Ceka ahead of Schalke return – “This was always my dream”.

Jason Ceka returns to FC Schalke with 1. FC Magdeburg on Saturday. Here’s how he feels about his S04 past.

From the youth of Rot-Weiss Essen, Jason Ceka moved to FC Schalke 04 in the summer of 2011, where he spent many years before moving to 1. FC Magdeburg in 2021.

Now there is the return to Gelsenkirchen on Saturday (20:30) for the 23-year-old, who emphasised in a media round how special the match will be for him, especially as his family will also be present in the arena: “This is a special game, I spent ten years at Schalke. I’m looking forward to finally being able to play in the arena. That was always my dream.”

Which was denied him with the Königsblauen, so he doesn’t only have good memories of his Schalke days: “I’m glad that I was able to complete my youth at Schalke. It’s a great club, I learned a lot there. But I also had a lot of ups and downs, especially the last three years in the U23s. At that time, I was allowed to train a lot with the professionals, but as a young player I never got the chance to play in the league games. I always had to go back down to the U23s, which was hard for me personally. Because I always hoped that I would get the opportunity one day, unfortunately it never happened.”

Nevertheless, his conclusion of his S04 era is clear: “I always look back positively on that time.” After all, it helped him become who he is today.

When it comes to Schalke, emotion and passion are usually at the forefront, and the players will try to get the fans on board

Jason Ceka

Magdeburg’s player with the highest market value, who calls Magdeburg his second home and who already has one goal and two assists to his name in the first games of the season. His starting summary: “I have three scorer points in the league, it could have been five or six. Nevertheless, I’m happy with the start of the season so far.”

Now it’s off to FC Schalke, Magdeburg comes into the pot in third place and meets a team that has not been able to get good results so far and is under pressure. Ceka: “We prepare as normal as we do for every opponent. At Schalke, the focus is usually on emotion and passion, and the players will try to get the fans on board. We have to play that out more calmly to prevent that. “