Peter Remmert: I get goosebumps just thinking about it

Peter, you turned 19 during the training camp on 9 July. Your teammates sang happy birthday to you before training. Were there any other surprises?
In the evening we watched the EUROs semi-final between Spain and France together. Shortly before kick-off, all the boys sang again, some of them sung with real gusto (laughs). Mario Grevelhörster [administrative head of the first-team setup] gave me a chocolate cake with candles and a 19 on during this. I hadn’t expected it which made it all the more special. I think the rest of the team enjoyed it as well. So we all had a delicious dessert.

Would any of your teammates have a chance of being cast on ‘Deutschland sucht den Superstar’ [German version of ‘Pop Idol’]?
I’ll put it this way: We all are a lot more talented on the football pitch (laughs).

When you see the team on and off the pitch you quickly realise that you get on well as a team. As a new signing, how do you rate the atmosphere in the team?
As very pleasant, even if obviously everyone is fighting for a place in the side. The boys took me in really nicely. I get on well with every single person, and am developing relationships with all of my teammates. It has not been difficult for me to feel at home in the team straight away.

Did you already know any of your new teammates personally before moving to Gelsenkirchen?
Actually I didn’t. Obviously I recognised a few of the boys. Aris Bayindir, for example, because we played against each other in the North/North-East division of the U19 Bundesliga. I just missed out on meeting Niklas Barthel and Vitalie Becker a while ago, though. I was called up for a training camp with the U19 national team but unfortunately missed out due to illness.

Is it an advantage that you’re not the only new face on the training pitch?
I think that the most important thing is not how many new players there are, but how the whole team takes you in. What has definitely helped me is the high number of young players who are also taking their first steps in senior football and are also being integrated into the team. Aris, Taylan, Max, Vitalie, Niklas, Luca … We are all profiting from the way in which the experienced players get us involved and helped us get on board. Martin and Felipe are also just 20 years old, but already have some experience in senior football.

At 1.93m, you are the perfect size for a penalty box player. Were you always a striker?
Actually no. Right at the beginning I was playing upfront, but then over time I moved back into a few other positions on the pitch. I was always one of the tallest players in my teams, so my coaches often played me in central defence or also sometimes as a six. As I got older I settled on playing as a nine, though.

After spells with SFN Vechta, Blau-Weiß Lohne and JFV Nordwest – a joint academy team for VfB and VfL Oldenburg – you ended up at VfL Osnabrück in January 2022. You got promoted with their U19s to the U19 Bundesliga North/Northeast and then played at this level, the highest one in Germany at your age group. When did you realise that you could play at a higher level after your youth?
I started playing football in my hometown Vechta and then moved to Lohne with my friends. We already played at a pretty decent level then, and it was then a bit more serious at JFV Nordwest. Once I moved to VfL Osnabrück I definitely realised it. I kept taking things step by step and continued my development.

The next step for you was then the move to FC Schalke 04. What did Marc Wilmots and Ben Manga say to you about your future here?
They told me what they see in me, but also where I need to improve. I was impressed by what they said and know what I have to work on. There will almost definitely be times where I’m playing for the U23s to get match practice but still training with the first team. Match experience is extremely important for a young player, so I would just see playing in the Regionalliga as a good opportunity, and one that I would be grateful for. Having said that though, I wouldn’t have anything against playing in the second division. I just want to keep improving every day.

On behalf of the sporting management, Marc Wilmots said the following about you: “Peter has good acceleration and power, and the technical ability to succeed.” Do you think that’s a good description?
I’d say so, yes. But, I also know that I’ve got a long way to go and that I need to definitely adjust to the higher tempo of games. There are worlds between U19 and men’s football. I’m now coming up against experienced centre-backs, guys that have played hundreds of games in professional football.

What are you looking forward to the most in the coming weeks and months?
Definitely my first home game at the VELTINS-Arena. The support from the fans has been amazing already just for the friendlies and at the training camp. I get goosebumps just thinking about what it’ll be like with more than 60,000 Schalke fans behind us at our own stadium.

Do you have a role model?
My father, though he wasn’t a footballer, he played basketball. My hometown Vechta is a basketball town. If I had to name a footballer then it’d probably be Harry Kane or Erling Haaland, they both have an incredible eye for goal. Ultimately though, I want to be my own player.

You could be a role model for lots of young footballers too in the future. How many autographs did you sign during the training camp?
It’s a totally new experience for me, but I’m happy to take the time to do it for the fans. It must have been around 1,000 during the fan night at the training camp, but I wasn’t counting (laughs).