😶 Just keep quiet for once: Bundesliga star hits back at critics | OneFootball

It is the tiresome fate of every striker: if the goals are missing for one or two games, public criticism follows immediately. 

This seems to seriously bother Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav. He underlined this on Sunday afternoon, first with his goal celebration after scoring against Gladbach, and then verbally at the microphone.

Criticism after a weak performance in Rome

During the week in the Europa League, the 29-year-old truly had a bad day in the 0-2 defeat in Rome and missed several big chances. Previously, he also failed to score in his VfB’s Bundesliga match against Union Berlin (1-1).

Accordingly, the criticism in the media grew louder in some places during the week—and the striker clearly doesn’t like that at all.

In Sunday’s 3-0 win over Gladbach, Undav promptly scored again and celebrated with a clear gesture: his right hand opened and closed as if it were talking, and with his left he slapped it. 

After the final whistle, he vented his frustration once again in words at the ‘DAZN’ microphone. “After two games in which I didn’t score, I was suddenly the bad striker again—just because I didn’t put away a few chances. I ask myself: Which player converts every chance?”

"Just keep your mouth shut for once"

He was clearly referring to the criticism after his weak performance during the week. He said he always questions himself and, looking back at Rome, he’s aware he didn’t take the chances he should have.

“Everyone talks a lot. The media too. Of course, you can criticize. If I hadn’t scored before and then missed the chances, that would have been okay,” he said, but then pointed to his strong form since November (twelve goals across all competitions).

“But to get so much hassle from all sides after just two games—left and right—about being a bad striker, that I can’t do anything, and whatever else. That’s why I just wanted to say: Just keep your mouth shut for once, and that’s it,” was the national player’s statement after his club’s convincing victory.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 THOMAS KIENZLE - AFP or licensors