Schalke - Moussa N'Diaye's defining loan move

Moving from the bench in November at Anderlecht, to this loan to Schalke that leads to the title and the rise to the Bundesliga. If someone had told you that at the beginning of the season, would you have believed it?

Moussa Ndiaye: (Smiling) Honestly no. Everything went so fast. If someone had told me that in January, it would have been hard to believe. I had a really tough time at Anderlecht in November. But that’s part of football. I was in trouble, I had the opportunity to follow up in another context and it paid off. That’s what I prefer to remember, the positive side and this championship title with Schalke and the playing time I was able to get by coming here.

What’s it like to win this title of German D2 champion?

It’s always a pleasure. When you’re a player, even more than playing, you want to win titles. Whether minor or major, when you play a championship or a tournament, you hope to get something in the end. It is the reward at work, for all the efforts made on a personal and collective level. It’s something that makes you happy and that we enjoy because we worked to reach this level and this goal.

How do you explain your quick adaptation to Schalke and your good performances? It looks like you had been at the club for a long time.

First, I was very well received by the staff and the locker room. I think that played a lot of role. The coach knew me and my qualities, because he was in Belgium before. He knew my style of play and already knew how he wanted to use me and especially highlight my qualities. I also stuck to the style of football wanted by the coach and the style of play in Germany. The full-backs are very involved in the game and that’s what I prefer. Repetitive effort is not a problem. I prefer to participate in the game, to duplicate, to bring a solution... rather than being restricted to defensive tasks only.


In a very short time, you became the darling of the public. How do you feel about the support that fans give you?

In fact, even before arriving on loan, when there were rumors around my arrival, I was already receiving a lot of messages. It’s something that always makes you happy. Once my loan was formalized, I had the chance to play from the next game. I was just coming out of a period without playing, I wanted to show my worth and give back to the fans all the positive messages they sent me. I had the chance to start well, to play good matches and the team’s results followed. And as I said, I like playing the game, so the fact that they see me active in the game, giving it my all is something that sticks to the club’s DNA. They saw me making the effort and immediately adopted me. And it made me not lower my game because they are so committed here. Even in the second division, the stadium is full for home matches. There is a great atmosphere and high expectations.

Your return to the forefront is necessarily followed by Senegal. We are just over a month away from the World Cup. Are you thinking about it?

Any player dreams of playing in a World Cup. But now there is a coach who has to make choices. Compose your group and therefore leave some players. If it were up to me, I would select myself (laugh). Personally, I’m just trying to give the best on the field to be as efficient as possible in my position, stay in my corner and let the coach make his choices. Now in Senegal there is strong competition almost at all positions, so choosing is not easy and those who are not selected will be disappointed. We leave everything in the hands of the coach and his staff so that they can make the best choices for Senegal in order to have a great run at the World Cup. All we can do as players is perform well and be ready if we are called upon. If that’s not the case, it will push us to work even more.

With your second half of the season, you’re bound to attract attention during the transfer window. What is your priority?

Let’s say I did my part. I was coming out of several complicated months, I had to restart and become efficient again. Of course, this will interest clubs, starting with Schalke who brought me here. The second half of the season went well here. With this title and the good matches, now it’s up to my agent to work.