“I want to make my return this year”

Julian Schieber talks about his health, the season opener against his former club and Mitchell Weiser’s dress sense.

Berlin – “Schieber shoots Hertha to victory!” This was the headline all football fans nationwide read almost a year ago. It was 29th August 2016, the first matchday of the 2016-17 season for Hertha BSC. SC Freiburg equalised in injury time after Vladimir Darida’s opening goal – cue misery. Nevertheless, the Berliners didn’t give up – the ball landed to Julian Schieber as the game reached its 95th minute. The attacker ran determinedly through the defence and struck the ball with all his remaining energy to hit the back of the net and make it 2-1. Crazy celebrations followed, both on the pitch and in the stands. There was a sea of blue and white excitement wherever you looked. The story of the match with SC Freiburg has been told and retold umpteen times since and rightly so. It acted as a comfort for all Hertha fans after the exit from the Europa League qualifiers.

One year later, the main protagonist does not often think back to the match. “I never do that anymore,” says Schieber. That may well be because the forward is no longer in a position to pull off the feat. However, the 28-year-old has set himself a clear goal. “I’ll give everything to make that headline come back,” he says.

Julian Schieber speaks with herthabsc.de about not only his health, but also restaurant tips for Davie Selke and Mitchell Weiser’s dress sense.

herthabsc.de: Julian, firstly tell us, how are you?

Julian Schieber: I’m great – don’t worry about me (laughs). Of course, sometimes rehab training gets annoying and obviously I’d rather be standing on the pitch. But I’m working hard – I’m seeing the progress I’m making and that feels good. I’ve also worked with athletics coach Hendrik Vieth. Soon I’ll be done with rehab and fitness training and I’ll be ready to get back to the pitch

herthabsc.de: Hertha BSC’s Bundesliga campaign will kick off on Saturday (19th August). You’ll be in the stadium and following the game from the stands. How will you feel watching the match?

Schieber: I’m going to go to the stadium with my son and my dad might come too. For sure, it’s a shame that I can’t play. It’s the first matchday, everyone’s fired up and wants to get the season off to a winning start. But I’ve known for a long time that I wouldn’t be fit for it, so it’s not a huge let-down for me.

herthabsc.de: The blue and whites are facing VfB Stuttgart, the club for whom you played your professional debut. Is this fixture special for you, despite only being a spectator?

Schieber: I wanted the Stuttgart fixture to come later in the first half of the season, but the DFL didn’t play along (grins). Matches against VfB have a special charm to them for me of course. In their current team, I only know Christian Gentner, who I played alongside. Sometimes we bump into each other in my old hometown and we catch up. Otherwise, the club has a new face, which is partly due to their relegation.

herthabsc.de: You’re not in the dressing room every day anymore because of your injury, but you still keep in contact with the boys. Is the team ready for the start of the Bundesliga?

Schieber: I actually visit the dressing room at least once a week and see the boys. I think everything went well in pre-season; ups and downs are normal in this phase of the season. We’ve overcome our first game in Rostock, which was unpleasant. Even if it wasn’t a highlight because of the quality of the football, I never had the feeling we’d slip up. The win was also important for our confidence – confidence is extremely important in general. That’s what I always think when I see Mitchell Weiser wearing some outlandish outfit (laughs).

herthabsc.de: You been grafting in rehab training with fellow injured players Davie Selke and Valentino Lazaro. What do you think of the two new signings?

Schieber: They’re both good lads. Valentino really gets stuck in, he does double sessions to get fit again more quickly. You can tell he wants to train with the team as soon as possible and how much he wants to show his ability. It’s going well with Davie too. We grew up just 20 kilometres away and our roots connect us – it’s nice to hear a Swabian accent (laughs). We really want to play together on the pitch; that would be perfect. But there’s one problem; he’s always asking me for good restaurants and I’m starting to run out of tips.

herthabsc.de: You celebrated your comeback against Stuttgart in February 2016 after your first injury lay-off. In January you’ll face your old hometown in the away fixture. Will we see you back on the pitch then?

Schieber: I want to make my return this year, I want to be with the rest of the team and take part in training sessions. I feel good and there haven’t been any setbacks so far. I’m looking forward to the match so much, that’s my big goal. I want to score the winning goal against VfB again; maybe I’ll get to do that in the away match...

