Timo Becker: Of all the days for my parents to not be at the stadium

“It’s too bad that we weren’t able to advance to the next round,” the 22-year-old said about the match. Regardless of the result, he will still have good memories of the night in question. “My match jersey will be given a special place in my house,” said Becker, who made his first Bundesliga start for Schalke nearly a month ago against SC Paderborn 07. He had previously made two cameos for the Royal Blues in the Hinrunde.

The match saw Becker, who made the move from Rot-Weiss Essen to Schalke last summer, achieve a childhood dream. “”FC Schalke 04 is my club. I was born here, and both my father and mother have been fans for several years now,” said the defender, who previously wore the royal blue and white during a few seasons with the Schalke youth teams.

However, his parents were not at the VELTINS-Arena to witness his appearance against Bayern München. “Unfortunately, they weren’t at the stadium today, of all days,” said Becker. The reason why? Becker’s parents were on holiday in the Canary Islands. “They watched the game on T.V. and cheered us on from there,” he said.

Becker, who has been training regularly with the first team since November 2019, is hoping to be able to feature for the senior squad again in the future. “I try to do my best in every session,” said Becker, who felt welcomed by the team right from the start. This is also the reason why he didn’t feel nervous facing off against Bayern’s star-studded squad. “When you step onto the pitch, of course you’re still a bit nervous. That’s completely normal. But once the game gets underway, all that disappears,” said Becker. His secret: “I told myself ‘Why should you be scared? They’re just normal people!’”