Lawrence Ennali looks to add lightning to Dynamo lineup
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
New signing Lawrence Ennali made his Houston Dynamo FC debut on Saturday night at Shell Energy Stadium and one thing was evident from the first moments he stepped on the field. Ennali is fast. We’re not just talking soccer-player-fast, we’re talking world-class speed.
We got the chance to sit down with Ennali for his first interview since joining the Dynamo last month and the German winger knows speed is a huge part of his game. “I'm a sprinter. I like to do the runs,” Ennali told us. “That's that's my playstyle. That's one of my skills, my speed. And I hope I can use it this this season for the for the rest of the season and can help the team to achieve everything.” Ennali has the skillset and ability to play anywhere on the attack but he has a specific position. “I'm a left winger. That's my position. And that's also why I feel like the most comfortable.”
The 22-year-old German joined the Dynamo at the opening of the transfer window in July from Polish club Gornik Zabrze. Ennali says he learned some Polish while at the club to add to the German and English he speaks, and the Spanish he is working on learning currently. While at Gornilk Zabrze, Ennali played alongside German legend Lukas Podolski. “It was amazing experience,” Ennali said about getting to play with Podolski. “He is like ‘that guy’ in Germany. He's funny and on the pitch he is an amazing player with his left foot. It was an honor to play with him last season. It was fun on and off the pitch.”
Ennali is still young, but has spent some time at a number of clubs in Europe. He said this is his first time coming to the United States and said it is a “crazy experience” but one he is very thankful for. So why Major League Soccer at this point in his career? “It's just an interesting league, it's growing,” Ennali said about MLS. “The teams are getting better each season and even if you look like in the last couple of years, a lot of players can even go from the MLS to bigger clubs in Europe. So I'm just trying to get better here, make more steps forward and we will see what happens.” And what was it about the Dynamo that made him want to come to Houston? It turns out Pat Onstad were persistent. “They were so, interested in me. It felt right. And yeah, they were calling me, like on a daily basis trying to get me here. And I think that's the best feeling a player can have that a club really wants you.”
The Dynamo’s persistence paid off and they got their man. Ennali got his first minutes in orange against Atlas, something that surpisingly made him nervous. “To be honest, I was very nervous. It was a long time ago that I was that nervous to play in a game, but it felt very, very good, very comfortable after 5 minutes. I just felt like, ‘OK, I'm here, so let's go.’ And yeah, I hope I could show a little but there's more to come and I can't wait for that.”
Ennali, who chose number 37 with the Dynamo because his birthday is March 7 and “it looks great”, says the style the Dynamo play is not something he did in Poland but something he enjoys. “I think you can see it on the pitch,” he said of Houston’s tactical approach. “When we lose the ball we are directly pressing again. That's our mentality to press high and I think I can fit in this pretty soon. In Poland, we were always a little bit deeper, but to be honest, like to have the ball.”
The Dynamo have some tough games coming up, starting with Real Salt Lake on Monday. Ennali has to hit the ground running and we asked him how the team is looking and preparing for the big Leagues Cup contest. “We are very sharp. You can see it in the training,” he said about the Dynamo. “There's a lot of of duels, the mentality is good and the training, everyone is pushing. I and and I hope we we get the win. That's what we need to stay in the Cup.” Even when Leagues Cup ends, the Dynamo have the Major League Soccer season to return to, where they are fighting in a tough Western Conference to get back to the playoffs. “We have some tough games coming up in the next couple of months,” Lawrence said about the team’s upcoming fixture list. “I just want to help the team and also achieve my personal goals like to score, to make assists, to play, starting, of course. And to just win. I like to win. I hate to lose. We go game by game, but it's clear that we want to win every game.”
The one guy on the Dynamo Ennali played with before in his career? McKinze Gaines and Ennali played together at Hannover in Germany. He’s learning a lot of new teammates and learning a new country and city, as well. Like a number of Europeans, Ennali said he likes basketball but he wants to do it all. “I want to see everything; baseball, basketball, NFL. I'm very excited for this. So I can't wait for this and, besides that, NASA, these are all things we don't have in in, in Germany, in Europe. So yeah, I'm very, very excited to see everything.” And you can’t talk Houston without talking about the cuisine. “And I hear there's also good food,” Ennali said about his new home.
Ennali is a very personable and fun-loving young guy. That, paired with his ability, is going to make him a favorite of Dynamo fans in no time fast. HIs message to fans in Houston sums it up perfectly. “Hey, Dynamo fans. I'm Lawrence Ennali. I'm very fast and can't wait to see you.” Dynamo fans can’t wait to see him either and the potential he can unlock at this club.
For our full interview with Lawrence, check out our YouTube channel or Bayou City Soccer Podcast on whichever platform you get your podcasts from.
