Although football player Patrik Schick is physically feeling better than last season’s staggering success, he and Leverkusen are not doing well at the start of the new year. The 26-year-old striker believes he can leave for the Czech national team meeting, which he has missed for nearly a year due to health problems. With the national team he played the last two games of the Nations League Group A against Portugal and in Switzerland.
Schick scored 24 goals in the German league last year and helped his side reach third-place finish in the competition.
At the start of this season, however, Leverkusen are in trouble. In the first seven rounds he won only once and climbed to 15th place in the standings, and he has already been eliminated from the national cup.
“Paradoxically, in this season, in which we have not started well, I feel physically better than before”, Schick wonders.
“I’m a bit sad because when I feel so good, it doesn’t work at all for us. I think things will go well and we’ll get out of the crisis”, hopes the forward, who today accepted the award to the winner of the journalistic poll. for the best Czech player of the past season
In ten competitive duels this year, he scored three goals, including one in the national cup. “I have chances. They are mostly the ones where, as a striker, you don’t even aim and try to hit the ball. Then it’s just a matter of luck if you hit the right area. How many times have I hit the goalkeeper, who was practically stationary . I have a bit of bad luck, “he complained.
The Czech representative perceives that when there are no points, the tension in the club increases and the pressure increases. “For me, as a striker who has great ambitions, it’s an unpleasant situation. On the other hand, I believe I have the quality in me, I will break it and things will start to get worse for me,” said Schick.
He wonders why Leverkusen isn’t doing well. One of the few bright moments was the 2-0 victory over Atlético Madrid in the Champions League. “We are solving the situation at the club, we are trying to analyze it, to look for the reasons why it is not working for us. We are trying to look for differences compared to last season,” said the former AS Roma and Sampdoria Genova player.
“Hard to say a problem. If we compare the data on fitness, for example, we lose more matches, we are missing a few meters in the sprint. We all have to do something more in this situation. I would not say that we play badly. We do not convert some of our chances. , from set pieces we concede enough goals. We are terribly disappointed by the economic goals “, explained the reasons for the bad start.
In addition, according to him, the Bundesliga has become very balanced, several teams are unexpectedly moving to the top of the standings. “On the contrary, we Leipzig, Bayern Munich are in trouble. The start of the season was a big slap in the face for us. Absolutely no one in the club expected it, it is a new situation for us,” he admitted.
He has had a Czech teammate in Leverkusen since the summer, offensive all-rounder Adam Hložk, who is not doing well so far and has only scored in the cup. “Hlozan is a bit unfortunate as he came at a time when we’re not doing well. If he had been there since last season and got on the bandwagon that worked, it would have been a lot easier. So when we’re fighting like everyone else. the team, for him as a new player is very difficult, “Schick apologized to the recent Spartan.
“Every day in training and in some matches in which he has played, his potential and prerequisites are clearly seen. Everyone in the club knows that. Everything is new for him, he definitely needs time. I think when we are together with the whole team. he will get up and start playing as we can, it will be easier for Adam too, “added the Czech forward.
Schick would like to start with the national team, for which he last played last year in October. “It’s been almost a year. Unfortunately, some kind of injury has always come into play. I’m happy to be back after a long time. I did well especially in the national team. So I think that, despite the not so glamorous form, I’ll start here in in order to help keep them in the elite group of the League of Nations and then I will bring them back to Germany, “said Schick.
He missed the four Nations League games in June due to the fact that he had undergone an inguinal hernia operation shortly before. “During the holidays I had an athletic trainer from Leverkusen available, with whom we prepared ourselves so that we could start training with the team without any problems. However, I had a groin problem even after the start of training , so we had to come up with a new individual plan, which God willing he took. I have to say that since the beginning of the Bundesliga I haven’t had any pain. I feel really good physically, “said Schick.
He realizes that the national team relies heavily on him as the current top scorer in the nomination. “I feel I have my position here. On the other hand, you can have the position you want, but it’s always about what you show on the pitch. Of course, when you feel the trust of your teammates, who rely on you it’s a good feeling and a bit of doping. I think we can manage the matches with Portugal and Switzerland and stand up to us, “added Schick, who scored five goals at last year’s European Championship and was just missing an assist. by top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.
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