Rouven Schröder: We’ve earned the chance to play the derby through our hard work
Saturday’s Revierderby (17/9) will be Rouven Schröder’s first as sporting director of FC Schalke 04. As someone born in the region, the 46-year-old knows exactly how important the derby is. On top of that, the former defender also played once in Dortmund for VfL Bochum.
The sporting director has been excited for the derby for a while now. He was clearly eager for the game to get underway at Thursday’s press conference, describing what he believes is needed to be successful: “Our overall performance will be decisive. We need to be confident and brave, and we’re hoping to go home with a positive result.”
Our overall performance will be decisive. We need to be confident and brave.
The sporting director is particularly looking forward to Saturday after the two sides didn’t meet at all last season. “We’ve earned the chance to play the derby after working hard for a whole year. We can’t wait for it now.”
Roles clearly defined
Nevertheless, the 46-year-old is well aware of the differences between the two teams. “We all know that Dortmund are a Champions League side and they’ve been on an incredible journey. It’s therefore a derby where one side is perhaps a bit stronger than the other, but we’ll gladly take on the challenge.”
Just two players – Ralf Fährmann and Michael Langer – in the current Schalke squad have ever played in a Revierderby. However, after the brilliant win over VfL Bochum last weekend, all players will surely now know how charged a match with local rivals can be, and how enjoyable a win over neighbours is.
