Miron Muslic: I only know what to expect from pictures and videos

Saturday’s match against the Spanish outfit, whose competitive season starts on 17th August, will be Miron Muslic’s first game at the VELTINS-Arena in charge of FC Schalke 04. The 42-year-old is not only looking forward to being in the dugout at his new home for the first time, but also to the day as a whole. “We’re all really looking forward to this special day with our fans. I only know what to expect from pictures and videos from previous years,” said Muslic, who has already been impressed by the 3,000 fans that turned up for the start of pre-season, as well as the numbers that travelled to Austria to the training camp in Stubaital.

“Now being able to experience this day as Schalke coach is obviously a real privilege. I’m really excited,” he revealed. Muslic’s team will be presented to the fans on the stage in front of the Tausend-Freunde wall at 11:04 CEST and will then sign autographs, before stopping by the various stalls and challenges.

An important final test

The players will then be in action around six hours later against Sevilla, an important game for coach Muslic. “Our opponents will provide us with a real test,” he said. The Knappen have faced three top-flight teams in pre-season so far (Panathinaikos, FC St. Gallen, FC Twente), keeping a clean sheet on each occasion.

“Over the past five weeks, we’ve worked extremely hard as a team on our principles and the basics of our game. We’ve defended well in several games to date and want to back that up tomorrow,” demanded Muslic. “Everybody needs to play to their best and work hard for the team.”