Brentford midfielder Vitaly Janelt has received a new opportunity to showcase his talents for Germany. The 28-year-old has been named in Jurgen Klopp's extended squad during the international break, a decade after a scandal effectively halted his career in the national teams.
Back in 2016, Janelt was playing for the German U19 team and was part of RB Leipzig. During the UEFA European Championship qualifiers in Albania, he was caught smoking shisha with Idrissa Toure in their hotel room.
While the players were at training, a hotel staff member noticed the smoke and raised the alarm. The shisha was discovered in their room, leading the German Football Association to send both players home. At the time, U19 head coach Frank Kramer stated that there was no other course of action.
Since then, Janelt's opportunities with the German national teams dwindled, despite making a name for himself as a key player for Brentford in the Premier League after moving to England.
Now, the midfielder feels that the events of a decade ago are behind him:
In the end, I’m ten years older now than I was then. I have a little daughter. Everyone matures at some point.
I don’t have much to say about it. Everyone should learn from their mistakes. I grasped that fairly quickly and I’m glad for it. What’s done is done.
Janelt acknowledges that this current chance may be one of his last opportunities to feature in a major international tournament:
This is one of my last chances to play in one or two major competitions.
At 28 years of age, Janelt has yet to make a competitive appearance for the senior German national team.
