on the move to Munich, Rudy insisted that it’s been a dream come true, and an incredibly smooth transition:
I was thrilled when I got the offer from FC Bayern. I felt at ease from the start, I didn't need long to settle in. The team welcomed me very well, which made the move easier of course.
The 27-year-old added that being at a club with so many top quality players keeps him hungry to improve, and that each and every training session serves as an opportunity to better his game:
You train with world-class players at FC Bayern. That was one of the reasons I came here: I want to improve. The pace is high, the quality is very high in training. It's easier to improve then.
The sharpening of his tactical awareness, he admits, has also been growing since he’s come to Bayern:
Always be ready to receive the ball, pass the ball, win tackles. That's very important in this [central midfield] position.
Lastly, Rudy’s ambitions are as big as the club itself and he suggests that they’ve yet to hit their best from this season:
We can achieve a lot with the team. We've demonstrated our quality over the last few weeks. But we're capable of more. We aren't at the limit yet. [Our goal is to] collect titles!
A belated congratulations to Sebastian and his wife, Elena!:
Sebastian Rudy & Elena. "Baby inside" pic.twitter.com/yXTVuqq2kV
— Bayern mania (@Bayern_mania) November 17, 2017