This summer, Ciganik moved to the Swiss top league team “Luzern” and started the new season with a goal and three assists in seven games. The team he represents is currently in the second position of the overall standings and we can say that the fullback is also at the peak of his career so far. However, the road to it was long and hard.
As a child and teenager, he was still a striker and caught the eye of German scouts. This resulted in a contract signed with “Bayer” at the age of 16.
“I didn’t have any injuries or other health problems during my youth. I was able to play 90 minutes on both Saturday and Sunday without any problems. Right around the time I signed the contract with Bayer, I got the flu. The doctor said that it is not necessary to play now, but the “Riga Cup” tournament was ahead, I was young, I wanted to play, I did not think about my health. I played on Friday, Saturday, but on Sunday I felt the Achilles tendon. It was the first time in my career that I felt any health problems. When I left for Germany, after the medical tests, they also said that I have problems with the Achilles tendon, I need to work on it more,” the football player recalls.
At that time, he was in the system of the now defunct club “Skonto”. It was necessary to wait three months before leaving for Germany, and the Riga club was no longer interested in the young footballer, as it was known about his departure. “When I treated Achilles, new problems started – with the knees, with the muscles, with other parts of the body. After a three-month break, which I spent at home and played football only with my friends, I immediately went to training, and they expected results from me. I also put a lot of pressure on myself. In addition, I had no support around me, so I started having problems with my head – depression. I had no idea that a 16-17-year-old football player could have depression! I remember that at that time I didn’t want to go to training, because I realized that I wouldn’t get anything done, I didn’t have any friends there. In Latvia, I had never faced the fact that I did not want to go to training, I happily rode from Purvciem to Mežaparks and then back with roller skates.”
Ciganik says that in the first year in Germany, injury followed injury, and he played only four games. “After such a missed season came a ‘phenomenal’ coach who loved criticism. He believed that if people overcome criticism and difficulties, they will grow up to be great football players. I was still alone, without any support, but when I wanted to talk to the coach, he sent me away. Well, how can it be done? At that time I thought that maybe it was normal, but now, ten years later, I understand that this person was not normal, he had problems with his head, some kind of complexes. I was not ready for such a coach at that time. I started arguing with him, until at one point everything came to the point where we even started pushing each other.”
The best year in Germany was the third year, when he also participated in the youth Champions League game against “Manchester United”, however, at that time the footballer already played with his peers, not with guys 1-2 years older. “Leverkusen did not have a U23 team at that time, from the youth you had to jump to the first team immediately, but not everyone can do it. I went on loan in the fourth league. “Duisburg” also wanted me (won the third league that season – aut.), I spoke with their coach Bernd Hollerbach, who then worked in Hamburg, and he told me that he wants to see me if we play in the third league, but if we get to the second , there will be questions. They were promoted, but I went to “Victoria” Cologne, where I did not play the whole season due to an injury. And then that’s it. I thought I would have a phenomenal career, but nothing happened anymore.”
However, Gyganik calls this time a very good school of life to gain character, and he is sad that at that time he did not have the mindset he has now. “I was near the top level both in Bayer and later also in the second team of Schalke 04 and I saw that I wasn’t far behind, but something just didn’t happen to me and I wasn’t mentally ready either. Now I have a different understanding, I have grown up. If I was 18 years old with the head I have now, I would have gone completely differently.”
I tell the story of Andrejas Ciganik’s difficult path to increasingly strong clubs, why Latvian footballers do not have a fighting mentality and many other topics read Edmund Nowitzk’s interview with the player. The September “Sporta Avīze” is available at the best newsstands only this week.
2024-09-26 11:18:26