Nico Schulz: “We do a lot of laughing here”

Nico Schulz on...

... the training camp in Austria.

It’s been great here so far. We train and a lot and train hard. I’m a bit exhausted, but the facilities are top-notch. The pitch is right next to the hotel, so it’s easy to access. We can focus exclusively on the football. I spent the free afternoon on Tuesday with a few of the lads at a nearby lake in order to switch off a bit and recuperate.

... training under Julian Nagelsmann.

I don’t think I’m saying anything new when I tell you that the training is demanding. There are loads of exercises which I’ve never seen before. There’s a lot of communication and even more rules to adhere to. There’s a certain reaction to losing the ball, and another when you take it away from somebody else. There are loads of tasks specific to completing one exercise, and they usually include a lot of contact and little space. It’s strenuous stuff – mentally too. The exercises are often tight, quick, and hectic. I think that they’ll be of enormous help when it comes to playing games, where you have more time, more space, and more orientation. I’m really enjoying the training personally. It’s really fun. Things get bigger as the training session goes on too. We tend to have a game of six on six – plus six. In reality we’re all just playing ‘it ball’ – that’s always a laugh with the boys (laughs).

... his roommate Håvard Nordtveit.

We make a good partnership. We each have our own bedroom, and two TVs – which is very important (laughs). We know each other from our time at Gladbach and get on with one another well. Howie’s a great guy, with whom I’m very happy to share a room with.

... his buddy Adam Szalai.

We got to know each other on holiday in the Maldives two years ago. We were both there for 10 days and met each other on the first day, and then I think we spent the rest of our time there together pretty much. Even after we left, we always kept in touch and continued to meet up.

... his integration at TSG.

The fact that I know Howie from our time at Gladbach and Adam definitely helps when it comes to integrating with the team. I’ve always played in the U21 European Championship with Serge two years ago, and I know a few of the other boys from my time in the Bundesliga too. We’ve at least seen each other before so we’re not total strangers, but that’s also not a problem if it were the case. It’s a great squad. It’s a lot of fun and we do a lot of laughing here despite the high work load.

... the friendly against Genoa on Saturday.

On the one hand you can’t place too much emphasis on the game, but then again they are important. We want to and have to display and put into practice what we’ve learned in training. A 90 minute game against a good team is a tough test that’ll do all of us good. 

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