Naldo enjoys the perfect matchday

After starting the game yesterday, Naldo became the all-time record holder for Bundesliga appearances by a Brazilian with 337. He overtook previous record holder Ze Roberto, who played in an impressive 336 Bundesliga games himself. “It’s a proud moment for me to beat his record. He’s one of my role models and a great friend of mine,” said the Schalke defender after the Stuttgart game. Naldo made his Bundesliga debut on 5th August 2005 while representing Werder Bremen. Twelve and a half years later, he is one of the clear-cut leaders and role models for Bundesliga football.

But for how much longer will he be able to be called upon to play at the top level, week in and week out? It’s not a question of age for Schalke’s elder statesman. “I’m feeling really good, really enjoying my football at the moment and I’m training hard to maintain this level of fitness. I see myself wearing the Royal Blue shirt for a while yet,” said Naldo. When asked if he could crack the 400 game mark, he responded with a grin and said: “Why not? I feel completely at home with Schalke. It’s a lot of fun to work with this set of players every day. I don’t ever think about calling an end to things.”

Moving on up

Aside from becoming the Brazilian to make the most Bundesliga appearances in the history of the league, there was another thing that contributed to Naldo’s perfect matchday. The defender gave his side the lead with a header in the 14th minute – his fifth goal of the season. “It couldn’t have gone much better, for me and for the whole team,” he said. Daniel Caligiuri set up the goal perfectly for the Brazilian from a free-kick: “He served it up on a plate, so I didn’t have much to do really. We’re really glad that we can create dangerous chances from every situation. It doesn’t matter if it’s Basti, Calli or Kono – every opponent will find it hard to defend against us.”

Naldo explained the reasoning behind his special goal celebration after the game. “I made the “C” sign to the camera, as it was directed at my cousin, Caroline. I promised to her over the winter break that I would do that celebration. The celebration for my goal against Leipzig was for my wife Carla, and now I’ve fulfilled my promise for my cousin.”

Schalke’s defensive leader has also been making strides elsewhere – in the Royal Blues’ top scorers list. “I’m trying to put as much pressure as possible on our strikers,” joked Naldo in the Mercedes-Benz Arena when asked about his goal to become his side’s top scorer. Guido Burgstaller, who currently leads all Schalke players with seven goals, spoke to him about it following the game, according to Naldo. But “it’s all a bit of fun and I’m sure he’ll be back on the scoresheet soon.” Christian Heidel didn’t miss out on the opportunity to poke a bit of fun at Naldo’s goalscoring prowess either. “If he keeps this up, then we’ll have to put him in the same category as Lewandowski and Aubameyang,” he joked.

To Naldo, however, staying solid in defence is much more important than scoring. “I’m thrilled that we kept another clean sheet. That gives us a lot of confidence for the games to come. We’re playing well as a collective at the moment.” The next chance for the Royal Blues to come away with another three points comes on Saturday (3rd February), when Werder Bremen are the opponents. The club at which it all began for Naldo.