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Paul Seguin: Dictating the play
During Sunday’s (10/11) 2-0 home win over SSV Jahn Regensburg, Paul Seguin played 127 passes, by far the most of any player on the pitch. He completed 94% of them, including the pass to Tobias Mohr before he assisted Kenan Karaman’s opening goal. “I felt really comfortable in my role,” he said, rather unsurprisingly.
Seguin regularly dropped deeper against the promoted side, who came to Gelsenkirchen with a defensive approach. “We knew that Regensburg would sit back a lot,” explained the 29-year-old. Head coach Kees van Wonderen had prepared his team accordingly, expecting the visitors to allow S04 to have the ball. As a result, he instructed Seguin to play alongside centre-backs Ron Schallenberg and Marcin Kaminski when the Royal Blues were in possession. It was a plan that worked and one that Seguin enjoyed: “I think controlling the game and helping to link the play is one of my biggest strengths.”
The 29-year-old feels that play on the ball within S04’s backline is really important and that’s where Seguin helped to dictate the play from. “The lads needed someone that is confident on the ball and that’s my game,” he stated. Given how comfortable Seguin is with the ball at his feet, he was able to control the game and take on responsibility within the team. “I realised that I could provide the team with lots of stability from this position.”
Seven games, seven wins against Regensburg
Looking back at Sunday’s win, Seguin described himself as a “libero on the ball”. Almost every Schalke attack was started by the midfielder, including the one that led to the opening goal. Seguin passed it wide to Tobias Mohr and his ball to Kenan Karaman saw the captain knock it past the defender and then find the back of the net. Although coach van Wonderen gave Seguin a lot of praise after the final whistle, Schalke’s number 7 was modest about his performance. “I’m very self-critical. I know what I can do,” he said, adding: “I did pretty well” against his favourite opponents Regensburg (7 wins from 7 games now).
Seguin was quick to switch his focus to the trip to HSV in around two weeks. “It will be a completely different game because we probably won’t have as much of the ball,” he commented. “This win will definitely do us the world of good though. We were able to pick up some confidence and want to build on that now.” The Knappen will be hoping to secure their second away victory of the ongoing season in Hamburg. “It’s important that we play a lot better on our travels and use this positive energy from the Regensburg game.”
