Larsson: 'It will be fun to play Schalke'

F.C. Copenhagen forward Jordan Larsson will take on his former club Schalke 04 when the two sides meet in this evening's friendly match in Austria.

Larsson joined FCK initially on loan from Schalke back in February, before making his move permanent this summer. And he says he's looking forward to facing his former team-mates.

"It will be fun to play Schalke," says Larsson.

"There are quite a few players left that I still have contact with and even though I was only there for six months I had a good relationship with those who worked at the club.

"I also asked one of the players that I hung out with quite a bit about where they're based down here, and if they could meet one day after training, but it will probably be a bit difficult."

Although there have been some changes to the Schalke set-up, Larsson knows coach Thomas Reis and has an idea of what FCK can expect tonight.

"When I was there they were very defensive because it was just about survival in the Bundesliga. I think we can expect a lot of man-to-man defence because that's what Reis stood for," says Larsson.

"Offensively they have some new players, and maybe they will also try to retain the ball more when they now have to play in the 2 Bundesliga. But on the whole it will probably be a lot of man-to-man football, many duels and probably also a lot of adjusting to shape."

Schalke's relegation in the spring was their second in three seasons. Until the summer of 2021 the club had played in the Bundesliga for 30 straight years.

Discussing the club, Larsson adds: "Popularity wise there's Bayern and then there's Schalke. They have a huge fan base and we played in front of 60,000 every time at the Veltins Arena. It was tough when they got relegated the first time but they came back straight away, and it felt like they had some momentum and were building something new, only to fall back down.

"It's tough and it's difficult, but the Germans are known for not giving up and the club has big ambitions and a good mentality. I think they'll go back up straight away."

You can stream Schalke vs F.C. Copenhagen with an FCK+ subscription - either on our app or on tv.fck.dk.