Johannes Geis on his difficult phase at Schalke: 'It was the hardest time of my career'
Johannes Geis has reflected on his difficult time at Schalke 04.
| Johannes Geis (left). | Photo: Богдан Заяц/Football.ua/CC-by-SA 3.0 |
Geis obviously wasn't in the plans of Schalke 04 coach Domenico Tedesco, and although the former Germany under-21 international did what he could to cope with the situation, he feels he went through the hardest part of his career at Schalke.
"Even if the situation wasn't easy for me, I tried to get fully involved in every training session. I wasn't able to influence everything else. It was enormously important for me to ensure that I couldn't blame myself personally," Geis said in an interview with Goal and Spox.
"Especially my girlfriend and my buddies helped me to think about other things off the pitch in this difficult phase. In retrospect, it was the hardest time of my career, and although you obviously want to play as a professional footballer, my environment have always made it clear to me that there are more important things than football."
"Of course, there were phases when everything seemed harder. On some days, I went to training and wondered if it even made sense. Nevertheless, the team was always good to me. I had some good friends in the team which made it much easier for me. Having fun in training or in the dressing room with people like 'Cali' (Daniel Caligiuri) or 'Burgi' (Guido Burgstaller) made me feel good. At such moments, it was secondary to me whether I played or not," Geis explained.
Geis, 25, has made six appearances for FC Köln in the 2. Bundesliga so far.
