Rosicky: Don't call me Dumpling

New Arsenal signing Tomas Rosicky is determined to ditch a nickname he picked up when he was younger that he just hates - his nickname Dumpling.

'Dumpling' was given to the Czech international when he arrived at former club Borussia Dortmund from Czech giant Sparta Prague in 2001.

"The Dumpling thing came about as I'm quite small," Rosicky explained. "People were always teasing me to eat more to gain some more weight.

But I didn't like it and so they stopped calling me it after I gained some respect."

Another nickname that Rosicky picked up at Borussia Dortmund, where he was team mates with Jens Lehmann for two years, is 'Little Mozart'.

He explained: "Little Mozart came from the technical way I played. Also from the fact I used to come up with good passes and create good situations for my team-mates. I like attacking minded fast play with a short passing game."

The £7,000,000 summer signing is relishing the challenge of the English Premier League, known for its physical and demanding style of play.

"I had to face lots of pressure in Germany and I wasn't worried then," he added. "If I was worried about physical tackles I would not have moved at all."

Rosicky is relishing the challenge of having to fight for a first team place. At his former club the Czech international was guaranteed a starting birth as one of the first names on the team sheet. He was the heartbeat of the Dortmund midfield, the playmaker who had the entire team running through him. It was built around him, similarly to how the current Arsenal team is built around captain Thierry Henry.

He also commented on Arsenal's youth policy of recent years, which has started to show results with the likes of Philippe Senderos and Cesc Fabregas not only becoming integral at club but also at national team level:

"The number of young players can only be a good thing because we will have an opportunity to stay together for a while and to grow stronger as a team."

Rosicky is expected to return to pre-season training with the rest of the Arsenal players who were on World Cup duty on July 24th.

User Comments

Mike Hunt

Posted on 14 Jul, 2006 at 10:41 PM - Reply

He has got a sick dumpling head though!

Martininho

Posted on 14 Jul, 2006 at 12:44 PM - Reply

Can't wait to see Rosicky in the Prem, his passing is fantastic the kind of player that makes you sit up and get excited when he's got the ball.

As for the rough side of the Prem we will just have to wait and see, altough something to bare in mind is that he plays in europe and for the national team I didn't see him jump out of any tackles in Germany 06

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