For the past month and a half, Oscar Gloukh has been playing for us in Salzburg. The prodigious talent of the 18-year-old midfielder was immediately obvious, and he has already made a big contribution with assists. The Israeli's switch to Salzburg was like making a leap into cold water. He swapped the warmth of Tel Aviv for the snow of Salzburg and a completely alien language.
We met Oscar for a chat and a chance to recap his start here.
Oscar Gloukh interview
Hi Oscar, how would you describe your time here in Salzburg so far?
Salzburg is a place that knows how to develop players and that's why I chose it. I think I really made a good choice! I intend to give the best I can here, and hopefully the results and numbers will then follow.
Are there things that have been difficult or may still be difficult for you?
The weather at first was a bit difficult for me, snow and sometimes minus temperatures, it's something I'm not used to, but I think I slowly got used to it.
Meeting new players and new people is not something too easy, but I connected very quickly and now I feel like a player who's been here for at least a year!
Everyone is nice to me, and I intend to really repay them by playing my part in a united and good team.
In social media, especially in Israel, there is great hype about your transfer and about you as a person. You have a lot of fans at home. Does that create pressure, or does it drive you on?
It's exciting that so many people follow me, and that even if I left their team, they still like me. Is there pressure? I don't think I feel any pressure. It gives me motivation that I hope I can keep using.
How was it to change clubs during the season?
I think it's a good thing, because the plan has been for me to come here and get used to the club and everything around it. I'm obviously very young, but slowly I'm really starting to understand how everything works here. Next year will definitely be easier for me as a consequence. In this year too, I want to play as much as possible and prove what I can do!
What are the differences between Maccabi Tel Aviv and FC Red Bull Salzburg?
The facilities here are simply amazing for every player, they just have a brilliant set-up! Maccabi is also a big club, I really, really enjoyed it there but here it's really ... wow! It's a different level. It's a club at the top European level and every year there’s the chance of the UEFA Champions League and it's very fun to play for a team that always tries to win titles.
Do you still follow the games of your former club, Maccabi Tel Aviv?
Yes, I still follow every game, and if they lose I feel it a bit. I'm also still in touch with some players and I'll keep doing that as it's important to me.
How do you think things are ahead of our next match against Altach?
The preparations are the same as for every game, we had a strong week of training. We prepare for every game as seriously as possible, we watch the videos and everything to analyse the opponents. We really want to win at home this weekend!
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