“I want to lead from the front”

Daniel Heuer Fernandes is going into the new second-division season full of confidence as HSV will begin at home to FC Schalke 04 on Friday night (20:30 CEST). “Ferro” kept 10 clean sheets last season and was among newspaper Kicker’s top three players in the division. On top of that, he was voted as “Man of the Season” for the second successive campaign by the HSV fans. The Bochum-born goalkeeper, however, will not be resting on his laurels ahead of his fifth season with the club. He has not only become a key player, but also a real leader for the Rothosen. One noticeable aspect of pre-season has been how loud he has been on the pitch, bellowing out instructions to his defenders. Ahead of the Schalke game, Heuer Fernandes spoke about…​​​​​​​

...his fifth season at HSV: I can look back proudly on my time so far with HSV. Playing for this club for four years is really special. We’ve had some highs and lows, from which I have learnt a lot. You develop as a person thanks to these moments and I’ve experienced a lot here. Playing for such a big club with these massive expectations was a new feeling for me for example. I’ve learnt how to deal with that and continuously improved. I’m happy to still be here and I’m excited for Friday. Everybody that knows me knows that I’m rarely satisfied and that I want to keep on getting better.

…his role as a leader: I want to lead from the front. The coach does that in every training session, but he also needs players that will do that in the team. I’m one of the players that needs to do that and I want to. I want to help the team and perform well in training. That will then mean I play better in games too.

...the opener against Schalke 04: Despite relegation and several departures, they still have enough quality in their ranks, especially up front with someone like Simon Terodde. He’s a striker that doesn’t need many chances to score and he’s incredibly clinical in the box. We have to defend well. Schalke, as a big club, will want to have the ball too. That will give us opportunities.