Schwolow: “I’ll be ready when I’m needed”

Alexander Schwolow arrives in Mainz with plenty of experience and an impressive CV. The Wiesbaden-born goalkeeper joined FSV from Scottish club Heart of Midlothian, with whom he narrowly missed out on the league title on the final day of last season, under a special arrangement: the 34-year-old recently still featured for Hearts in the second round of Champions League qualifying, where they were knocked out by Sturm Graz and Nelson Weiper, before travelling directly to Mainz’s training camp. There, he was already involved in the friendly against Udinese Calcio. The summer signing spoke about his family, his ambitions and his supposedly heavy legs during a media round on Monday evening.

Alexander Schwolow spoke about...

...his time at Hearts: “It was definitely a crazy and historic season, although unfortunately we couldn’t crown it with the title. The experiences I was able to gain in Scotland were very refreshing. The city, the club and the fans will always remain in my memory in a positive way. Ultimately, though, I always have to think about my family. Unfortunately, things didn’t go smoothly for my children in particular, mainly because of the language barrier, which is why I decided to move back to a German-speaking environment.”

...his decision to join Mainz: “For me, there were basically only two clubs where it was immediately clear: that’s where I want to go. Those were SC Freiburg and Mainz 05. The talks with Niko Bungert went perfectly, and in the end the decision to return to the Rhine was not difficult for me.”

...his new environment: “My first impression of the team has been entirely positive, and we have already done things together off the pitch as well. I still know Urs Fischer’s sessions from my time at Union Berlin. The goalkeeper training with Kuhni, on the other hand, is new to me and also very tough, but at the same time we are having fun out on the pitch.”

...his status in the team: “Robin Zentner has more than earned his status as number one, and I accept my role as back-up. Nevertheless, I’m a competitive athlete and still ambitious. For me, it means being ready when I’m needed and, of course, constantly putting pressure on Robin. It is not always the most rewarding job, as I already experienced in Berlin. But at 34, it is much easier for me to accept this role.”

...Urs Fischer: “Our work together at Union was characterised by great mutual respect. He works very precisely, very honestly and very hard, and I really appreciate that. Urs being here was definitely a factor. Ultimately, I also followed the successful second half of last season and wasn’t surprised.”

...the training camp: “Compared to Scotland, the training here has much more volume and intensity. I’ve been training for almost six weeks now, and I can feel some sessions a bit more in my legs. Nevertheless, I’ve already been able to learn a lot and develop further in this short time.”

...his future: “I want to fight for playing time and, of course, stay in Mainz and in professional football for as long as possible. However, football can be very short-lived in some respects, so I can’t give any outlook on that yet. For now, it’s about fulfilling my role to the best of my ability.”