Bundesliga bust Alexander Schwolow speaks on finally finding success with Hearts in Scotland | OneFootball

In an interview with the Thursday print edition of Kicker, former Bundesliga keeper Alexander Schwolow had a chance to speak on his new work abroad. The 33-year-old – after making 206 Bundesliga appearances for Freiburg, Schalke, Hertha, and Union Berlin – finally moved abroad for the first time in his career this summer. Schwolow is now the starter for Edinburgh’s Hearts of Midlothian

After his contract with Union was not renewed, Schwolow flirted with the idea of remaining in German football.Seemingly out of nowhere, the Scottish club opted to sign the unattached free agent. The move has worked astoundingly well. Hearts sit atop the Scottish Premiership after 11 matchdays. Schwolow has made seven starts and kept five clean sheets. 

Schwolow is generally regarded as one of German football’s biggest busts. If Hearts can keep pace, however, he may end up being a keeper for the history books. Hearts have not won a Scottish title in 65 years. It’s been 40 years since a non Glaswegian team captured the crown. Schwolow let it be known that he was aware of this when speaking to Kicker.

“The fans give us outstanding support and a good squad with several outstanding players,” Schwolow noted of his team’s general title prospects. “It’s still a tough league with a championship round, lots of teams that play on artificial turf, and it rains a lot. We’re only a third of the way through the season and we don’t need to reference the quality of teams like Celtic and Rangers.“

When it came time to talk about how he landed in Edinburgh (of all places), Schwolow shared a few laughs with interviewer Sebastian Leisgang. Evidently, the Wiesbaden-native had to catch up on his history fairly quickly as – prior to the move – he had little knowledge of the club.

“Of course, I knew the club from the Europa League and the Conference League, but I didn’t even know that the club was from Edinburgh,” Schwolow confessed. “My agent raved about the conditions, the club, and the city. At first I thought to myself, ‘it rains all the time in Berlin, and now Scotland’?

“But my wife and children decided to check it out anyway,” Schwolow continued. “We traveled to Edinburgh under no pressure, watched the team come back from a 0-3 deficit against Motherwell. Afterwards, I had the same feeling as my agent. After discussing it over a weekend, I went for it.”

Schwolow insisted that he’s adopting to life in the Scottish capital quite well and had some interesting things to report on how the local fans treat their footballers. In the end, the one-time €9m valued player was glad he chose Hearts over other clubs (including some in Turkey that were interested in him. 

“I found a house in Bruntsfield, near a huge park,” Schwolow said. “It’s only a 15-minute walk to the castle, which is the main attraction here. People here are very reserved. I get the feeling that they really have to overcome their inhibitions before asking for a photo.  

“Here, football players are placed on an even higher pedestal,” Schwolow continued. “People are sometimes almost afraid to approach you. Things are going more than well on the sporting front. I’ve found a nice house, and Edinburgh is a beautiful city. Only the weather could be better sometimes.

And the linguistic barrier?

Time for more laughs.

“It’s especially hard with the guys from Glasgow,” Schwolow said. “It’s almost a different language than English. If you didn’t catch the topic of conversation at the breakfast table, you’d sit there and not understand a word.

“They say things like ‘fucking hell’ a lot,” Schwolow continued. “They also say ‘Aye’ instead of yes, like [sea-faring] captains. The fans like to sing songs about their players, but I didn’t understand what they were singing about me.”

To his credit, Schwolow did note that he was on the uptake when it came to how Scottish football chants work. It’s all about rhyming. His teammates have already been thinking of a way to work on something that rhymes with Schwolow. 

“But we have a real Claudio Braga song,” Schwolow revealed. “[to the tune of Queen’s ‘Radio Gaga’] is goes ‘All you need is Claudio Braga.’ To be honest, I hope he scores a goal every time, just so everyone can sing his song!“

At the conclusion of the interview, Schwolow reflected on his very tough times in the German top flight: Witnessing his career tank after a high-priced move to Hertha Berlin in the January 2020 transfer window and getting relegated with Schalke 04 at the end of the 2022/23 season.

“The Schalke period in particular, and also part of the Hertha period, were very exhausting,” Schwolow noted. “After watching the disappointed look on the faces of the fans every week, I couldn’t ‘switch off’ after I got home.“

“There were several low points, and I let them get to me too much,” Schwolow concluded. “I played well in those games, but nobody cares when you lose in the end. I guess it toughened me up. I never gave up, and now my hard work and meticulousness are being rewarded again. I’m happy about that!“

GGFN | Peter Weis