Derry Scherhant on Freiburg's table-topping start to the season, playing for Germany and more
Playing a starring role for Bundesliga leaders Freiburg and part of Jürgen Klopp's Germany revamp, life is pretty good for Derry Scherhant right now.
Scherhant has hit the ground running in 2026/27, registering two goals and seven assists in all competitions before earning his first two senior caps during the September-October international break. The 23-year-old winger spoke to the Bundesliga about his impressive start, as well as his idols and objectives...
Bundesliga: You’ve won seven out of eight competitive games this season, plus one draw. It’s the best start in the club’s history. What’s your view of it all and why things are going so well at Freiburg right now?
Derry Scherhant: “I don’t think we could’ve imagined it better. It’s been a very good start for us. The team’s just working really well together. We also get on really well off the pitch. Everyone knows our play, what they need to do. I think we’re seeing that a bit. We’ll just try to build on it all.”
Bundesliga: Looking at your opponents so far, I don’t want to say you’ve been lucky with that opening run. You’ve now got tougher challenges with Leverkusen, Monaco and Bayern over the next week.
Scherhant: “Correct. We know we’re only five matchdays in and we’ve got teams with real quality to come. I think we’re best served in general when looking at the table to take things one game at a time. We’re focused on the coming opponents. We’re doing that and will try to win every game, but we know it won’t be easy.”
Watch: Freiburg went top with victory over Schalke
Bundesliga: What does it mean to you as a down-to-earth guy from Berlin when people say you were the big winner for Germany over the international break?
Scherhant: “I generally try not to read too much what others say or write, but it was a special moment for me. It was more than a dream come true to even get to be with the national team and get to show what I can go. I just went into it wanting to have fun and give more than 100 percent. I think I did that quite well. If others liked what I did, then I’m happy.”
Bundesliga: Lots of fans are now suddenly watching you more, not just in Freiburg. Cameras are now trained on you. Does that mean a lot to you to take this next step in your career, having been called up by Jürgen Klopp?
Scherhant: “Yes, definitely. It means a huge amount to me personally. When I look back at how things were a few years ago and where I am now, it’s pretty surreal and special for me. So it means even more to me. It means I can really appreciate where I’m at now. I know the other side of it all pretty well. I’m trying to enjoy it as best I can.”
Bundesliga: Did you ever dream of something like this?
Scherhant: “If you’d asked me six years ago when I wasn’t playing much for the U17s or U19s, I probably would’ve said my dream was just to make it professionally and see if anything else comes of it. That’s why I say it was more than a dream. It’s so surreal getting to be with the national team, because it was so far away from me back then.
“It makes me even more grateful that I got the chance, but I know I can’t rest on that. It was a lot of fun, but there’s a lot of work ahead to get another call-up. And I’ll do that.”
Bundesliga: To what extent is a calm city like Freiburg beneficial for you?
Scherhant: “I think you see with the team that things are much more about football and the things that matter, that people can clearly put things into perspective. I think that helps us and the team and everyone here that we can always focus on the next task – both every individual and as a team. It allows us to grow together. Everyone knows what’s essential and we just try to look ahead to the next game.”
Bundesliga: As a born-and-bred Berliner, who only knows the hustle and bustle of the capital, what did you think when you first came to Freiburg?
Scherhant: “I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a big change. It was a big contrast. But I wasn’t the sort of guy in Berlin who got distracted much. I knew where my priorities were. So, it maybe wasn’t such a big change in some respects, but the whole environment is obviously different. You get used to it over time.
“I really like Freiburg and feel at home here, even if friends and family are a bit further away. They still come to visit often enough. And the whole environment in the team – from physios to fitness coaches and the team behind the team – is just really special here. And that togetherness has been passed on to the team.”
Bundesliga: Philipp Treu was the other big winner for Germany over the break and also plays for Freiburg. This club has to be doing something for you two to have overtaken others. What has this club done?
Scherhant: “We know that work morale is very important. We’re told every game and in every analysis session that we need to give 100 percent, especially in our work against the ball. It’s sort of the Freiburg DNA that you need to work hard against the ball. Everything else comes after that. We try to implement that as best we can. I think that’s got us as a team to where we are now in the table.
“And obviously if the team wasn’t performing well – and it has to be every player at Freiburg, whether they’re getting call-ups or not – then we wouldn’t be as high up the table as we are and individuals wouldn’t be getting called up for their country. I think we all know that.”
Bundesliga: How would you characterise your style of play? People say you’re very quick, go full power. But what else is there to you?
Scherhant: “I’d say I play without fear. I just try to have no fear. I try not to think too much, playing simply and on instinct. And the most important thing is just to have fun.”
Bundesliga Your middle name is Lionel. That’s surely a coincidence, because you were born in 2002 and Messi was still in the Barcelona youth teams. That can’t be the reason, but it leads us to the question of whether you had any players you looked up to?
Scherhant: “I had several players I looked up to. I always tried to watch and learn things from great players, like Memphis Depay. He was one of my biggest idols. Obviously also Neymar. Marcus Rashford. I felt he was a similar type of player. I tried to learn by watching him. Obviously also Samuel Eto’o before then, given my father comes from Cameroon.”
Bundesliga: So the past has shaped you. What did you take from watching them?
Scherhant: “I’d say it was just their lack of fear of the opposition. They just went for it. They were players who didn’t fear going one-v-one or even one-v-two. I think that’s what makes them special players and is why I saw those types of players as role models when I was younger.”
Bundesliga: Are you allowed to talk about a goal for the season at Freiburg?
Scherhant: “Within the changing room, the objective is still 40 points. We’re taking things one step at a time. We’ll try to get there first and then look ahead.”
Bundesliga: Is it hanging up in the changing room or is it just what you discuss amongst yourselves?
Scherhant: “It’s our objective within the team. Everything that comes after that, we’ll take it one step at a time, one game at a time, trying to win them all.”
