Soufiane El-Faouzi: Will give it everything we’ve got to give the fans an exciting match

Soufi, the friendly against Real Madrid also marks the end of nearly six weeks of pre-season. What was the first thing that went through your mind when you heard that your final friendly would be against the record Champions League winners?
I was really excited. I’ve been watching Real Madrid play since I was a kid. It’s a bit of a dream come true to get to play against them now. As a team, we will give it everything we’ve got to give the fans an exciting match to mark the anniversary of the VELTINS-Arena. In the end though, it is “only” a friendly. Obviously we want to be successful in every game we play, but what matters more to me is that we make the to the second round of the DFB-Pokal against Hallescher FC next weekend. That’s our first competitive game of the season, which is where it will count most.

What will you be focused on against Real Madrid?
The head coach expects that we give it our all in every game, regardless of the opponent. We’ll be sure to do the same against Real Madrid as well. Even when confronted with a tough opponent, we want to maintain our structure on the pitch and play our game over the course of the 90 minutes.

Are there any players you’re looking forward to coming up against in particular?
Kylian Mbappé. He is without a doubt one of the best players in the world. Our opponents also have several other top players in their ranks. I’m also looking forward to facing Brahim Diaz, who I know from the Morocco national team.

The most recent meeting between Schalke and Real Madrid ended in an unforgettable 4-3 win for us on 10th March 2015. Do you have any memories of that legendary night in the Champions League?
It’s been a few years since then, but I can still remember watching it on TV and cheering along. I was at the stadium for the first leg.

The fans are also really looking forward to the start of the season. More than 100,000 of them attended Schalke Day last weekend. How did the day go for you?
It was unbelievable. The club grounds were packed with fans, and everyone is just as excited for the new season as we are. Many of them then attended the game against Atalanta later that day. Having nearly 60,000 fans at a pre-season friendly is crazy, in the best way possible. It’s great to see and feel this support, week in and out.

If you had to guess, how many shirts and autograph cards did you sign on Schalke Day?
It was definitely more than a few! I’m not sure exactly how many. It was the second Schalke Day that I’ve attended and this time I had far more requests for autographs than the previous year. There have also been many fans at our public training sessions recently, due to the summer holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia. I’ve probably signed a thousand autographs there alone recently.

The competitive season will officially get underway a week after the friendly against Real Madrid, with Schalke playing away at Hallescher FC in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. What are you expecting from this game?
Our opponents have already started their competitive season in the Regionalliga Nordost, and haven’t lost any of their first four games. ‘Halle’ will be extremely motivated and will want to make things tough for us. We need to be focused from the start and show that we want to win the game.

What areas are the team going to fine-tune in the final days before the start of the competitive season?
There are several areas that we’re still working on. We will be ready when the competitive season gets underway with the first round of the cup and then, a week later, the first Bundesliga game. Pre-season has been intense, but I see us as being on the right path.