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Soufiane El-Faouzi: Every player in our squad matters
Soufiane El-Faouzi was one of the standout performers at the VELTINS-Arena in the 1-0 home win over Karlsruher SC on Easter Sunday (5/4) – and not just because he covered more than 14 kilometres. The 23-year-old repeatedly helped drive Schalke forward and once again showed why he has started every game so far this season.
Team spirit is one of the defining features of this Schalke side, which is why El-Faouzi continues to put his full faith in the group. “When one player is missing, another steps in and gives everything,” said the summer signing from Aachen, who pointed out that the team have already shown that on a number of occasions over the past few weeks and months.
Coping with absentees as a team
Head coach Miron Muslic was once again without several key players against Karlsruher SC. “We’ve obviously got some important players missing at the moment, there’s no point pretending otherwise,” explained El-Faouzi. As well as the injured Edin Džeko and Nikola Katic, Schalke will also be without captain Kenan Karaman and Mertcan Ayhan in Elversberg on Sunday (12/4). Both picked up a yellow card against KSC and are suspended for the trip to Saarland.
Even so, the midfielder is remaining upbeat: “We’ll cover for those absences as a team. Every player is important, every player is needed.” There have also been some positive developments in recent days: Bryan Lasme and Adrian Gantenbein have both returned, with the pair having made a big contribution to Schalke’s strong run of results in the autumn. Christopher Antwi-Adjei was also back in the squad against Karlsruhe after a lengthy spell out and is available again. “This will help us,” El-Faouzi added.
I always want to drive the ball forward and play an active role in the game.
That’s why he’s so eager for the match in Elversberg. “I’m really looking forward to the game,” said the holding midfielder, who is keen to make his mark again: “I always want to drive the ball forward and play an active role in the game.”
He isn’t focusing on the league table right now, even though he knows the leaders will be taking on the side in third place at the URSAPHARM-Arena an der Kaiserlinde. “The league is so tight – in two weeks’ time it could look completely different again,” El-Faouzi pointed out. “We’re sticking to our approach of taking it one game at a time. That’s worked well for us all season, and we’ll keep doing that.”
