Michael Frey: Every player knows the importance of this game

Michi, your first Revierderby is coming up. How are you feeling ahead of the game?
You realise straight away that it’s something special. People have been excited for this match for days. When I walk through the city, people speak to me. All of us players know what’s in store for us and the importance of this game.

How much do you talk about this match in the dressing room?
We talk about the areas in which we can cause problems for Dortmund and how we can beat them. We watched BVB’s game in the Champions League, and we’ll be able to take something from that in our favour as well.

We already had a little taste of Saturday’s game last week in the local derby in Bochum. How good was that victory?
It’s always a good feeling to win. And now we’ve won twice in a row, so we’re back on the right track. We’ve made the first step of drawing level with other teams. It’s important that we continue in the same way, because now it’s going to be even more difficult as the teams will fight even harder. That’s why there’s nothing to celebrate yet, but we have definitely gained confidence.

Talking about confidence, after the 2-0 win in Bochum, a photo was taken in the dressing room of you posing like the Hulk…
That picture made quite big waves (laughs). It was just a cry of joy, and since I wasn’t wearing a shirt, that’s how the picture was seen.

You haven’t lost a game in the second half of the season and have only conceded one goal. Is this defensive stability the key to staying in the league?
We have a style of play in which defensive work is very important and we all work hard off the ball. It’s important that we still create chances going forward, and we want to make use of them more. Together we give everything at the back and up top, that’s the most important thing.

You already have experience in derbies, for example you played with Fenerbahce against Galatasaray…
Of course it helps if you have experienced something similar before. But every match is different and every derby is different too.

You are someone who works extremely hard on the pitch and throws themselves into every challenge, so basically the perfect guy for a derby. How do you prepare for this match?
I approach every game with 100 percent commitment. It wouldn’t do any good to do anything different just because it’s a special game. Every single game is like a final for us at the moment.

Our fans turned the away game in Bochum into a home game and they will give everything in the stands on Saturday as well. How much does this support help the team?
It’s something very special here in Schalke. We feel the support every day, whether in training, in matches or other places. It keeps pushing us players more and more!