Berlin – “Schieber shoots Hertha to victory!” This was the headline all football fans nationwide read almost a year ago. It was 29th August 2016, the first matchday of the 2016-17 season for Hertha BSC. SC Freiburg equalised in injury time after Vladimir Darida’s opening goal – cue misery. Nevertheless, the Berliners didn’t give up – the ball landed to Julian Schieber as the game reached its 95th minute. The attacker ran determinedly through the defence and struck the ball with all his remaining energy to hit the back of the net and make it 2-1. Crazy celebrations followed, both on the pitch and in the stands. There was a sea of blue and white excitement wherever you looked. The story of the match with SC Freiburg has been told and retold umpteen times since and rightly so. It acted as a comfort for all Hertha fans after the exit from the Europa League qualifiers.

One year later, the main protagonist does not often think back to the match. “I never do that anymore,” says Schieber. That may well be because the forward is no longer in a position to pull off the feat. However, the 28-year-old has set himself a clear goal. “I’ll give everything to make that headline come back,” he says.

Julian Schieber speaks with herthabsc.de about not only his health, but also restaurant tips for Davie Selke and Mitchell Weiser’s dress sense.

herthabsc.de: Julian, firstly tell us, how are you?

Julian Schieber: I’m great – don’t worry about me (laughs). Of course, sometimes rehab training gets annoying and obviously I’d rather be standing on the pitch. But I’m working hard – I’m seeing the progress I’m making and that feels good. I’ve also worked with athletics coach Hendrik Vieth. Soon I’ll be done with rehab and fitness training and I’ll be ready to get back to the pitch.

herthabsc.de: Hertha BSC’s Bundesliga campaign will kick off on Saturday (19th August). You’ll be in the stadium and following the game from the stands. How will you feel watching the match?

Schieber: I’m going to go to the stadium with my son and my dad might come too. For sure, it’s a shame that I can’t play. It’s the first matchday, everyone’s fired up and wants to get the season off to a winning start. But I’ve known for a long time that I wouldn’t be fit for it, so it’s not a huge let-down for me.

herthabsc.de: The blue and whites are facing VfB Stuttgart, the club for whom you played your professional debut. Is this fixture special for you, despite only being a spectator?

Schieber: I wanted the Stuttgart fixture to come later in the first half of the season, but the DFL didn’t play along (grins). Matches against VfB have a special charm to them for me of course. In their current team, I only know Christian Gentner, who I played alongside. Sometimes we bump into each other in my old hometown and we catch up. Otherwise, the club has a new face, which is partly due to their relegation.

herthabsc.de: You’re not in the dressing room every day anymore because of your injury, but you still keep in contact with the boys. Is the team ready for the start of the Bundesliga?

Schieber: I actually visit the dressing room at least once a week and see the boys. I think everything went well in pre-season; ups and downs are normal in this phase of the season. We’ve overcome our first game in Rostock, which was unpleasant. Even if it wasn’t a highlight because of the quality of the football, I never had the feeling we’d slip up. The win was also important for our confidence – confidence is extremely important in general. That’s what I always think when I see Mitchell Weiser wearing some outlandish outfit (laughs).

herthabsc.de: You been grafting in rehab training with fellow injured players Davie Selke and Valentino Lazaro. What do you think of the two new signings?

Schieber: They’re both good lads. Valentino really gets stuck in, he does double sessions to get fit again more quickly. You can tell he wants to train with the team as soon as possible and how much he wants to show his ability. It’s going well with Davie too. We grew up just 20 kilometres away and our roots connect us – it’s nice to hear a Swabian accent (laughs). We really want to play together on the pitch; that would be perfect. But there’s one problem; he’s always asking me for good restaurants and I’m starting to run out of tips.

herthabsc.de: You celebrated your comeback against Stuttgart in February 2016 after your first injury lay-off. In January you’ll face your old hometown in the away fixture. Will we see you back on the pitch then?

Schieber: I want to make my return this year, I want to be with the rest of the team and take part in training sessions. I feel good and there haven’t been any setbacks so far. I’m looking forward to the match so much, that’s my big goal. I want to score the winning goal against VfB again; maybe I’ll get to do that in the away match...