Kevin Schade became a professional at SC Freiburg at the age of 16 – and left in the winter, in the middle of the most successful phase in the club’s history. kicker visited the fast attacking player at FC Brentford and found out, among other things, the reasons for the winter change.
Recently national team: Brentford striker Kevin Schade.
IMAGO/Action Plus
Schade was only able to follow Freiburg’s highlights in the Europa League against Juventus Turin on television. When he moved to the Premier League at the beginning of January, the duel with the Italian world club had not yet been drawn. But participation in the round of the top 16 was just as certain as in the DFB Cup. In addition, SC spent the winter in second place in the Bundesliga.
So why did Schade leave anyway? “Ironically also because they are so successful in Freiburg, which is great,” Schade said in an interview with kicker, the first interview since his transfer, which is a record for both clubs.
From his point of view, the success also had a downside: “It wasn’t good for me personally, even after the injury, because we didn’t train much in the English weeks. I played less, sometimes not at all. The first eleven worked very well, it was difficult for me. But I’m young, I need time to play and practice. That was the decisive point.”
There was also a second important argument: “Of course the Premier League. For years I’ve dreamed of playing against the best and with the best.” However, the point “with the best” is currently almost only fulfilled by Brentford’s goalscorer Ivan Toney, who with 16 goals this season is third in the list of shots behind superstars Harry Kane (21) and Erling Haaland (28).
Brentford is similar to what Freiburg was three years ago.
So why the neighborhood club from West London? “Brentford is similar to what Freiburg was maybe three years ago. They bring in young players to develop them, but they also give them time,” says Schade and knows: “If you do it well, the English top players will have you right away clubs on the radar.” This is another career goal of the native of Potsdam.
In addition, Brentford has been courting him since the summer of 2022. “But I wanted to get fit again in peace and knew that Freiburg would give me the time. Brentford didn’t give up and gave me the good feeling that they really wanted me.”
Rethinking at Schade: “I’ve learned from the time”
Now the Bees have him, more precisely a more mature version of Schade. The U-21 national player (five appearances, four goals, two assists), who was nominated by national coach Flick for the upcoming international matches against Peru and Belgium, has caused a fundamental rethink from March 2022 due to a six-month break due to an abdominal muscle injury that was operated on during the course of the year :
“I learned from the time that I always have to do some good follow-up work, regenerate and deal more with my body, especially off the pitch. Nutrition, sauna, water exercises – there are many things that can help and with which I can wasn’t that busy, because a lot of things have been easy for me for a long time.”
In the first few weeks, however, Schade had to be patient in Brentford – because of the success of the surprise team. He’s played in nine out of ten competitive games since the move (one assist), but only once from the start. A similar role as in Freiburg – and yet different.
“The difference is that I train more and the style of play suits me better,” says Schade, explaining this point of view: “Everything goes faster, it’s played more directly to the top, less focus on possession, power and impact play a role big role. At Freiburg it’s more controlled, with more processes and patterns.”
How training and daily routines differ from those in Freiburg and the trainers Thomas Frank and Christian Streich, how Schade grew up and puts his SC time into order, how high his new speed record is, which training equipment was a change requirement, what luxuries he allows himself, what he saves and what he said ten days before his first nomination about the national team Hansi Flick and the U-21 European Championship – read in the current kicker (Monday edition or from Sunday evening in the eMagazine).
