Bryan Mbeumo of Brentford celebrates scoring Brentford's second goal during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Brentford at Stamford Bridge, London Picture by Mark D Fuller
Mark Flekken interview: How I rediscovered my true self
His own harshest critic, Brentford’s Mark Flekken has spoken openly and honestly about his struggle to adapt to the Premier League following his move from Freiburg in May 2023. Featuring additional insight from first-team goalkeeper coach Manu Sotelo, this is the story of a turbulent first season that saw Flekken overcome a challenging start and return to his “100 per cent true performance”, which included an outstanding display against Manchester City in February
After Brentford’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace last August, goalkeeper Mark Flekken returned to the home dressing room at Gtech Community Stadium and sat in silence.
Flekken had made the switch from Bundesliga club Freiburg earlier that summer and was struggling to adjust to life in west London – on and off the pitch. For the 31-year-old, it felt as though the walls were closing in.
Kevin Schade put Brentford in front inside the opening 20 minutes against Palace that day, and the Bees had fought hard to keep their lead intact.
None more so than Flekken, who in a frantic few seconds midway through the second half had spectacularly clawed Jefferson Lerma’s bullet header off the line before leaping to his feet and racing to his near post to bravely block Jordan Ayew’s close-range drive with his chest.
But the Eagles’ equaliser, scored moments later by Joachim Andersen after a mix-up between Flekken and Nathan Collins, was avoidable. And the keeper knew it.
“I remember walking off the pitch thinking, ‘What the f*** just happened?’ That should have been my game,” he recalls with a wince.
“The manager [Thomas Frank] said after the game, ‘Normally I should be sitting here just talking about the goalkeeper, because you made some ridiculous saves.’
“I had that feeling coming off the pitch, knowing it shouldn’t have happened and that during the two years before in the Bundesliga I would have never made that mistake.
“That basic thing of closing your legs because from that tight angle, there was nowhere for him to go. Those small things added up. I wasn’t my complete self on the pitch.
