“I have something African in me”

Mitchell Weiser from Werder Bremen wants to play for the Algerian national team in the future. Background: His maternal grandfather is from the North African country.

“I don’t have the passport yet, but I’m in the process of doing it. Of course that’s an option. It would be an adventure for me. I feel like it,” said Weiser in an interview SPOX and GOALS. Algeria meet Niger in the upcoming international phase on March 23rd and 27th. “Let’s see if everything is settled by then.” The 28-year-old right-back himself hasn’t had any direct contact with association officials, “but my advisor has. It’s all through him.”

Although his grandfather commutes between the two countries, Weiser has not yet been to Algeria: “Unfortunately, I’ve never made it. Actually, we always wanted to go there as a family, but somehow it never happened. I don’t have a real connection. But everyone who knows me says that my type is more foreign than German.”

Weiser was born in Troisdorf in North Rhine-Westphalia. Between 2010 and 2017 he played a total of 42 international matches for various German U-national teams and won the European Championship title with the U21s in 2017, but never felt entirely comfortable with the DFB. “Even when I was young with the DFB, I realized that the German mentality didn’t really suit me,” says Weiser. “My character doesn’t seem to be so German. I have something African in me. I appreciate that.”

In the run-up to the World Cup in Qatar, Weiser was traded as a possible candidate for Germany’s senior national team. According to his own information, he had no contact with national coach Hansi Flick at the time. In the current season, Weiser has scored three goals and nine assists in 22 competitive games for Werder. After missing two recent games with an ankle injury, he made his comeback as a substitute in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat by FC Augsburg.