Gikiewicz: “We’re ambitious”
New signing in interview with FCA TV
First Team
29.08.2020, 11:14
Rafał Gikiewicz has been at FC Augsburg since summer. In an interview with FCA TV, the goalkeeper discusses topics including his start at the club, his mentality and aims for the coming season.
Rafał Gikiewicz was between the sticks for 1. FC Union Berlin between 2018 and 2020 and helped the side gain promotion to the Bundesliga. After his contract ended, the goalkeeper made the move to Augsburg, the fourth German club of his career. “I only have good things to say about FCA so far. We have a good squad, a great head coach and good training facilities,” says Gikiewicz. “I’m only looking to the future. I want to prepare well for the new season and I’m looking forward to the first game.” Gikiewicz has already played his first friendlies in an Augsburg shirt. “The first task is to get to know the players, the squad, our tactics and how we want to play football.”
“I think that Augsburg have three very good goalkeepers”
Through group training sessions, Gikiewicz has got to know Augsburg’s other two goalkeepers. “I think that Augsburg have three very good keepers. We push each other and are positive about the future,” he says.
FC Augsburg have their first competitive game of the season in two weeks with the first round of the DFB-Pokal against MTV Eintracht Celle. Gikiewicz thinks that the team is on the right track: “We have a great squad and a lot of ability in attack. I think we still need to tighten up a little bit defensively, but I’m very optimistic.”
Gikiewicz’s quality as a goalkeeper is not the only thing that distinguishes him. His exceptional mentality made him a fan favourite in Berlin; the 32-year-old describes himself as “positively crazy”. “I’m just a positive person. I talk a lot, I laugh a lot and I make people smile,” says Augsburg’s new signing. That’s important for the side, according to Gikiewicz.
Gikiewicz wants the team to take this positive attitude into the season and maintain it throughout. He’s ambitious for the new campaign: “We still have a few days before the first competitive game. We’re a good side and it’s our tenth season in a row in the Bundesliga. We have to be ambitious.”
