Fuchs: Friendships forgotten for 90 minutes
31.01.2012
There is added interest for Christian Fuchs ahead of this Saturday's match (1530 CET) against FSV Mainz 05. On the one hand, the left-back is hoping for a continuation of Schalke's impressive sequence of five Bundesliga wins in a row, with a goal ratio of 17 for to four against. On the other, the game sees Fuchs come face-to-face with his former Mainz team-mates.
"I'll obviously have a chat with my old team-mates before the game," said Fuchs, who played for Mainz last season. "I wish them every success, but old friendships will be forgotten on Saturday." The defender is still in touch with Sami Allagui and Andreas Ivanschitz from his time at Mainz, but as yet no bets have been placed on the outcome of Saturday's match. "There's still time for that, but I'll be interested to see if they contact me," said the Austrian with a grin.
"There's no room for sentiment on Saturday as we are on a good run that we want to continue," said Fuchs. The 25-year-old is concerned only with success on the field, irrespective of the opponents.
Nevertheless, the Austria captain knows all about the strengths of Schalke's next opponents. "They break up moves early and put you under pressure with their pressing game. We mustn't fall into the same trap as we did in the first match," Fuchs warned. Mainz will always try to score an early goal. Their last match against SC Freiburg on Sunday, in which they scored three times in the opening 17 minutes, should serve as a warning to the Royal Blues. Fuchs is optimistic, however: "We're very compact at the back and we won't give them many chances."
