Dzeko eager for reunion with former team-mates in Bundesliga return

At 40, Edin Dzeko is back in the Bundesliga and will reunite with former team-mates who have since taken on different roles in football. "I also see that some of the people who played with me are now coaches, sporting directors, or general managers. I'm looking forward to seeing them again," the Schalke forward told broadcaster Sky in an interview said in an interview published on Thursday evening. Ahead of the start of the Bundesliga season with newly promoted Schalke, Dzeko is particularly looking forward to reuniting with Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany. "He's my friend, my former captain," he said. The two played together at Manchester City more than 10 years ago. Dzeko said that the fact he's still playing at the highest level at 40 is the result of years of hard work. "For over 10 years now, I've been doing individual training, before and after team practice, to prepare my body for team training," the striker explained. He spends "20 to 30 minutes" in the weight room before and after practice as a preventive measure. "That's what has helped me stay here," Dzeko stressed. Age hasn't left him completely unscathed, though. "Yes, I'm starting to feel my age a little bit now," the Schalke veteran admitted. Dzeko joined Schalke from Fiorentina in January and played a key role in the club's promotion to the Bundesliga, scoring six goals and providing six assists in 11 matches. He previously played in the German top tier during his stint at Wolfsburg from 2011 to 2015.