Moments of the year: A team trip, a first goal and a new contract

What were the highlights of 2018? schalke04.de has asked various players what their favourite moments of the past year were. In the first part, Ralf Fährmann, Alessandro Schöpf, Mark Uth, Sascha Riether and Omar Mascarell give their responses.

Ralf Fährmann:

There were many great moments this year. My personal highlight was the team trip to Barcelona. Although the season had already finished, every player was there, something which has never happened before in my time at Schalke. The days we spent in Spain were really nice. It was a nice reward for finishing second in the table.

Alessandro Schöpf:

My highlight has to be the derby win in April at the VELTINS-Arena. We won 2-0 against BVB and the atmosphere was incredible – we all really enjoyed that day. Matchday 33 in Augsburg was also a special day, as we secured second place in the Bundesliga. The derby win is definitely my number one moment of the year though!

Mark Uth:

I don’t have to think too much about my favourite moment! My highlight has to be scoring my first goal for Schalke on November 3rd at home against Hannover; in a game we won 3-1. It was really special to see the fans celebrate with me – especially as I scored the goal in front of the Nordkurve.

Sascha Riether:

I can’t decide on an exact moment, so I’ll name two things that happened this year. The first one was finishing as runners-up in the Bundesliga – nobody had given us a chance. My other great memory was extending my contract in the summer. Domenico Tedesco approached me and asked if I’d like to stay for another year. I didn’t have to think twice about it.

Omar Mascarell:

I have had plenty of great moments this year. On the pitch, my favourite memories were returning after my long-term Achilles injury, winning the DFB-Pokal with Eintracht Frankfurt and signing for a club like FC Schalke 04, where I have now played in the Champions League. On a personal level, it’s always important that my family are healthy – which is the case.