Schalke striker Franco di Santo has spoken about his continued love for the game of football and how much he is looking forward to the Revier derby on Saturday against their hated rivals Borussia Dortmund.
The Argentine international had been enduring a nightmare run where he hadn’t scored since March 2016 but he put things right in the last game finally scoring against Hamburg in a 2-0 win that sent his side up into second place in the Bundesliga.
The Revier derby will have extra spice as Dortmund are in third place just a point behind in the table so this game will mean everything to the fans and di Santo opened up about the build-up and feeling in the city leading up to the game in an interview with Bundesliga.com
“Whether it’s at training, in the shops or in restaurants, everyone is talking about the game. We’ve got fans everywhere (laughs). Obviously we understand the euphoria, you have to. They fill us with confidence.
“They’re saying to us, “Guys, you’re bang in form. You won’t get a better opportunity to beat BVB.” It goes without saying it’s a particularly special week for all of us.”
Dortmund have been the dominant force in the rivalry in recent years especially during the years under Jurgen Klopp. This season they have struggled where they are currently in fifth place and have been eliminated from the Champions League at the group stage without winning a game.
Di Santo has played in Italian football and the English Premier League during his 11-year professional career. He spent a season at Audax Italiano before joining Chelsea in 2008 where he played a season and then joined Blackburn Rovers.
He then spent three seasons at Wigan Athletic before joining Werner Bremen in the Bundesliga. This is his third season at Schalke after he controversially moved there from Bremen after triggering a release clause in his contract understood be worth $6million. He would later come out and publicly apologise to the Bremen fans for the move.