Max Meyer was a man in demand, having rounded off his sparkling performance in Schalke’s 3-0 home win against Mainz 05 on matchday 8 with his first goal of the season. With four wins in their past five games, it’s fair to say that Schalke 04 are now in resurgent form after a difficult start.
In an interview with DFB.de, the Germany international speaks about the victory over Mainz, his personal development in this campaign since winning a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Rio, and the upcoming DFB Cup second round tie against 1. FC Nürnberg on Wednesday (20:45 CEST).
Question: With that 3-0 scoreline in mind, are the team starting to get to grips with the playing style demanded by the new coach?
Max Meyer: I think so. We certainly weren’t playing well in the first five games and lost them all, but we’ve found some stability in the past few matches, and we added a good footballing performance to that against Mainz. We played well going forward, which obviously you have to do to create chances. We did that better against Mainz, and the fans could see that too, our application, desire and passion.
Question: Things are going pretty well for you personally as well just at the moment, aren’t they?
Meyer: I was able to play again, but I think the whole season has been good to me so far. I got off to a good start with a silver medal at the Olympics, then I went straight into the national team and scored a goal there. I did then get left out of the team a bit at Schalke, and you could that I wasn’t entirely happy with that situation. But I just had to get my head down and keep plugging away, and I managed to work my way back in the end. So I’m very happy that we won and that I could do my bit for the team.
Question: You played virtually as a second striker. Do you enjoy that, or do you prefer to make runs into the box from deep?
Meyer: Obviously my usual position is a bit further back, so that I can join in with the build-up play as well, but this role is good too. I’m not the only forward, which means I don’t have to stay up top all the time - I can keep moving around behind Franco di Santo, and I think it came together really well. The midfield behind me also did a very good job.
Max Meyer was a man in demand, having rounded off his sparkling performance in Schalke’s 3-0 home win against Mainz 05 on matchday 8 with his first goal of the season. With four wins in their past five games, it’s fair to say that Schalke 04 are now in resurgent form after a difficult start.
In an interview with DFB.de, the Germany international speaks about the victory over Mainz, his personal development in this campaign since winning a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Rio, and the upcoming DFB Cup second round tie against 1. FC Nürnberg on Wednesday (20:45 CEST).
Question: With that 3-0 scoreline in mind, are the team starting to get to grips with the playing style demanded by the new coach?
Max Meyer: I think so. We certainly weren’t playing well in the first five games and lost them all, but we’ve found some stability in the past few matches, and we added a good footballing performance to that against Mainz. We played well going forward, which obviously you have to do to create chances. We did that better against Mainz, and the fans could see that too, our application, desire and passion.
Question: Things are going pretty well for you personally as well just at the moment, aren’t they?
Meyer: I was able to play again, but I think the whole season has been good to me so far. I got off to a good start with a silver medal at the Olympics, then I went straight into the national team and scored a goal there. I did then get left out of the team a bit at Schalke, and you could that I wasn’t entirely happy with that situation. But I just had to get my head down and keep plugging away, and I managed to work my way back in the end. So I’m very happy that we won and that I could do my bit for the team.
Question: You played virtually as a second striker. Do you enjoy that, or do you prefer to make runs into the box from deep?
Meyer: Obviously my usual position is a bit further back, so that I can join in with the build-up play as well, but this role is good too. I’m not the only forward, which means I don’t have to stay up top all the time - I can keep moving around behind Franco di Santo, and I think it came together really well. The midfield behind me also did a very good job.
Question: Coming up this Sunday is the Ruhr derby against Borussia Dortmund. Have you got one eye on that already, or is the focus still very much on the DFB Cup second round tie against Nürnberg?
Meyer: All that matters at the moment is Nürnberg. The cup is the quickest route to European competition, and we’re still lagging a bit behind in the league. Our aim is to get to the cup final, and you don’t have to win a lot of games for that, so for the time being we are fully focused on Wednesday.
Question: Nürnberg are on a four-match winning streak. What do you make of your opponents?
Meyer: They’re also up and running now after a slow start to the season, and they’ve played well in their last few games. It won’t be an easy game, especially since we’re away from home. It’s the biggest game of the year for Nürnberg, and we’ll have to make sure we’re well prepared for it. No doubt the coach will say a few words about that soon enough, and that’s why the cup is all we’re thinking about at the moment.
