'Now is my time', declares Ross County new boy
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
STEFFEN Wohlfarth isn’t talking towels on deckchairs or leather lederhosen as he seeks to dispel a German stereotype in Scotland.
Part of the former Bayern Munich and Freiburg striker’s drive and motivation as he joins Ross County will be to confound lazy perceptions of himself back in his homeland.
Wohlfarth, who has agreed a deal to the end of the season, was raised in a talented youth side at Freiburg among stars of the future like Fulham’s Sascha Riether and Hamburg’s Dennis Aogo. But despite winning a move to giants Bayern Munich in 2011 and training with some of the cream of Europe’s talent, the 29-year-old has often felt under-valued in his native land.
Wohlfarth believes Ross County offers him a chance to prove his doubters wrong.
The move was first hatched by County midfielder Mark Fotheringham, who alerted boss Derek Adams to the availability of his ex-Freiburg team-mate.
Unhappy at third division side SV Wehen Wiesbaden, Wohlfarth cut a deal to leave in early January.
After a two-week trial with County, he sealed a five-month deal with the club on Monday evening.
Wohlfarth said: “Back in Germany everyone knows me and they say ‘Steffen is this kind of striker’.
“They think they know all that I am capable of, but maybe I’m not what the people are talking about.
“I think I am a better player than a third league player in Germany.
“I haven’t had the chance to play in a first league in my career and I haven’t even played in a second league for a long time.
“Earlier in my career, I played only 40 games in the second league in Germany but the standard is good right down the levels.
“Now is the right time for a move, I believe. I want to experience something new, learn something new and get the chance to speak better English.
“And I want to play outside Germany and prove I am a better player than people back home think.
“Here is the perfect league for me, I hope, because I like Scottish football and the British style of football.
“I have talked often with Mark Fotheringham about coming here, since I played with him six years ago at Freiburg. After he moved here to Ross County we spoke at least every month and he told me good things about the club. He has always told me that Scotland was my league. I thought maybe in a few years I would come and when he called me again in January to invite me here for training I was keen.
“I had agreed my release from my contract at Wiesbaden. They couldn’t say if I was wanted beyond the end of this season and I didn’t feel good there, even though I played all of the time. Now after signing the contract here I feel so good. It is a new chance and a fresh start.”
Wohlfarth added: “Here it is not just about technique. You have to fight and you have to run.
“I think the SPL is my league because I’m not the typical striker who stands only in the middle waiting for the ball. I work hard and run the channels, left or right – sometimes I do that too often. We’ll see. I’m excited for the first game. I hope I can show what a good player I am.
”I obviously know of players who have come here but I’m told I am the only German currently signed to a Scottish club.
“I haven’t spoken to any of my countrymen who have played here as I don’t know any of them personally.
“I trained two weeks with the team before signing and obviously did enough to impress the manager. Now I hope to show what I can do for the team. I hope I can score a lot of goals for the team.”
Wohlfarth’s physique impressed Adams, but also his keen technique and touch.
He said: “We took Steffen across for a few weeks and he has trained well. He gives us a different outlet up front. We have the likes of Morrow, Ross and Glen up front and he’s another different type of player.
“He is a big, strong striker, with a good touch, awareness and technical ability.
“He is one who will take us up the park and that’s important to the way we are playing.
“Ivan Sproule will feed off that as well and the other strikers will get good competition.
“People might look at him as a lower league player coming here from the third tier in Germany. But they have good quality teams all over Germany. He has a good pedigree.
“He is coming to a difficult league but I’ve no doubts he will do well for us.”
