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Eren Derdiyok (35) is actually back in Switzerland. It has been 14 years since he left FC Basel. Now he will appear again on the Rhine. But not in his hometown of Basel, but a few kilometers upstream in Schaffhausen. Here he signed a two-year contract with the Challenge League club FC Schaffhausen. Completely relaxed and dressed all in white, the long-time Bundesliga star (Leverkusen, Hoffenheim), who took part in the World Cup and European Championships for Switzerland and wore the national team jersey 60 times, appeared before the media at the Wefox Arena on Friday afternoon.
Derdiyok is a transfer hammer for Schaffhausen. But why does the clipper choose the seventh of the last Challenge League season? “We got together spontaneously,” he explains. And it was immediately between him and the club. “We had the same goals and ideas.”
The decision for Schaffhausen was by no means against his former homeland. “FCB would certainly have been a problem. But it didn’t happen,” Derdiyok clarifies without nostalgia. It was more important for him to find a club with which he could achieve something. He sees that opportunity at FCS.
“A stroke of luck”
With Derdiyok, Schaffhausen brings a guarantee of success on board. His career is peppered with successes. “I have eleven titles in my luggage,” he says proudly. And he is hungry for more. «In these two years I would like to go one step further. My goal is to do my PhD.” The fact that he and his family are looking for an apartment in Munotstadt shows how important the job in northeastern Switzerland is to him.
Club president Roland Klein is very happy at Derdiyok’s side. “For us, Derdiyok is a stroke of luck. It shows that in Swiss football we have earned a certain position that even someone like him defines for us.”
What about its shape?
Despite the euphoria, there are question marks about Derdiyok’s condition. Last season, he played just 22 minutes for Ankaragücü in the Turkish Süper Lig in the first half of the season. Then, in January, the contract was terminated. Since then he has been looking for a club. A possible end of his career even crossed his mind.
“I kept my condition as good as possible. And I soon realized that I miss being on the field.” Therefore, this thought was quickly off the table. Now he is happy to be able to do the entire pre-season with the team. That is very important to him. “Had I come two to three weeks later, I would have had more trouble adjusting.”
Next puzzle piece for the FCS
With the signing of Derdiyok, FCS is slowly taking shape with trainer André “Bigi” Meier (73). The club on the Rhine is going through a total revolution this summer. 15 professionals have disappeared, including veteran star Raul Bobadilla (35) and ex-Lugano player Davide Mariani (32). And only two new ones were there until the start of the training.
In addition to previous Aarau goalkeeper Simon Enzler (25), Schaffhausen signed Spanish striker Pedro Martin (31) from the Indian League, a former Atletico professional, a week ago. And now Derdiyok joins them.
Brought to score goals
The former Nati star is aware that the assignment in Schaffhausen will not be a guaranteed success. “It will be a challenge in the Challenge League,” he says with a laugh. But he is still sufficiently convinced of himself and his abilities. “I don’t care young or old. What matters is whether you’re good or not so good.”
In his long career he has often shown that Derdiyok is one of the better players. After many years abroad, he can now prove his skills again in Switzerland. As everywhere, his performance is measured in the form of goals scored.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
