Munich - Eintracht Frankfurt defender Sebastian Jung may have missed the train to Bochum, where Germany’s under-21s were in action, but he got the plane for his first international call-up in November 2012 as his performances finally earned the recognition his peers say they deserved.

Text call-up

Frankfurt coach Armin Veh and club president Heribert Bruchhagen had long since been singing the praises of the young full-back, earmarking him as a future international long before the club were promoted back to the top flight, and that call came when he least expected it.

“It was a huge surprise,” he said. “Getting called up to the national team is something very special.” Jung responded to the call, which came in the form of a text message from Germany’s assistant coach Hans-Dieter Flick after he initially ignored a call from an unknown number on his mobile phone. “Once I got the message, I called straight back,” he said.

The first Eintracht player to be called into the Germany national team in 13 years has a lot to thank the Bundesliga club for. The lobby he has received from Veh and Bruchhagen certainly helped focus more attention on a player who first signed terms for the club at the age of eight. Yet not even realising the dream of almost every young boy by playing for a professional team saw Jung lose his focus. He knew how many youngsters fell by the wayside, and so he prepared himself with two parallel lives: while concentrating on making the grade for Eintracht, he ensured he would have a future if he didn’t make it - as a baker.

Making bread

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