VfB Stuttgart's Ermedin Demirović on learning from Edin Džeko, playing alongside Deniz Undav, and his World Cup hopes
In a wide-ranging interview, VfB Stuttgart forward Ermedin Demirović talks about his relationship with Deniz Undav, Edin Džeko's advice and his World Cup ambitions.
Bundesliga: Stuttgart face RB Leipzig next in the Bundesliga. You played for Leipzig's U17 and U19 sides for a total of three years. How special are these games still for you?
Demirović: “It's something different. I'm very happy to have been in Leipzig. It helped me a lot to develop, and I don't think I would've become a professional footballer without that step. That's why I'm grateful to the club. On the other hand, I never played for the first team, so the connection isn't that big.”
Watch: Top-four shootout in Stuttgart on Matchday 26
Bundesliga: The game on Sunday will also be special in terms of the table. Whoever slips up loses ground in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification. Where do you see your advantage?
Demirović: “Our advantage is, of course, that we're playing at home in front of our crowd. I think when the stadium here really gets going, it becomes difficult for any opponent. We're in good form. That's why I think the biggest advantage is simply that we'll be playing at home in front of our crowd.”
Bundesliga: It's interesting that nobody at Stuttgart has officially declared Champions League qualification as a goal for the season. How does the team - or you personally - feel about that?
Demirović: “Do I have to be the first one now? I think we're in a Champions League place and we want to defend it until the end. Of course, when you've been up there for so long, you know what kind of remaining schedule you have.
"There are many competitors involved who will fight for the Champions League. That's why we want to get the points to stay up there. It would be nonsense if I said now 'no, it does not interest us at all'. Of course, before the season we said we want to play in Europe, we want to attack the top places. Now we're so close to qualifying for the Champions League, so we don't want to give that away.”
Watch: Demirović's highlight reel
Bundesliga: One of Stuttgart's greatest strengths is the team's attakcing prowess. How has the chemistry between Deniz Undav, Jamie Leweling and yourself developed?
Demirović: “I have to say it has grown a great deal. Last year we all had a year where many things came crashing down on us. The first time in the Champions League, transfers, expectations, and a completely new system for some players.
"For me, personally, it was something different. But I believe that it's grown tremendously. I think you can see how well we link up on the pitch. We spend a lot of time together off the pitch, even though there's not much free time left because we simply have game after game.
"Nevertheless, I'm really happy to see the boys every day in training, to see the team. Because it's fun in the dressing room and it's simply fun to be on the pitch because there is quality there, because it's fun to give everything and fun to win games. That's a huge advantage this year compared to last year.”
Watch: Undav on fire
Bundesliga: How special is your relationship with Undav?
Demirović: “Deniz and I understand each other incredibly well. We spend a lot of time together. We often get together with our families. He has a little daughter, I have a little daughter. They get along very well and our wives get along very well.
"So he's not just a teammate but really a very good friend. I think that understanding helps you on the pitch. The more time you spend off the pitch, the better you understand someone away from the game, it will immediately show on the pitch. That's why it's working so well for us right now.”
Bundesliga: You could see that in Mainz, especially with the first goal. Even though Undav did not completely control the ball, you were there to score...
Demirović: “Deniz and I often have situations where we get a cross that might be difficult to control. And in the last few weeks we've said to each other: if we have a bad touch, just put your body in the way, and the other one should get on the ball.
"That's why it looks a little random of course. I don't want to say that it's planned to control the ball badly, but we do have our patterns. When we know that we're so close to each other and have basically flooded the box with at least two strikers who are difficult to defend, we know that if I have a bad touch I just try to push my body in so that no opponent gets there.
"And Deniz will be somewhere there, or the other way around. That's why we were happy that it worked like that.”
Watch: Highlights of Stuttgart's Matchdy 25 draw with Mainz
Bundelsiga: The game in Mainz was a good example that you can spend 75 minutes without really getting into the game, but then you have to be there when the door opens a little. Is that a characteristic of a top striker, to simply have patience and wait for your moment?
Demirović: "Yes, I have to admit that I learned to deal with these things over time. As a player there are times when you become impatient. You don't get the ball, you only get duels. They are aerial duels, they are 50-50 situations where there is always a foot in between.
