Plestan: Schalke are a big club!
01.09.2010
New signing Nicolas Plestan trained for the second time with the Royal Blues on Wednesday morning. After an energy-sapping session in which he made his first acquaintance with the Schalke medicine balls, the 29-year-old centre-back spoke to schalke04.com.
Nicolas Plestan, welcome to Schalke. You've just come off the training ground. Are there any differences to the way you trained at your previous clubs?
The training here is completely different to that in France. It's much harder. But I think I'll get used to it very quickly. I did the whole pre-season in Lille and also played a lot of friendlies.
Apart from the tougher training sessions, what are your first impressions of Schalke?
I've been very impressed by the club so far. I've been made to feel really welcome. The officials, my team-mates, the fans and the facilities are great. I'm delighted to be here and I feel very comfortable.
Did you know much about Schalke before? How did your move come about?
I've been interested in German football for a very long time so obviously I know the Bundesliga and Schalke 04. I knew Felix Magath as well. When he and Schalke showed a definite interest in signing me there was no doubt in my mind. Schalke 04 are a big club and I'm desperate to play for them.
What are your targets with the Royal Blues?
I aim to challenge for the league title, of course, and we also want to establish ourselves in the Champions League.
Speaking of the Champions League, the very first game brings with it a special reunion for you…
Yes, it does. Our opening game is against Olympique Lyon, who are coached by my former boss Claude Puel. I had five years under him at OSC Lille. It will obviously be a special moment for me when I see him in Lyon again.
At training we noticed you mostly speak English to your team-mates. How is your German coming along? Your wife has German roots…
That's right. My wife has a German mother and so she speaks perfect German. She'll be a great help to me, especially in the beginning. I don't speak any German at the moment so I'm speaking English to my team-mates for the time being. I want to learn the language as quickly as possible, of course and I'm going to start a course soon.
