Olaf Thon: “It feels like a Champions League match”

Schalke legend Olaf Thon was impressed by the Veltins-Arena atmosphere in a friendly game against Sevilla.

Before next week’s 2. Bundesliga curtain-raiser against Hertha Berlin, Schalke played against Sevilla in front of 45,774 spectators at the Veltins-Arena. On Sky’s transmission of the fixture, Olaf Thon compared the atmosphere with Europe’s prestigious competition.

“It’s like the Champions League. But we’ve been fighting against relegation for two years, so you have to be realistic and keep a low profile.” said the former Bayern Munich and Schalke player.

The coach Miron Muslić and captain Kenan Karaman also spoke highly about the wavering support from the fans. Schalke lost to the Europa League specialist 4-2, but the biggest worry came with the injuries of Nikola Katic and midfielder Ron Schallenberg a week before the opening game of the 2. Bundesliga season.

Moussa Sylla and Mauro Zalazar continued their decent preseason form by scoring Schalke’s goals in the second-half. Meanwhile, fellow 2. Bundesliga club Kaiserslautern only lost to AS Roma 1-0 in their final friendly in front of their fans.