Jaka Cuber Potocnik. (Photo: Bucco)
On January 31, 2022, Jaka Cuber Potocnik signed for 1. FC Köln after terminating his contract with Olimpija Ljubljana. In the GEISSBLOG interview, the attacker spoke about his move and his early days at FC. The interview first appeared on GEISSBLOG on November 6, 2022.
Lars Tetzlaff conducted the interview
GEISSBLOG: Jaka, in the winter you switched to FC from NK Olimpija in the Slovenian city of Ljubljana. How did the contact with FC come about?
JAKA CUBER POTOCNIK: “I think I drew attention to myself with strong performances in Slovenia. Apparently the scouts from 1. FC Köln also observed me on several occasions. The contact then came about through my advisor, who told me about the FC interest.”
Were there any offers from other clubs?
Yes, I had some offers from all over Europe, especially from Austria, Italy and Germany. But I made a very conscious decision to join FC, because I knew how much value is placed on youth work here and that talented people keep making the leap into professional football. That was crucial for me.
What were your first impressions of the club and the city? That must have been a big change for a 16-year-old at the time.
Honestly, when I first came here, my family was with me for a few days, but I knew I would soon be on my own. That wasn’t easy for me. The foreign language, new players and much more. I was wondering if I could make it here on my own. And yes, I was a bit homesick at first. But that’s long gone now (laughs). I feel very comfortable here and it was a very good decision to come to Cologne.
In addition to football, are you currently finishing school?
Yes, of course! The FC also rightly attaches great importance to this. I go to school here every day to meet compulsory schooling in Germany, but I’m also doing my degree in Slovenia at the same time. This is exhausting, but doable with online classes.
Your compatriot Milivoje Novakovic scored a lot of goals for FC and is fondly remembered by everyone here. Some observers of the U19 games say that your playing styles are quite similar. Is “Nova” a kind of role model for you?
Unfortunately, I never saw him play live in Cologne, but I did when he ended his career in Slovenia. I also watched some of his videos. But my idol is actually Cristiano Ronaldo.
Speaking of Ronaldo: When you were on the pitch for FC for the first few minutes, you were much smaller than you are today. You’ve visibly put on some muscles.
Yes, that was hard work too (grins). When I came to FC, I saw straight away that the other guys were much more robust than me. In Slovenia, not so much emphasis was placed on the physique. It’s different here in Cologne. We do strength training regularly and pay attention to our diet. But I still have to pack on a few pounds to be fit for adult football.
Where do you still see potential to improve your game?
I always want to improve myself everywhere. But in concrete terms, for me it’s about optimizing the first contact with the ball and being even more ripped off at the end.
So far you can be very satisfied with your performances at FC and in the Slovenian national team. What goals have you set for the rest of the season?
First of all: I’m a striker and that’s why I always want to score as many goals as possible – whether in the jersey of the Slovenian national team or here at FC. In Cologne we have a really good team where everyone fights for each other. The team spirit is really outstanding. That’s why we can achieve a lot, even though we’ve had a lot of injuries lately. In the Bundesliga I want to play for the championship and in the DFB Cup I want to reach the final. I hope that I can contribute with a lot of goals.
