A text message from an unknown number and a nervous phone call put Anton Stach back where he wants to be after a difficult summer.
On Monday night Stach was part of Leeds United's 4-1 thumping of Newcastle United, so Tuesday's training session at Thorp Arch began a little later than usual. By the time he was ready to head home again afterwards, he was back in the Germany fold - called up by new national team boss Jurgen Klopp.
"He text me actually," said Stach. "It was on Tuesday, I think, in the morning, and then he asked me if we can have a call. Because the game was late, we were later in. I didn't have his number. It was very random because I woke up in the morning and then I drove here straight away. I was not looking on my phone because I was so tired. Then I was sitting in the changing room and I saw it's a new number I haven't seen yet, and then I saw his message, even with an emoji. It was so nice."
The text message was followed by a phone call after Stach had completed his training session. It was not his first call up, he already has three caps - the last of which came in March of this year - but it was a big moment for the 27-year-old.
"I called him and we talked just a bit about life and everything, not too much about football," he said. "I know what it means. I told him, also. When I talked to him in the car I was so nervous. I think the temperature got like six degrees warmer in the car and I had to open the windows. And then he had a very positive message for me that I'm in the squad with him, and he wants to meet me, wants to see me, and I was very happy. But it's very special, every time I've got the call up. It's just such a big thing to play for your country or to have the chance to play for your country. I'm also proud. But this is also a big motivation to do more and to put in more work to improve and to keep going."
It's fair to say that between his March involvement with Germany and Tuesday's chat with Klopp, Stach has had a hard time of it. May's Elland Road clash with Brighton lasted 74 minutes for the midfielder, due to a nasty ankle injury. He was stretchered off with blood visibly soaking through his sock from a bone-deep cut, missed the final game of the season and missed out on the World Cup in America.
"If I'm honest, I struggled a lot with it over summer because it was a very difficult injury," he said. "It took longer than we expected, but I'm very thankful for the medical stuff. I was in touch with them nearly every day. I sent them a lot of pictures. I think I could do maybe a photo book out of it now. It wouldn’t be nice, and nobody would buy it, but I'm very thankful that they helped me a lot. When I was on vacation I couldn't go into the water because [the wound] was not fully closed, so it was a bit unlucky. I never had an injury like this, it's a very rare injury. It's also not the best area because I need my foot for everything, for walking, playing football. I feel it still in some movements. I was out for, I don't know, six, seven weeks with it so I still need to find my way back to 100 per cent on the pitch. With the touches on the ball, I struggled at the beginning with my left leg. I think my muscles were a lot weaker than my right foot. But now I get there."
Stach believes he carried the injury, or at least the after-effects, into the current Premier League season. It has taken time for him to feel right again, mentally as much as anything else.
"I think the first performances, also in pre-season, it was not good," he said. "I thought a lot about it. Why is it like this? I had many people who were talking to me, people that I've known for a long time, and they said maybe it's still in your head, the injury, because I never had this before. I said to myself 'I'm fine, I'm fine,' but maybe it's like deep inside, and I'm a bit scared with some movements. I could only tell that something is still not normal like before. The first games were not my best. I noticed not the best touches, not the best intensity. It was just not my game. But the last game [against Newcastle] was a bit better."
The nod of approval from Klopp has come at a good time, giving Stach an extra confidence boost. He will be part of the Germany squad for Nations League games against Netherlands and Greece during the extended international break. But he's grateful too for the backing he's received from his club boss.
"It's amazing [hearing from Klopp] and I also need to thank our coach Daniel Farke, because he always believes in me," said Stach. "We talked a lot, and he said he sees it, but he said it's a process to get back to my game, and I need to do it in training, to do a bit more. It gets better and better, and in the games now also. I think I'm on a good path, and obviously it's a motivational boost when I get a call up. So more training, more stuff just with the ball and more motivation. So I think I will improve and hopefully get back to my old strength, to my game."
Germany travel to Netherlands on Thursday 24th September, host Greece on Sunday 27th September and then Serbia on Thursday 1st October.
