FC St. Pauli

Omar Marmoush on....

...life at FC St. Pauli and Hamburg: "I've settled in well, the people here are all very nice and friendly. I feel very comfortable and am able to work well here. Hamburg is a beautiful city, but I haven't seen too much yet. I haven't found a place to live and so I'm still staying in a hotel."

...former St. Pauli man Daniel Ginczek: "When I first had contact with St. Pauli, I asked him what it was like at the club and how everything worked. He was the only one [in the Wolfsburg squad] who'd played here before. He said it'd be a good decision and a good move for me. He told me they played good and gutsy football here and said the club really ought to be in a very different position in the table. He also talked a lot about the fans and said the atmosphere was one of the best in Germany. Unfortunately, we're still playing without fans."

...his good German: "When I came to Germany, I didn't speak a word. I had a lot of lessons at VfL Wolfsburg and we spoke a lot of German and very little English in the Under-23s. I spoke German every day, which helped me a lot. I made mistakes but I learned from them. It was hard to learn in the beginning, but it went very quickly because my Wolfsburg teammates gave me a lot of help."

...having a Canadian passport as well as an Egyptian one: "My parents worked in Canada for six years and got passports after four. I've been to Ottawa a few times, but I've always lived in Egypt and I'm 100 percent Egyptian."

...the Hannover match: "We got into the game very well and scored two goals early on. We saw the first half out but lacked a bit of concentration after the interval and conceded twice. We have to thank Igor for the winner. After the 1-1 draw against Kiel, it was a great feeling to get the three points, but that's just the beginning, we have to keep it up."

Omar Marmoush followed up an excellent performance at home against Kiel with another strong showing at Hannover.

...his goal against Kiel: "It was a really good feeling, but unfortunately we didn't get the win. We put in a good performance against Kiel and would have deserved all three points."

...a possible transfer last summer: "My contract at VfL Wolfsburg was due to expire in the summer and I had contact with St. Pauli, but then I made my Bundesliga debut and signed a three-year deal. I wanted to stay at Wolfsburg to see whether I'd get a chance and whether it'd work out. I then realised I wasn't getting that much playing time and I spoke to St. Pauli. I think it's great because I'm getting games and have an opportunity to help the team get out of this situation."

...the two home games against Regensburg and Bochum: "We have to focus on ourselves and our own performance. We have to take each game as it comes and the next one is against Regensburg. If we come out and play well, hopefully we'll get another three points."

Photos: Witters