Westermann: I’ve only been home to sleep
24.02.2010
Heiko Westermann featured in the first match after the mid-season break against Nürnberg, but the Germany international has been sidelined since then following a cartilage operation. After finally resuming the squad training programme on Tuesday (23 February), the Royal Blues’ captain spoke to schalke04.de.
Heiko Westermann on…
…his return to team training after surgery: I’m feeling great and the pain’s completely gone. Fortunately, the knee’s not reacted at all to the 90-minute workout. If I don’t feel anything unusual in the next few sessions, I’ll be fully fit again.
…Schalke’s sports rehab programme: I’ve worked extremely hard towards a comeback over the last three weeks. My daily schedule involved two individual workouts, separated by massage and treatment. Basically, I’ve only been home to sleep.
…his chances of a comeback in the derby: The decision as to whether I play is entirely and exclusively down to the boss. He’s best-placed to assess whether I’m ready. If it was up to me, I’d play. There’s no pain and I’m feeling fit, and in any case, I obviously want to play every game.
…Friday’s opponents: Dortmund are a young team who enjoy their football, and our job will be to contain them. We’ll need to be very alert, especially in defence. I’m really looking forward to the match, especially as it’s been a long time since both Ruhr clubs were mixing it at the top end of the table.
...the sense of anticipation in the build-up: A lot of passion goes into this game. There are three points at stake, just like any other Bundesliga fixture, but the players are well aware of the special significance of the match. Much more often than normal, people around me take me aside and tell me we have to beat BVB at all costs. I can promise you this: we’ll do everything we can to take all three points. But we’ll prepare for the game the same way we always do. The build-up will be the same as for any Bundesliga match.
…Schalke and Dortmund’s bitter rivalry on the field: You have to be emotionally fired up, and I think that’s good. But as a player, you still have to keep your cool in certain situations. Losing your head can be damaging.
…Schalke’s excellent defensive record: We’ve not conceded many goals, but that’s not just down to the defence, it’s been a team effort. On the other hand, it’s cost us something in attack, which is how Felix Magath sees it. We’re looking to improve our attacking game. In my opinion, we could definitely adopt a more attacking approach, because we know there’s hardly a striker in the Bundesliga capable of getting the better of us. And if it does happen, we’ve got Manuel Neuer behind us.
…the run of five tough fixtures after the derby: I’m not anxious at all about Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Leverkusen and Bayern, although obviously it’s one hell of a schedule. But at the end of the day, I’m not wasting a moment thinking about these games, because the only thing that counts for now is the derby. We’ve done well so far and earned ourselves a good position in the table. We’d like to strengthen our grip on that by beating Borussia Dortmund.
