'I had other options too': Edin Džeko on his return to Schalke
After helping Schalke secure promotion while on loan last season, Edin Džeko is back at the club and raring to go ahead of the new season, as he revealed at a press conference on Tuesday.
"I still have a passion for football and remain hungry," Džeko said. "I'm certain that I can still offer something to Schalke and help the team.
"If I didn't think so, I would've just stayed on vacation. On top of that, my wife and children told me I should keep playing. They'll now be moving to Germany to join me."
"I had a great many conversations," continued the 40-year-old, who represented Bosnia and Herzegovina at the FIFA World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
"Naturally I also spoke to our head coach Miron Muslić, Frank Baumann [board member for sport], Youri Mulder [director of football], and Maximilian Lüftl [director of scouting and transfers], but also with many players. Let's put it this way: with almost all of them.
"My plan from the very beginning was to come back - and that’s worked out now. I did have other options in the summer, but I really only wanted to keep playing for Schalke."
Džeko is keen to play in the Bundesliga again following his incredible stint at Wolfsburg (2007–2011). His experience in the league, which included winning the title in the 2009/10 season, is invaluable to the Schalke.
"Naturally, it won't be easy as a newly promoted tea, especially against big sides where we'll need a lot of patience," said the forward. "But I'm 100 per cent certain that we'll be ready when the time comes, and we'll try to keep every point at the Veltins-Arena."
Over the past six months, Džeko played a key role in Schalke's promotion, contributing six goals and three assists.
However, he doesn't want to set a specific goal tally for the step up to the top flight. "Even when I was younger, I never talked about numbers or set myself a fixed target for goals," he said.
"The most important thing is staying healthy, then I can definitely help out. It doesn't matter whether that's through goals, assists, or anything else that's part of the game on the pitch."
