Timo Baumgartl: I feel a sense of trust here

Timo Baumgartl on…

… his first weeks at Schalke:
I’m slowly but surely getting to know the team – I had already played with a few players, for example with Simon Terodde, Marcin Kaminski and Paul Seguin. Settling in was relatively easy. I am pleased to be here and looking forward to getting back on the pitch.

… playing alongside Marcin Kaminski:
I know the type of player that he is, which makes it a bit easier. It worked really well together at Stuttgart, and it is always an advantage to have a left-footer and a right-footer in central defence. Marcin is an experienced and composed player who gives off a sense of calm. I have to learn how the system works, how my teammates act on the pitch. That’s something that you learn over time, every training session helps.

… his decision to join S04:
There were also inquiries from other clubs, but André Hechelmann was on the phone to me relatively early and emphasised again and again that him and the head coach would like to have me here. I have never been on the phone with someone so much as with André. I had more contact with him than with my girlfriend (grins). Conversations with management were convincing and then I said that I wanted to take on this challenge and would like to help the club to go back up. Something good can happen here – especially working with the fans. Schalke is a club with unbelievable tradition. The atmosphere is unbelievable, and it will be fun to play here. I would like to get back to the level I was playing at here at Schalke.

… his 2022 prostate cancer diagnosis:
I proved with my appearances at Union Berlin that I am on the way back to my best, which was important to me. That illness is over for me, it allowed me to grow as a person. It is important to me that I feel a sense of trust. The illness didn’t play any role with Schalke, it was about me as a player. That is a nice feeling.

… the game against HSV:
It was a classic opening game, an absolutely crazy game which was definitely good viewing for a neutral. We sat with a few of the boys, we were obviously hoping for a different result. Nevertheless, you could see our potential. HSV also played very well, they almost played at their limit, which wasn’t the case for us yet. A few things still haven’t quite fit together perfectly, which is normal. It’s obvious that conceding five goals is too many, so this week it is about working on that and improving as much as possible on Saturday.

… his memories of being promoted with Stuttgart in 2017:
It was an overwhelming feeling, we became Zweitliga champions and led the club to where it belongs – it is exactly the same at Schalke. S04 belongs in the Bundesliga. That is definitely our aim and one that I’m committed to it.