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Østigård: "Talent isn't everything"
Leo Østigård has already made an impression in the Kraichgau in his two months at TSG Hoffenheim. The central defender has quickly established himself in the starting line-up and taken on a leadership role – in keeping with his character, as he revealed in a SPIELFELD interview: "I'm not someone who hides away or is quiet. I want to lead the team, lead the way and only then can I give my best performance on the pitch...The team was very open to me expressing my opinion. They listen to me and I listen to them; that's the fundamental requirement."
One of the reasons for this could be the fact that Østigård was already training with the first team at Molde FK at the age of 16 and learned how to hold his own in senior football early on. The Norwegian has a conversation with his coach at the time, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, and his courageous nature to thank for this: "I asked what the plan was for me and said that I wanted to train with the first team, otherwise I would leave the club. Solskjær seemed to like my self-confidence; he really let me join training and I made a good impression. If I hadn't knocked on his door back then and been so cheeky and confident, I probably wouldn't be sitting here...talent isn't everything."
The Norwegian probably celebrated his greatest success to date with SSC Napoli. The defender won the Serie A title with the tradition-steeped Italian club in 2023 – a unique and formative experience: "It's very difficult to describe because something like that is probably unique. The city lives and breathes for the club and has really longed for the title. Thirty-three years after Maradona, the time finally came. You can win the championship with other clubs, but this moment was unique for Napoli. I can't imagine there being a more beautiful title. At no point in the season did we feel that another team could beat us. We were in a frenzy."
The April edition of SPIELFELD magazine also features a profile of new signing Gift Orban, Umut Tohumcu answers questions in the 'No comment' section and SV Hilsbach are introduced in the 'Our neighbours' series.
