Malick Thiaw: The team is more important than the individual

After a hard-fought 30 minutes, the Royal Blues took the lead for the first time this season from a set piece. The move was anything but a coincidence though. “We studied this scenario in training. I gave Amine the sign and he played a perfect ball,” praised Thiaw, who nodded home at the back post. “I simply had to head home,” described the goalscorer.

A maiden goal – but not an unusual feeling

It was Thiaw’s first Bundesliga goal in his sixth outing, however the feeling of scoring wasn’t particularly new for him. The defender scored eight times for the U19s in last season’s league campaign. “I like scoring goals even though I’m a defender. It’s one of the best emotions you can feel,” revealed Thiaw. Nevertheless, his main emotion after the game was disappointment. “I would have been happier about my goal if we’d won the game. The team is more important than the individual.”

Stuttgart were the dominant side in the second half and equalised through Nicolas Gonzalez after a handball in the box. “We weren’t as confident in the second half with the ball – that was the problem. We lost control of the game,” analysed Thiaw. “Stuttgart had the ball more and we were chasing them around. It therefore became harder for us to get near their goal.”

The academy graduate was praised by his coach after the game. “I was really pleased with his performance. He tackled well at the back and he was confident on the ball as well. It’s great that he scored a goal on top of this too,” commented Manuel Baum. Thiaw had a 71% challenge success rate and an 88% pass completion rate on the night.

The 19-year-old wants to take the positives into the busy week coming up for FC Schalke 04. First up is a DFB-Pokal mach against 1. FC Schweinfurt 05 (Tuesday, 3/11, 16:30 CET), before the Royal Blues will face 1. FSV Mainz 05 away on Saturday (7/11, 15:30 CET). “We are training well and the sessions have been very intensive. We need to look ahead with optimism and play like we did in the first half,” explained Thiaw. Manuel Baum is also looking to build on the strong performances of his youngsters: “It’s important that we include some young players from the academy. You can see with Malick and Can Bozdogan that they play without any real weight on their shoulders. I hope this continues.”