Out for the first half of the season, Robin Koch returned to Leeds United’s starting line up at Elland Road against Arsenal in mid-December, and hasn’t really moved from it since.
The only missed game in the Premier League was the 6-0 drubbing suffered at the hands of Liverpool, but the sacking of Marcelo Bielsa hasn’t affected his role in the squad, with Jesse Marsch happy to use him as well.
He hasn’t started the last two games against Norwich and Wolverhampton, but has come off the bench in both, playing 50 minutes at the weekend in the 3-2 win over Bruno Lage’s men.
German media outlet SWR travelled to Leeds recently to have a chat with the Elland Road star, who has quickly made himself at home in the Yorkshire town, happy to be in a place where football is at the heart of almost everything.
He then added that the fanbase here is ‘very extreme’, much like it is at Kaiserslautern: “The people here are crazy about football, and you can tell that everyone is. They are all behind the club.”
On a more personal level, Koch has overcome a couple of serious injuries of late, and has made it clear that his aim, if he can, is to make it into Germany’s squad for the 2022 World Cup.
He reiterated this to SWR, saying: “It’s a dream to be back and then have the World Cup to play. Even with the two injuries, I fought back. It’s important that I play my games again.”
Whether he does regularly will be up to Jesse Marsch, but if his game time does start dwindling between now and the end of the season, there might be a conversation that needs to be had between player and manager, such is Koch’s desire to make the World Cup going forward.
