It's a bit like love. Here, too, one sometimes only really knows about the importance of the other person when he or she is no longer there. Now the appreciation for Daniel-Kofi Kyereh and the regret at his absence because of the Africa Cup of Nations.
St. Pauli's 2-2 draw against Erzgebirge Aue on Saturday once again underscored the importance of the attacking player - this time not because of his dribbles or assists, of which he has already given ten this season, but because they were absent.
Kyereh substitute Christopher Buchtmann, like the rest of the team, tried his best against the narrow and resolutely defending guests, he and the men in brown rarely achieved anything really creative, fast or surprising. Disciplines in which Kyereh often excels.
Although Lukas Daschner is closer to this style of play than Buchtmann, Schultz opted for the latter in the starting XI after convincing in the training camp.
"I would have wished more often that he would go deep himself or play the ball deep, but it wasn't that easy," said Schultz. Kyereh's offensive partner Guido Burgstaller also suffered from the lack of depth.
Daschner, on the other hand, who was only allowed on the field in the 85th minute after his knee injury, was directly beneficial and dynamic and left an application for the cup game against Dortmund. Kyereh will have followed it from afar.
On Tuesday he plays with Ghana against Comoros. If he doesn't win, he could be back in the derby against Hamburg on Friday. St. Pauli would certainly be fine with that.