Jurado: To play alongside Raul is a dream come true
01.09.2010
José Manuel Jurado's switch from La Liga to the Bundesliga was completed in record time. On Monday evening the midfielder scored the opening goal in Atletico Madrid's 4-0 home win over Sporting Gijon, on Tuesday he signed a four-year deal in Schalke. In this interview with schalke04.com Jurado reveals that his move to the Royal Blues means a dream is about to come true for him.
José Manuel Jurado, we're delighted you're now a Schalke player. A lot has happened in your life in the last few days. On Monday evening you scored for Atletico, yesterday you'd already arrived in Gelsenkirchen…
That's right, my life really has taken a complete turn this week. The contact to Schalke came about very quickly. It all went very fast but I'm delighted to be here now.
Yesterday you had a look round the club complex. Today you trained here for the first time. How was it?
Today's session was very tough as I was still feeling the effects of Monday's game, but it all went very well.
You also met up with your Spanish compatriot Raul today. Did you get in touch with him before your move to ask him what it's like at Schalke?
No, I didn't speak to him beforehand, though I do know Raul from my time at Real Madrid. As a youth player I used to train with the first team. We also lined up together three times.
How special is it for you to be able to play in the same team as Raul over a longer period?
To play alongside Raul is a dream come true for me. It's obviously a surprise that it's happening here in Germany with Schalke but I'm really looking forward to it.
In Sergio Escudero there's another Spaniard in the Schalke squad. How reassuring is it to have two compatriots here?
The fact that there are two more Spaniards here in Raul and Sergio Escudero is obviously a very good thing and it will make it even easier for me to settle in. During training they helped me to understand instructions, for example. In general it's sure to be a big help, though obviously I want to be able to speak to my team-mates in German soon.
Do you speak any German yet?
No, unfortunately not. The only word I've learned so far is "Danke"…
We too would like to say Danke. José Manuel Jurado, many thanks for the interview. Welcome to Schalke.
