Search
Login
Please log in with your user data.
Miron Muslic: A great experience for our young bunch of lads
With players away on international duty, several Knappen rested and a number also out injured, Miron Muslic had anything but a full squad to choose from for Thursday’s friendly (13/11) at FC Twente to mark the Dutch club’s 60th anniversary. A number of players from Schalke’s academy therefore got the chance to impress in front of a big crowd in Enschede.
The S04 coach was more than impressed with what he saw in front of 25,000 fans at De Grolsch Veste, with more than 5,000 Royal Blues also in attendance. “We went there with a really young bunch of lads,” said the 43-year-old. “The lads that played did really, really well. Playing in front of that crowd was uncharted territory for them and a great experience too.”
Muslic praised the way the U19 players Malik Tubic and Clinton Wilson – both of whom started – as well as the substitutes Silas Thier and Ben Weber, and the U23 lads Paul Pöpperl (also in the starting XI), Tim Dietrich, Magnus Rösner and Bojan Potnar (all brought on) slotted into the team. Once again, he said, it underlined the excellent work being done in the Knappenschmiede. The head coach regularly watches the U19s and the Regionalliga side and is in frequent contact with U19 boss Norbert Elgert and U23 coach Jakob Fimpel. Ayman Gulasi and Mika Khadr were also involved – both were part of the first-team squad recently against SV Elversberg, but have otherwise featured for the U23s this season.
Playing in front of that crowd was uncharted territory for them and a great experience too.
“Our structure was really good against FC Twente. We only allowed them one proper chance in the first 45 minutes,” praised Muslic. The hosts’ goal just after the break then came from a corner. “That can happen,” said the coach, who took plenty of positives despite the 1-0 defeat.
Aside from plenty of youngsters from the club’s academy, a number of first-team players such as Mauro Zalazar, Max Grüger, Henning Matriciani and Felipe Sanchez were able to get minutes against a high-quality side. Muslic also felt that Dylan Leonard showed how much potential he possesses. The S04 boss revealed that the young Australian only played the first half due to an agreement with him and the medical department before the game.
Pull together until the winter break
Even though the team that took on Twente will presumably never play together again, Muslic felt he learned a lot from the friendly. When analysing the game, the 43-year-old also looked back at the first international break of the season. “Mertcan Ayhan got the opportunity to impress against Gladbach in September and has been a regular in our starting XI in recent weeks, where he has performed well.” That example just shows how useful these fixtures during international breaks can be.
With a number of players still out injured, some of the youngsters that played against FC Twente could get their chance in the first team in the near future. “We’ll pull together until the winter break because we’re strong when we stick together. It’s something that has helped us in recent games and will continue to do so,” summarised Muslic, who will spend this weekend in Austria with his family to recharge the batteries. The Knappen are back in action on Saturday (22/11) away at Preußen Münster.
