Reaction from German midfielder after signing for Town
New signing Markus Schwabl has claimed ‘every German player wants to play in England’ following his arrival at Fleetwood Town on a two-and-a-half-year deal.
The 26-year-old versatile midfielder arrives at Highbury from VfR Aalen ready to go straight into the first team squad.
“I’m very glad to be here and I’m looking forward to this amazing adventure for me,” he said.
“I’ve arrived here from Germany into a new country, with a new language, where I have to drive on the left hand side of the road – but the first impressions have been very good.
“The team is cool, the coaches are very good and the whole training ground is very impressive – it’s perfect.
“My agent told me that the coach at Fleetwood Town likes you and how you play – could you imagine going to play in England – so I said yeah, I’m open minded and up for a challenge, so that’s why I’m here.
“I think every German player wants to play in England at some point in his career – it’s a big chance for me to play a new style of football.”
Schwabl, who has spent the majority of his career in the German Third Division, is a central midfielder by trade, though he is also comfortable playing at right back.
“I’m a specialist number six – standing in front of the three centre backs,” he said.
“My strengths are getting around the pitch and putting in tackles – I’m a passionate player and I’ll always give 100 per cent.
“In Germany every contact is a foul. I watched the game against Bristol City and I saw so many tackles and wondered what the referee was doing – in Germany some of them would have been red or yellow cards. So this is a style of football I like very much.”
The former Aalen, 1860 Munich and SpVgg Unterhaching man also admitted that although it was hard to leave his friends and family in Germany, he is eager to get going at the Cod Army.
“It was not easy to leave because all my family and friends are in Germany, but I want to take the next step in my career.
“It’s never easy to change teams in January, and I’ve watched a few games and the team is playing very well, so it’s not easy to go straight in.
“But I’m here to play and I will give my best in training to impress the coach and if I get a chance I will give 100 per cent – I want to play games for Fleetwood.”