"You basically have the feeling that you're not in the game at all. But you have to stay calm in moments like that. I think I've learned to stay calm and to trust that the ball will come to my feet at some point, given the quality we have in the squad. At some point you will have the situation where you have to be there. That was exactly the proof. Always be there with your head.
"[Edin] Džeko often said to me that your head is the most important thing in the game. Don't switch off for a second because you are a striker. You have to function in that one second. I took that to heart.”
Bundesliga: In which areas have you improved your game the most, especially at Stuttgart in the last 18 months under Sebastian Hoeneß?
Demirović: “I think you can see on the pitch that I'm more involved. I get more touches, I'm in the game more, more involved in the play, and through that I get into many more situations where I can score goals.
"And by now I also have the feeling that it's not only about that. In the past it was like this: 'When Ermedin plays well, then he scores a goal'. Otherwise, that was basically it.
"And now the pressure isn't there anymore to say 'if you don't score, then you didn't have a good game.' Now it's more like you play well and then you reward yourself with your goals. That plays a big role at the moment.”
Bundesliga: Deniz Undav recently said he believes it's definitely possible for Stuttgart to win both the DFB Cup and the Europa League this season. How much does the thought of challenging for these two trophies bring the team together, and is it possible to win both?
Demirović: “First of all, it's definitely possible. I don't see any opponent, whether in the league, the Europa League or the cup, where we have no chance. Of course, there are players or clubs where it becomes more difficult.
"Nevertheless, we just have to believe in the quality we have. We've got a great squad, we're in very good form. We have the bonus that when we play at home, we really have the power now that it's not pleasant for any opponent to come to Stuttgart. That's why, on the one hand, it is possible.
"On the other hand, it brings us together. Last year we won a title. That was the most beautiful feeling we have experienced in football, I assume for everyone. Everyone wants to experience that again.
"In the Europa League it will be difficult but possible. We have Porto ahead of us, we had Celtic. If you look at the opponents, there are many exciting ones. But every opponent is also one where you can say we can beat them as well. That's why it's possible.
"It'll be difficult. It'll be a very difficult path because there are simply many games and many highlights. It's the same in the Bundesliga. But it's possible and we want it just as much.”
Watch: Stuttgart's top 5 goals this season
Bundesliga: Has the squad's confidence grown throughout the season?
Demirović: “Yes. Our confidence has grown through the games we've played. It's a healthy confidence. We don't go into it thinking we'll beat everyone now in the DFB Cup, whether it is Bayer Leverkusen or Bayern, that we'll just brush them aside.
"We won't even talk about Freiburg. We know Freiburg will be difficult. The final opponent will be difficult. But if you only think negatively, then you will never achieve anything in your career. That's why, in my opinion, you should always set the highest goals, because only then can you long for big things.”
Bundesliga: The month of March brings some big games, not only against Porto in the Europa League but also Leipzig in the Bundesliga and the FIFA World Cup play-off against Wales for Bosnia and Herzegovina. How do you personally manage all of these big fixtures, and what would it mean to qualify for this summer's World Cup?
Demirović: “It's difficult, but I have to say that would be everything for me. As a child, I dreamed of playing for the Bosnian national team. Before I even thought about becoming a professional, the national team was the topic. Then I dreamed of being at a World Cup.
"I know what the feeling was like as a small child, watching the game when the national team qualified for the first time. At home with my father, with the family, with friends, with everyone. We celebrated like we were the biggest fans. That's why I know what it would mean for the people.
"On the other hand, it would simply be a dream. I'll give everything for it. I'm looking forward to it. I have a tingling in my body just thinking about what could happen. That's why there's a huge sense of anticipation, and a healthy tension is already there.”
Watch: The best of Džeko in Germany
Bundesliga: Just under 12 years ago, Edin Džeko appeared at a FIFA World Cup. Now he's back in Germany, scoring goals for Schalke in Bundesliga 2. What can you learn from him?
Demirović: “What can you not learn? As a striker who plays in your national team and who has always been your idol, you should analyse every step he makes, because to perform like that at that age, regardless of the league and regardless of the club, is unbelievable.
"That is why for me, he's a phenomenon. He's a huge player, not only now and not only for Bosnians. I think for many people, Džeko is simply a huge footballer who shaped a generation.
"I try to take as many things as possible from him and absorb as much input as possible when he gives something in the national team. And simply bring it into my game.”
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