Schöpf reacts to criticism from van der Vaart: 'Nonsense!'
The former Hamburger SV player Rafael van der Vaart blasted Schalke 04 after their derby loss to Borussia Dortmund. Now, Schalke's Alessandro Schöpf has responded to the Dutchman's criticism.
Following Schalke 04's 1-2 loss to Borussia Dortmund in the Revierderby on Saturday, the former Dutch international Rafael van der Vaart didn't hold back in his criticism of the performance that Domenico Tedeco's troops put in.
"Hardly any player from Schalke can stop the ball and play on. I found that alarming," Rafael van der Vaart told Sky after stating that he felt Schalke delivered an 'abysmal' performance.
Now, Schalke's Alessandro Schöpf has responded to the former Hamburger SV player's harsh words.
"I think that's complete nonsense," the Austrian international said at a press conference ahead of Schalke's Champions League clash with Lokomotiv on Tuesday.
"We have quality in our squad. We particularly showed that last season when we ended in second place with a similar team," Schöpf said.
He did, however, admit that Schalke lost 'good players' in the summer and most likely referred to Max Meyer, Leon Goretzka and Thilo Kehrer.
Schalke are just 13th in the Bundesliga table with 14 points after 14 games.