Question: Andre Breitenreiter made four changes to the starting XI after the win against VfB Stuttgart. How was this taken in the team, was there any grumbling?
Sané: No. It was more than accepted by the team. Every player takes it positively, and knows that these weeks with mid-week fixtures are not easy, and that there are still plenty to come. The team responds very well to this kind of rotation.
Question: How is your right hand, after recently picking up the hairline fracture?
Sané: My hand is actually very good. It did impair me initially, but I have grown accustomed and hardly notice it anymore.
Question: You have been celebrated quite considerably as a result of your recent goals. How do you keep your feet on the ground as a young player?
Sané: I don’t read everything that’s written about me. My teammates, friends and parents help me to stay grounded. It works very well.
Question: Has your father told you that he needed a tiny bit longer to score his first goals in the Bundesliga?
Sané: Yeah, it’s been discussed at home (laughs).
Leroy Sané danced around the Eintracht defence in what resembled a well-executed slalom run, before coolly slotting the ball away to make it 2-0 for Schalke. The Germany U21, who scored the winner against Stuttgart in the previous matchday, was introduced 20 minutes before the end by Andre Breitenreiter. He joined his fellow U21 teammates Johannes Geis and Leon Goretzka on the pitch, and rounded off an excellent match in the Schalke Arena with his fifth goal in his 20th Bundesliga match.
"He has unbelievable quality – his speed in one on one situations and the way he scored – world class," commended Johannes Geis, who set up Joel Matip’s goal in the 76th minute. In an interview with DFB Leroy Sané speaks about his solo run at the end, the rotation in Schalke’s starting XI, and comparisons with his father Souleyman Sané, who once played for 1. FC Nürnberg and Wattenscheid 09.
Question: You left the Eintracht defence for dead before scoring. There were a lot of your own players there to whom you could have passed. What were you thinking in the moment?
Leroy Sané: In the first instance, the defender hesitated allowing me to run through, in the second case I could have passed to Leon, but I was caught up in the moment and put it in myself.
Question: Schalke manager Horst Heldt compared your goal to an Ice Hockey style finish. Would you agree?
Sané: I suppose it was similar, yes. (laughs)
Question: How did you respond to the criticism after the Stuttgart match?
Sané: Very well. I spoke to the manager afterwards. He told me to keep going and to keep fighting, and importantly not to forget the defensive side of my game.
Question: Andre Breitenreiter made four changes to the starting XI after the win against VfB Stuttgart. How was this taken in the team, was there any grumbling?
Sané: No. It was more than accepted by the team. Every player takes it positively, and knows that these weeks with mid-week fixtures are not easy, and that there are still plenty to come. The team responds very well to this kind of rotation.
Question: How is your right hand, after recently picking up the hairline fracture?
Sané: My hand is actually very good. It did impair me initially, but I have grown accustomed and hardly notice it anymore.
Question: You have been celebrated quite considerably as a result of your recent goals. How do you keep your feet on the ground as a young player?
Sané: I don’t read everything that’s written about me. My teammates, friends and parents help me to stay grounded. It works very well.
Question: Has your father told you that he needed a tiny bit longer to score his first goals in the Bundesliga?
Sané: Yeah, it’s been discussed at home (laughs).
Question: What did your father say?
Sané: That I needed one game less to score my first four goals.
Question: How do your rate your recent performances in the Bundesliga?
Sané: I haven’t played that many Bundesliga matches yet, and haven’t achieved very much yet. This is the first step, and I have to keep working hard.
