VfL Bochum 1848 has made Vasileios Lampropoulos a new contract offer, which the Greek international has...

As Germany U21s prepare to face Denmark on Monday in their opening U21 European Championship group match (21:00 CEST), schalke04.de spoke to Royal Blues midfielder Suat Serdar ahead of the tournament in Italy and San Marino. Serdar spoke about his aims for the tournament, provides an insight into the team’s training and reflects on the U20 World Cup in South Korea two years ago.

Kelvin Yeboah: “It was a great game. We did a lot right, but we also made mistakes. It’s tough to be standing here without any points despite having scored three goals in Dortmund. Making my debut for FCA in a game like that is a special experience. We can take a lot of positives from the game, but we also know that we have to keep working hard.”

And when dropped points reared their unwelcome head again against Borussia Dortmund, Julian Nagelsmann and the team acted fast to ensure it was an aberration rather than a return to form. A window into the process:

The will shown by the bottom-placed side to change that story as quickly as possible was clear to see from the start. With just 10 seconds on the clock, Ilhas Bebou missed Mark Flekken’s goal by mere centimetres. Freiburg then quickly got themselves stuck into the game, and made perfect use of their first big chance. Vincenzo Grifo crossed looking for Michael Gregoritsch, causing chaos in the Hoffenheim back-line – Eggestein dispatched the rebound with aplomb, giving former Freiburg ‘keeper Oliver Baumann no chance in goal and making it 1-0 to SCF on five minutes. It was midfielder Eggestein’s first goal of the season.

“Short and snappy” was the motto on Monday afternoon when the Hertha squad came out onto the training pitch following their indoor athletics session. Following the 5-0 friendly win Ludwigsfelder FC, the green light was given for the final few tasks before the Christmas break. Our Blue and Whites will cross off another part of their winter schedule when they take on Hannover 96 on Friday (02.12.22).

The next Berlin youngster from our academy has made the jump to the first team. Ensar Ankasal signed a long-term contract that keeps him at the club until 2025. “Dynamic, a threat in front of goal, versatile: Ensar brings us a lot of quality and has already proved his quality in the U23s. We’re excited that he would like to make that next step at Hertha BSC,” expressed Fredi Bobic. Pablo Thiam is another excited party. “It is always a recognition of our collaboration when a young talent receives a professional contract. We’re looking forward to what Ensar will do and to seeing him develop further,” said the head coach of the academy.  

“In André, we signed a coach who enjoyed a high degree of acceptance from day one, not only from the team but also from the entire staff, our employees at the office and all our fans and partners. We thank him for the amiable collaboration and the many positive moments, especially at the beginning of our time together,” said TSG director of football Alexander Rosen.

Friday’s clash will see several high-level players face off on the pitch for both sides

It’s been a good start to the season for Mainz with four points from two league...