Joselpho Barnes is probably well known to the die-hard fans of FC Schalke 04. After all, the striker spent five years at the Knappenschmiede.
From 2016 to 2021, he was active at FC Schalke 04’s Knappenschmiede. He then moved to Latvia to FC Riga in the summer of 2021 and two years later to Belgium to VV. St Truiden. We are talking about 22-year-old Joselpho Barnes.
The striker, who comes from Oberhausen, played 21 U17 matches (no goals, six assists), 41 U19 matches (three goals, two assists) and eleven U23 matches (no goals, two assists) for FC Schalke 04.
Barnes made 28 appearances (one goal, one assist) for his current club VV St. Truiden, a Belgian first division team. His contract at St. Truiden runs until the summer of 2025 and the German-Ghanaian can well imagine returning to Germany, especially to the Ruhr region, as he reveals in the Forecasting interview.
Joselpho Barnes, you have been working abroad for almost three years now. How would you rate your time in Riga and now in St. Truiden?
I would rate my time in both countries as positive and instructive. At the beginning, it wasn’t easy to leave Germany and be on my own. I was confronted with a completely different mentality and a different way of playing soccer. Back then, in my youthful recklessness, I happily embarked on the adventure without really knowing what to expect. But I don’t regret the decision and the experience has matured me and I’ve now arrived in professional soccer.
In Riga you scored seven goals in 31 games, now it’s just one goal in 28 games. As a striker, how do you view these results?
That’s true and of course I would like to score goals in every game. I think for every child who plays soccer, scoring a goal is the best feeling. That has never changed for me, of course, and I’m working on improving my goalscoring rate in Belgium too. In Riga, I often played as a classic center forward, but at the moment I’m often deployed on the wing because that’s where I can best help the team with my speed and assertiveness. That works well and I’m still confident that I’ll be scoring more goals again soon!
Once you’ve been to Schalke like me, you can’t let go of Royal Blue. I follow the games and my heart bleeds to see a club as rich in tradition as Schalke 04 in the current situation. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that things get back on track quickly and if Schalke need my help, I’m sure they still have my number (laughs).
Joselpho Barnes
You play for St. Truiden under Thorsten Fink. A big name in Bundesliga soccer history. What type of coach is Fink?
Thorsten Fink was a very successful footballer in the Bundesliga and also gained a lot of experience as a coach in various countries. I’m glad that I have the chance to learn from him and I can see that I’m improving as a player under him. The training is exhausting and the game idea is also tactically demanding, but nothing comes from nothing (laughs).
Will you continue to play under him in the future? Your contract runs until the summer of 2025.
Of course, I can’t look into the future and professional soccer is a fast-moving business. Things are going well at the moment and as long as I can play under Thorsten Fink, I will of course try to learn as much as possible and develop myself further.
Is a return to Germany your goal in the long term?
In my opinion, anything is possible in soccer, I won the U20 Africa Cup with Ghana in 2021. That was my first title in men’s soccer. I’m hungry for more and work as professionally as possible every day so that this is not the only title in my career. If my next career step is in Germany, and perhaps even back in the Ruhr region, I would of course be very happy. But I’m also happy to continue scoring goals abroad. Soccer is now global and I’m open to everything that comes my way.
You were born in Oberhausen. What do you currently miss most about the Ruhr region?
The passion for soccer in the Ruhr region is of course insane. I experienced that first-hand during my time at Schalke. Soccer is a religion there and it was indescribable for me to be able to soak up the atmosphere at the club. Away from soccer, of course, it’s the many warm people with their direct manner and Ruhrpott snouts that I sometimes miss. But I’m not that far away and regularly travel back home to visit friends and family.
You also spent five years at FC Schalke 04. Do you still follow Schalke?
Yes, of course! Once you’ve been to Schalke like me, you can’t let go of Royal Blue. I follow the games and my heart bleeds to see a club as rich in tradition as Schalke 04 in the current situation. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that things get back on track quickly and if Schalke need my help, I’m sure they still have my number (laughs).