Everyone said to me: ‘You? Become a professional? Impossible! You can’t do it.“ This was what Wout Weghorst heard as a child. He wanted to be a footballer, but people underestimated him. Even today, when Weghorst is reaching the high point of his career, the VfL Wolfsburg forward is not getting the recognition he deserves.
Until the age of 28, Weghorst had only appeared four times for the Dutch national team. Among football fans, his name is less fancy than Andre Silva, Lucas Alario, or Andrej Kramaric. In fact, Weghorst is one of the deadliest spearheads in the Bundesliga. In 2020/21, the Dutch forward has scored nine goals in Hinrunde’s 13 matches. Only Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski have scored more goals than him. He has always been Wolfsburg’s top scorer in the last three seasons.
Weghorst himself realized that his style of play tends to be difficult to like. As a tall forward, the former AZ Alkmaar player doesn’t attack opponents with surprising sprints like Jamie Vardy or with colorful dribbles like Neymar. His style of play is comparative to Olivier Giroud, distracting defenders for team movement and relying on positioning and posture to convert opportunities.
Weghorst’s presence was invaluable to Oliver Glasner’s tactics. As player no. 9, the defensive role of Weghorst is also needed by Glasner. He becomes the first line of defense, the first player to move to disrupt the opponent’s build-up.
When attacking, apart from serving in the finishing stage, Weghorst also often hinders defenders and opens up space for his team-mates. Among Die Wolfe’s squad, Weghorst was the player with the most number of presses (212); 125 of his total press came in the final third, almost three times that of another Wolfsburg forward. The number shows Weghorst’s significance in the defensive scheme from the front of Glasner’s direction.
In addition, the 1.97 meter-post striker is also consistently appearing clinically as the spearhead. It took only two and a half years for Weghorst to enter the top 10 of Wolfsburg’s all-time top scorers. Since 2018/19, he has scored 42 goals in 79 Bundesliga matches. Weghorst recorded an average of 0.53 goals per game. This record is only surpassed by the iconic striker duo die Wolfe when they won the 2008/09 Bundesliga, Edin Dzeko (0.59) and Grafite (0.53).
The former Heracles Almelo player may be difficult to like among fans, however, the coaches like him very easily. Hans-Dieter Flick, a coach who works with strikers like Robert Lewandowski, is a fan of Weghorst. Flick called him one of the best strikers in the league.
Glasner even admits that his team has a little dependency on Weghorst. “He is a player who sacrifices himself for the team, as well as someone who is diligent about covering the width of the pitch to an extraordinary amount to help defensively,” said the Austrian.
Wout Weghorst was born in Borne, a small town in the east of the Netherlands, on August 7, 1992. This city is only less than 30 km from the German border. Weghorst has been diligently following the Bundesliga since he was a child. His childhood hero was Niels Oude Kamphuis, a midfielder who played for Schalke 04 and Borussia Moenchengladbach. The reason is, Kamphuis both come from Borne and are neighbors of his uncle.
“Every time I visit his house, I always monitor him from behind the fence with gusto: Is Oude Kamphuis at home? He was at home once – and played ball with me in the garden. Since then he has always been the greatest for me, ”Weghorst told 11Freunde. Weghorst decided to become a footballer since he was eight years old. This was triggered by the divorce of his parents. Witnessing a household that collapsed made Weghorst and his four siblings think about the future early on.
Weghorst tried hard to reach his goals. His love for football has become even more intense. In the past, when it was raining and other children scattering for shelter, Weghorst took the ball and kicked it against the wall. Weghorst was passionate about the game from childhood.
In order to become a professional footballer, Weghorst paid attention to nutritional intake from an early age. While still playing tarkam with a local club, this player who idolized Jari Litmanen had already adjusted his diet.
Weghorst cultivated professionalism from an early age. And this is what frustrates him at FC Emmen, his second professional club. At Emmen, the club’s professional standards did not match Weghorst’s expectations. The player even has to arrange meals and hold his own special training. Despite the status of a professional club and competing in the second division, Emmen at that time does not have a professional-like program. They even provide meatballs, croquettes, and chicken nuggets as their daily meals.
That disappointment only ended when Eredivisie club Heracles Almelo signed Weghorst in 2014/15. At the Polman Stadium, Weghorst introduced his talents to the football public. He scored 20 goals in two Eredivisie seasons, which made AZ Alkmaar interested in his services.
Heracles Almelo himself is a club that has played an important role in Weghorst’s career development. When the player was still competing in amateur competitions and had no career clarity, Heracles included him in team training. Heracles was the first place Weghorst experienced professional football, even if it was in training.
What gave Weghorst this special opportunity was the admiration of Peter Bosz, Heracles’ coach at that time. While other scouts and coaches were unaware of Weghorst’s talent, Bosz watched his development. However, Bosz apparently never recruited the player. Weghorst eventually moved to Willem II, where he rarely appeared in the B team though and then moved to Emmen.
“I had motor problems as a teenager. I don’t have the same long legs. And in the Netherlands, the main concern of scouts is players with extraordinary technical ability. I’m not that kind of player. That’s why nobody realized my talent. I was never invited to undergo a trial (trial), “said Weghorst.
However, Weghorst was not discouraged. His hard work and mentality pay off if he looks at his current career track. From amateur matches to established Bundesliga teams, via Heracles Almelo and AZ Alkmaar, Weghorst has always leveled up in his career.
This season, Weghorst also has the opportunity to return Wolfsburg to the top flight of German football. Die Wolfe was ranked fourth at the end of 2020. Under Glasner, Wolfsburg is unbeaten in the first 11 games and looks as a tough contestant in the Champions League zone.
ASL
