Tomas Kalas: It’s totally crazy – but in a good way!

Tomas, our first competitive fixture of 2024 is at home to Hamburger SV on 20th January. You’ve probably not had such a late start to a calendar year for a long time, right?
That’s true (laughs). I played in England for a long time and there is no rest there, not even on Christmas Day! It was therefore a bit odd to have a few days off during the festive period this time around. I was able to spend a lot of time with my girlfriend and family – we had a lovely time. I like giving people presents and seeing how happy they are when they unpack them. I had a few nice days too after Christmas.

Did you do anything special?
I fulfilled one of my dreams and visited Mont Blanc together with my girlfriend. It was incredible, the view was amazing. It was an unforgettable experience and one that allowed me to totally switch off from football and day-to-day life.

Every player got an individual training plan for the winter break. Were you able to stick to that during your time in the French Alps?
Of course, that was no problem. We stayed in Chamonix and it was around three or four degrees. It was obviously a bit colder on the mountain though. It was -9 at one point!

What did your training plan entail?
Eight runs overall and I completed them all. I’d do one a day and then have the next day off.

The weather here in Albufeira for our training camp is a bit different to in the French Alps. Do you prefer summer or winter?
I actually prefer the winter. I get too hot when the sun is really strong. It’s not a problem now though – 17 or 18 degrees is totally fine (laughs).

It was a difficult summer for you personally last year, becoming a free agent after your time at Bristol City. In times like that, how do you make sure you stay positive and look forward with optimism?
At the start I was really confident and sure that I’d soon find a new club. I trained individually and was ready for a new challenge, but things didn’t turn out how I’d imagined they would. To be honest, there were days where I struggled and questioned myself about my future. There were a lot of ups and downs during those two and a half months, but thankfully things turned out alright in the end.

You then signed for Schalke at the end of August.
Yes, and I’m really happy I did. I was excited as soon as I heard the club were interested me. I had two or three options in the end, but I chose to be a Royal Blue.

What did you already know about the club before joining?
Schalke is obviously a name known throughout European football. The club has played in Europe on a number of occasions and has almost always been towards the top of the Bundesliga. Players like Raul and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar sprung to mind. I didn’t know about the club’s whole history though, and that’s really impressive.

Several Czech players have had great success with Schalke in the past. Whilst you were a kid, Jiri Nemec and Radoslav Latal won the UEFA Cup and the DFB-Pokal with S04. Did you ever watch your two compatriots whilst growing up?
Not while playing for Schalke, but I know them, of course. They were both fantastic footballers and are still well-known in Czech Republic. Radoslav Latal and I actually have something in common. We were both born and grew up in Olomouc. I even went to school with his son and met Radoslav a few times. I’ve never met Jiri Nemec though.

As always, FC Schalke 04 can rely on the support of the fans in both good and bad times. Even in the 2. Bundesliga, our average attendance has been above 60,000.
It’s totally crazy – but in a good way! It’s not something you’d see at any other club in the second division. Not in Germany or anywhere else around the world, especially as we’re in the lower half of the table, not towards the top. Despite all that, the stadium is always full and our fans are always there to support us at away games too. Their support is definitely worthy of the top flight!

In the first half of the season, you were improving with every game. You played the full 90 minutes in each of the last seven matches and have been one of the outstanding performers during that period. Do you feel at 100 per cent?
It’s tough to give an exact percentage. I feel fully fit, in good form and I think I’ve improved with each game. I’m also covering lots of ground too. However, things can always improve – as the saying goes: ‘The sky is the limit’. I just aim to do my best every single day.

Have you set yourself a goal for the second half of the season?
I want to play as many minutes as I can and help the team as much as possible. I’d happily play 90 minutes 17 times – or 100 minutes 17 times (laughs). Games do tend to go on longer now thanks to VAR.

After collecting 20 points during the first half of the season, the team has set the goal of doing significantly better in the second half of the campaign. What do you think can still be achieved this season?
That’s not an easy question to answer. I think we need to just take things game by game, even if that is a bit of a boring answer. There are still 51 points to play for and we want to pick up as many as we can.