Annan grows into Schalke role

Ghana international Anthony Annan says he is thrilled with the way his Schalke 04 career is going even though he admits his unavailability for the Champions League is a source of irritation.

The Ghanaian midfielder has slotted in effortlessly into the Schalke midfield and insists he is happy to be playing his football in Germany despite suggestions he was not keen on going to Germany in the first place.

"Currently, I'm still in the hotel, but that is going to change soon. The change is for me a great story. FC Schalke 04 is a great club with many great players. I am proud that I can play with Raul, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Christoph Metzelder, Manuel Neuer, Jefferson Farfan and many other strong football players together", he told the club's official website.

But it's not just the quality of players that has won Annan over. He has been impressed too with the German passion for football.

"The stadiums are much bigger and everything is very well organized. The audience figures are outstanding. In Norway there were 21,000 spectators, the stadium was sold out. In the Bundesliga, I'm lucky now to be able to regularly play in front of 60,000 fans," he said.

Annan says he has read with irritation stories that he was not keen to come to Schalke in the first place. "I have never said such a thing. When it was clear that I was leaving Rosenborg Trondheim, I was asked where I wanted to go to the most. My answer was that I wanted to play in a big league - for example, the Spanish Primera Division or even the Bundesliga.

“The passage was interpreted wrongly but unfortunately many media have taken over. I would like to stress here once again: I'm glad I'm to be here."