Remember Edin Dzeko? He’s rolling back the years with Germany’s fallen giants | OneFootball

It’s a sign of football’s knotweed-like presence in the human brain that I was thinking of Jamie Carragher during a trip to Vienna last November.

On a chilly night in the Austrian capital, I was standing in the Bosnia-Herzegovina end of the Ernst Happel-Stadion watching a decisive World Cup qualifier.

Edin Dzeko was given a raucous reception pre-match, one loud enough to wonder whether Bosnia has a monarchy, but his impact on the game itself was negligible.

‘Leave football before football leaves you,” rattled around my brain as the 39-year-old plodded adjacent to the action, rising for headers like a bird with two broken wings.

He wasn’t substituted as Bosnia chased a winner, one that would’ve sent them to the World Cup. I was left distinctly unimpressed.

With Bosnia due to face Wales in their play-off in March, Dzeko has swapped a relegation battle with Fiorentina for Schalke’s Bundesliga-promotion push.

“From the moment there was interest, I took a very close look at Schalke and watched several matches,” the striker said at his unveiling.

“It’s impressive to see how the team has developed this season after some difficult years. Now I want to give everything so that we can be successful together in the second half of the campaign.”

Schalke are top of the 2.Bundesliga after 18 matches, as one of Germany’s traditional giants look to end a three-year purgatory away from the top-flight.

But their goalscoring record was poor, just 22 in 18 games before the Bosnian’s arrival. Happily, Dzeko’s form had only disappeared for a while, like rising damp or a family feud.

On his debut against Kaiserslautern, with Schalke losing 2-0, Dzeko pulled a late goal back with a smart close-range finish. Kenan Karaman equalised shortly afterwards.

“Even at 39 – when you’re a bit older – you don’t forget how to score goals,” said Dzeko after his goal-scoring start.

“During my time in Germany, it was always amazing to play in this stadium [Veltins Arena] with this crowd. From the very beginning, I genuinely wanted to come here.

“I wasn’t looking at the money; I simply wanted to play in front of this fantastic crowd and help this team.”

And the former Manchester City marksman really got into his stride with two more goals against Fortuna Dusseldorf on Saturday.

On a bright day in Gelsenkirchen, the kind of weather that hints towards the brighter months ahead, Dzeko volleyed Schalke ahead with a clinical finish. Over 60,000 fans had a collective orgasm.

Schalke were in the groove and doubled their lead when their new talisman rifled home from 20 yards.

But there’s a reason why the 2011 Champions League semi-finalists are at a low ebb; they collapsed after Dzeko was substituted, conceding two late goals to draw the game.

Darmstadt have replaced them at the top of the table and Schalke are just one point ahead of third-placed Paderborn. Only the top two get promoted automatically.

Playing for a big club in need of a saviour, Dzeko has already been treated with deity-like deference at Schalke.

One fan served him cevapi, Bosnia’s national dish of sausage and flatbread, at the training ground last week.

They’ll be relying on the veteran’s experience, just as the player is fine-tuning himself for Bosnia’s play-off in Cardiff next month. This can be a mutually beneficial arrangement.

One thing is for certain; Dzeko isn’t quite as washed as I thought a few months ago.