Blendi Idrizi: It’s fun to be a part of FC Schalke 04

The Kosovo international didn’t need a lot of time to decide whether or not to put pen to paper on a new contract. “When I think about where I was a year ago, it’s a bit of a crazy story. This club has allowed me to live my dream, and I’m so thankful for that and I will continue to work hard to improve as a player,” said Idrizi, who was substituted on against FCH in the closing stages of the game.

The attacking player went on to record his third goal involvement in 18 appearances this season, as his measured cross found the head of Simon Terodde, who scored his 22nd goal of the season and got the VELTINS-Arena bouncing once again. “It’s easy when you’ve got Simon up front. You just need to give him the ball in the box, and he’ll do the rest,” said Idrizi, who also enjoyed S04’s two other goals during the game from the bench.

Idrizi explained that Schalke’s first two goals against Heidenheim were extremely important. “The first few minutes were difficult. Only after Drex made it 1-0 could we get proper control of the game against a strong Heidenheim side,” added the Kosovo international. Fans all around the ground were astounded with the Ko Itakura’s technically-brilliant finish for the Royal Blues’ second goal. “He took the goal unbelievably well,” praised Schalke’s number 36. However, the Japan international’s skill in the build up to the goal didn’t come as much of a surprise to Idrizi, because “Ko does things like that all the time in training. He’s a great player, and also a great guy. I’m glad he’s a part of our team.”

Idrizi is going into the week of training with plenty of anticipation. “The win over Heidenheim has given another extra push. We really want to experience more of the full-time scenes we experienced at the VELTINS-Arena,” said the midfielder. “We’re in good form right now, and we absolutely want to keep that going in Darmstadt.”