skrapid.at: Mike, there was a lot of praise and expectation surrounding your move to Hütteldorf. Its taken a while for you to find your feet here, not least because of a serious injury to your Achilles tendon. You’re currently in your third season with us, how do you assess your time so far?Michael Schimpelsberger: I would say it wasn't an easy time. As I signed for the club there was a lot of discontent. As a young player at the time it was difficult to deal with different events, such as the pitch invasion. I didn't play much during the first half a year and the problem was that in Holland I had mainly made short substitute appearances so was short of match practice. I wasn't really match fit and couldn't compensate. With games each week and then the Europa League it was hard to consistently work on my physical condition. Although I think the first year was good, but then a mixed half a season followed topped of by the injury.Your first big, serious...Exactly. Then everything was pretty difficult for me. But I saw the Achilles injury as a new start, I want to start a fresh and show what I'm really capable of.                                                                                  You won the Cup in Holland with FC Twente and also played in the Champions League. When you signed for Rapid you stated that you wanted more match time and were coming here in order to achieve that. Did you maybe imagine that - with your experience and education in the Dutch system - it was going to be a bit easier here in Austria?No, easier, no. For the first half a year Tanju Kayhan was still here and first choice. Afterwards I played more and more games, and was actually in the top three in the team in terms of appearances. Then came this mixed period and I was alternated with Christopher Trimmel a lot. It was hard to find a proper rhythm. On top of that was the bad atmosphere in the surroundings, but you learn a lot from things like that. I would say now that nothing knocks me over as easily any more (smiles). You learn, get more mature and I've certainly matured in the past couple of years.Was there a particular moment that sticks out during this process?Yes, the injury. There has to be a reason why you suffer such a serious injury. Although the doctors said there was no previous injury, I suspect certain circumstances lead up to it, such as the lack of fitness. At some point the body reacts and says I'm taking a break. I started to re-think my situation and came to realise that big goals will only ever be achieved through hard work. You need to live a life at the same time. Of course you wonder why you haven't come to these conclusions sooner. But thats the way it is and you have to accept it. I've used all this in a positive way and hope that through this I'll be playing again soon.How have you changed then in comparison to the old Mike Schimplesberger?I think I made a huge mistake right from the start: I put myself under too much pressure. I came from abroad and thought "I need to make my mark quickly and use Rapid as a spring board." But it wasn't good, this constantly looking to the future. The most important thing is to have continuity, and that was missing for me. It stopped my development. Now I don't put myself under this kind of pressure, instead I use every training session to improve. I live in the here and now and feel great here at Rapid.In the friendly against Bielefeld you were, next to Branko Boskovic, the longest serving player. Are you conscious of this important role and is it something you want to accept?In terms of age I'm lots younger, but have taken a lot in terms of experiences from the last few years. I think I do have something to pass on. I can highlight my story to the younger players and say: "realise early, that you always have to work hard, and don't dwell on what others say and let yourself go crazy." From today you can only think about tomorrow. Of course you hear occasional things from other young players about what they're up to. But you don't need to model yourself on them or else you'll succumb to the pressure. Just like what happened with me.Against Bielefeld you had the Captain's armband on - was that a confirmation?Whatever it was it was a brilliant feeling, regardless of whether during a friendly or not. In the national youth team, and also in the Twente reserves I was Captain. Of course it gives you extra self confidence, and yes it was great (smiles)!(gw)
29.01.2014