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Karim Bellarabi has made a name for himself this season with his dribbling at pace and commitment – both with the Werkself and the Germany U21s. It almost feels like Karim Bellarabi is a new signing for the Werkself. He has really arrived in Germany’s top flight this season a year after his move from Eintracht Braunschweig to the Werkself. “I came here from the third division and it was a huge step up to the Bundesliga for me,” explained the 22-year-old attacking midfielder who prefers to play on the right wing. At the end of the pre-season, coach Sascha Lewandowski and manager Sami Hyypi were both convinced they had a brand new Karim Bellarabi on their hands. “We saw a completely different Karim at the start of this season compared with the end of the last campaign,” declared Lewandowski at the training camp in Switzerland as he listed the qualities of the “new” Bellarabi: “He is fully focussed, keen to learn and is good at putting what we tell him into practice. Karim is on the right path and we’re really enjoying his development.” A cracker in the top corner
His ten competitive games in a Bayer 04 shirt have done nothing to undermine that assessment. Bellarabi played in nine of them, including six from the start – not bad for a player who only made 12 Bundesliga appearances last term and all of those from the bench. Karim started the 2012/13 season with a clear commitment of intent when he scored in the DFB Cup against Carl Zeiss Jena with a 30-yard cracker into the top corner. The strike was recognised in the ARD Sportschau programme with a nomination as “goal of the month”.
The pacy dribbler, still waiting for his first Bundesliga goal of the season, is noted for his willingness to take risks and ability to spring surprises on the pitch. Bellarabi saved his two goals of last season for the Werkself’s biggest opponents. First, he found the back of the net in the 2-0 win against Bayern Munich and then, four days later, he scored the only Bayer 04 goal as the Werkself bowed out of the Champions League. “A special moment for me despite the size of our defeat,” said Karim.
Euro title with U21s “a massive target”
Karim Bellarabi has certainly experienced some special moments over recent months including three U21 international appearances. The fourth is due to follow on Friday at the BayArena (kick-off 18.00 CET) as Germany take on Switzerland in the first leg of the play-off for a place at the 2013 European Championships in Israel. “I hope I get a game,” said Bellarabi, “playing in the Euros is a massive target.”
Friend, team and room mate Bernd Leno, who often travels to training with the Werkself with Bellarabi, is confident both will happen. “Karim,” said the Bayer 04 keeper, “is totally ambitious and he’s taken a huge step forward this season. I can see him being a regular first choice for us in the long run.”
转自
http://www.bayer04.de/B04-ENG/en/_site_index.aspx
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