Ozan Kabak: "We're already at a very good level"
Ozan, the preparations for the new season are now entering the home stretch. What's your impression of the team so far?
"I'm satisfied with the pre-season so far. Overall, the friendlies against Feyenoord and Rangers were very good. In addition, the new signings have already settled in well and are also impressing from a sporting point of view with their performances on the pitch. However, we still of course have a lot to do over the coming weeks. We want to keep improving and be top fit to a tee – as far as that is concerned, we're on a good path. I'm therefore already really looking forward to the first competitive game of the new season."
What have you worked on specifically in recent weeks. What's already going well?
"After my appearances for the Turkish national team, I started pre-season a little bit later. But I can say that we have since worked intensively on the structure of our play, but also a great deal on our individual physicality. It's simply a case of being optimally prepared for the new season – and we're already at a good level now in that regard. Our head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo has now finally had a period of several weeks with us in order to develop our game accordingly. That was not possible in February of this year. At that point, it was about being successful as quickly as possible. Now we're in the phase where we can build something together. We want to be ready when the season begins with the first round of the DFB-Pokal away to VfB Lübeck."
How are you doing personally? Do you feel fit?
"I really feel very good. The extensive playing time in the recent friendlies really did me good. However, I will keep working hard in the coming weeks in order to ensure I go into the season in an optimal physical condition."
The friendly against Fulham and therefore the final rehearsal is coming up now. You know football in England well – what will you have to prepare for?
"I'm very much looking forward to the game because I haven't been to England since I left Norwich City. The atmosphere in English stadia is always something special. Fulham are a club with great tradition, they have a lovely stadium and a really good team. It will be a major challenge for us, but we're taking the friendly fixture very seriously and naturally want to win this final rehearsal before the season starts in Lübeck in the DFB-Pokal."
How much are you looking forward to the season finally starting soon?
"Pre-season is not especially popular with us players, because it's always harder than the actual season (laughs). During the season it is always nicer because you can always work towards the next weekend and thus the next competitive game. I'm looking forward to that and can hardly wait to start."