Fabian Schär: "Looking forward to wearing the shirt"

After the players and staff were introduced, the first open training session of the campaign took place, followed by the first reactions of the season. achtzehn99.de was there to summarise everything... 

Markus Gisdol 

...on the team...

"Anticipation levels ahead of the new season are high. We invested a lot in the final stretch of last season so I had three weeks without football, which did me the world of good. We have a hungry squad full of players who are continually developing, which is pleasing. The team are young and we want to hit the ground running." 

...on the strength of the squad...

"It’s difficult to assess things accurately right now. We’ve not trained as a full squad yet. We’ll know more in a few weeks. No one will be able to replace Roberto Firmino really. It would be an impossible task and we’re not expecting that from anyone. The attacking burden will need to be spread more widely and we’re looking to find the right balance. I’m certain that we’ll be able to create something good though."

...on signings...

"We make sure that we have a good idea of what the player is like – in terms of their personality as well as their attributes – before we sign them. This is an important thing to do and so far the signings have fitted the bill. They’re good guys and now we’re integrating them on the pitch in order to create our own identity again."

...on expectations...

"There are six big sides in the Bundesliga and we want to take our chances in order to be just behind them. However, I don’t want to predict a finishing position just yet. There’s still a few things to look at. The week ahead is going to be interesting."

Fabian Schär

...on his time at TSG so far... 

"I’m glad to be here and everything has gone well so far. The lads made it easy for me to fit in. They’re good guys for sure. I knew a few of them already, people like Steven and Pirmin, who also come from Switzerland. We have a good squad." 

...on his transfer...

"The Bundesliga is one of the best leagues in the world and it was always my aim to play in it. TSG have a great set up – the infrastructure within the club and the training facilities are fantastic. I think that this is the right place to make my next step within football, even though I played in the Champions League for Basel. I’m looking forward to the great stadiums and supporters in Germany. We have a few more weeks of training ahead of us, in which we’ll set ourselves some targets. TSG are a great club and I’m looking forward to wearing the shirt."

Jonathan Schmid

...on his transfer... 

"I had been with Freiburg for a while and obviously relegation wasn’t the ideal way to bow out. I’m looking forward to my time with Hoffenheim. I want to integrate myself into the team as quickly as possible. I’m not really sure what our expectations for the upcoming season are yet. We’ve only trained for a few days and there’s a lot of training to be done before the league and cup get under way."

Mark Uth

...on expectations... 

"My aim is to have fun and become a key player here. There have been quite a few new things to get used to in the last few days and I’m enjoying it. It’s nice to get to know my teammates and spend some time with them on the pitch. The training camp gets under way tomorrow, meaning hard work is just around the corner."

...on the Bundesliga ... 

"I have a lot of respect for the division but as it stands I don’t know how much it differs from what I’m used to as I’m yet to play in the Bundesliga yet. I will start to get an idea of the differences in tempo, tactics and disciple over the coming days during training."