Kadeřábek: "It can always get better"

Pavel, you say you've been to the Sinsheim Technical Museum approximately 20 times. You seem to like it.

"Perhaps even more. I really like it here and so does my daughter. There are lots of nice things for her to play with here. We only live five minutes away – and every time you come there are always interesting things to see."

The fact you've been here so often also gives an indication of how long you've been at TSG...

"It's my fifth year in Hoffenheim. When I arrived, I never thought I'd still be here now. I thought I'd see out my four-year contract and then go back. By the time my current contract expires, I'll have been here for eight years."

In the current squad, only Oliver Baumann and Ermin Bičakčić have been at the club longer.

"Really? (pauses) Yes, true! Adam Szalai has left now and Philipp Ochs has spent some time out on loan."

Furthermore, you're a key first-team player.

"I always have to fight for that. It's not so easy. From time to time, there's a new right-back and a new rival."

You've recently played on the same side but in a more advanced position with a greater attacking focus. What's the difference for you?

"It looks like a different position but I wouldn't say it's all that different. When we play more defensively, I'm still really far back on the right of a five-man defence. But when we have possession, then I'm slightly further forward. We only play with a back four when we have the ball; then Stefan Posch is behind me and I'm in midfield."

"I still need to improve"

You've been much more dangerous going forward compared to when you joined TSG.

"I certainly have compared to my first or second season. But I still think there's room for improvement. I can score at least six goals and set up 20 more each season. I do need to get better in that respect. I need to be taking the chances I had against Wolfsburg and Gladbach. I've said it time and time again: it can always get better."

Has it been a big change for you since Alfred Schreuder arrived? Because he plays a different style to Julian Nagelsmann.

"Alfred comes from the Dutch school and he likes to keep the ball. With Julian it was more about countering at speed. Our team still needs time. There are a lot of players who have departed, while new players and a new coach have arrived. That all takes time. The wins over Bayern and Schalke of course gave us a lot of confidence. At the start, we were playing almost exclusively against the top clubs. But every match is tough in the Bundesliga."

You often say you want to get better and have competition for places. Do you like to have this kind of competition?

"I've said that I'm not satisfied with myself. People can see that I'm performing well, but I do not rack up enough goals and assists. To put it simply, that annoys me. I'd like to change that."

A lot of your team-mates aren't such big fans of talking about what they can't do. You're an exception.

"In the changing rooms, Benni Hübner already tells me: you've become really dangerous and a goal-getter for us. But I don't see it like that. I still need to get better."

You're highly self-critical.

"The way I see it, you have to be."

Back when you arrived at TSG, Markus Gisdol was still the coach. You've witnessed the whole transformation from relegation battlers to Champions League participants. At the very start there was a period where you didn't always play. Were you hard on yourself during that period?

"I knew myself that I wasn't playing well. I almost never get irritated with the coach; I always get irritated with myself instead, because I know when I'm not playing well. Even under Julian, I would sometimes miss out on two or three games. And I wasn't annoyed with him but with myself, because I wasn't playing well enough."

"I learned a real lot from Julian"

Some players have said that Julian Nagelsmann was very important for their personal development. Is that the case for you too?

"Julian was the most important guy in my football career. I learned a real lot from him. We played some very good football. He showed me how I needed to play. I was unfortunately ill when he said goodbye to us. That was a shame but I wrote to him. I passed on my thanks to him; I'll never forget that time."

Now there's a new coach...

"...that's how it goes in football. Now Alfred's there. It's positive when a coach can relate to you and understands what you need. That's working excellently under Alfred."

In the past, rumours would surface from time to time that other clubs were interested in signing you.

"There were no concrete offers submitted. The clubs were interested in me."

Juventus being one example.

"That's something I heard, but I never talked with anyone. It's obviously good when your name is mentioned in the same breath as a club like Juventus. It's an honour. But I didn't receive an offer, so it's nothing special for me."

"My family and I are very happy here"

Do you already have plans to return home to Czechia one day?

"I don't have any plans yet. It's difficult to plan something when you're in football; you never know what could happen. Right now I'm in the starting XI, but that could be different in six months' time. My family and I are very happy here. And I still have three and a half years left on my contract with TSG."

So you still feel very comfortable in the region?

"Absolutely. Whenever we visit Czechia, we're always happy to come back. Home is home, and I'm a Czech born and bred in Prague. But my wife Tereza and I are very happy with our life here. We have everything we need and feel very happy. German people are very nice. I can envisage us staying here once my career is over."

A former colleague of yours from the national team, the great Petr Čech, is now an ice hockey goalkeeper. Are you interested in ice hockey too?

"In Czechia, ice hockey competes with football for the title of number one sport. Petr is a little crazy (laughs). He does everything. He plays guitar, he sings, he dances. The man is simply crazy. He plays football for 30 years and suddenly he's playing ice hockey."

Is there another type of sport that you enjoy playing?

"I do enjoy playing tennis. And then there's badminton, which I enjoy playing with my wife and my brother Jan. We play very often during the winter and summer breaks."

"We go hiking very often"

Do you have other hobbies too?

"We very often go hiking in the Black Forest when we have a day off. We enjoy cycling too, but there are a lot of hills here and that makes it slightly difficult. I have already considered buying an e-bike (laughs). Tereza goes running every day. She took part in the Kraichgau marathon. I would've liked to be there too but we had a match in Wolfsburg the next day. So unfortunately it didn't work out."

You're constantly doing sport. One of your nicknames is the "Czech locomotive" became you cover so much ground. Do you like it?

"I've heard that nickname a few times before. But when I look at my statistics, I see that I actually don't run enough. Ihlas Bebou still covers more ground than me. My target is to overtake him again."

There was actually another major sporting figure, Emil Zátopek, who was nicknamed the "Czech locomotive". He was a world record holder and an Olympic champion at long-distance running.

"Our physiotherapist Peter Geigle always tells me I'm like him. That's a wonderful compliment because Emil Zátopek was a quick runner who was worshipped by the whole country."

Unfortunately, another Czech idol recently passed away. Did you ever meet Karel Gott in person?

"We actually even sang with him at one of the Christmas parties when I still played for Sparta Prague. That was a very special moment. Karel was a really big legend for us in Czechia. Everyone was very sad when he died. But we will always have his songs."