Yellow wall and bus blockades - why Hearts fans have no reason to fear one derby debutant's credentials

In the case of Hearts’ German goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow, any fears about how he will cope with facing Hibs on Saturday at Tynecastle can be allayed by his experiences from playing in his homeland.

Schwolow spent the whole of his career in Germany prior to the end of this summer, when he decided to take the plunge and move abroad. The 33-year-old was a free agent after his contract with Union Berlin expired and agreed a two-season contract with the Jambos. He immediately assumed the gloves and has kept two clean sheets in his opening matches, at Ibrox against Rangers and at home to Falkirk.

With Hearts unbeaten in the league and two points clear at the summit, the visit of Hibs takes on extra significance. Always a high-stakes fixture, they did not prevail over their city rivals in three attempts last term. Under head coach Derek McInnes, they are in a much better spot now. A derby win would only heighten expectations for this season.

Schwolow isn’t fazed by what’s coming up. How could you be when you’ve faced the Yellow Wall of Borussia Dortmund when playing for Schalke 04 in the Revierderby, when rivals fans have blocked the entrance to the Westfalenstadion, holding the team bus on the streets among thousands of supporters.

"Derbies are always special,” says Schwolow. “I played a lot of derbies. Maybe the biggest one in Germany as well, like Schalke versus Dortmund. It's a special game. It's a little bit like a cup game. Everything can happen. Both teams are very motivated. The fans are special on this day. You have to be prepared for this and try to enjoy it and be ready.

"Insane,” is the word Schwolow uses to describe facing the might of Borussia Dortmund and their famous fans behind the goal, “like playing away at Dortmund with 80,000 spectators and blocking the bus so that you cannot enter the stadium and such things. They try everything to get you out of your mind before the game. You have to be prepared for everything.”

Schwolow: I won more derbies than I lost

The travelling Hibs supporters in the Roseburn End will be sure to add spice and hostility to the first Edinburgh derby of the season. Last time they were in Gorgie, Dwight Gayle netted the winner in a 2-1 triumph. Hearts fans will naturally be curious to know about their new goalkeeper’s record from Borussia Dortmund v Schalke 04 and also in the Berlin derby, where he played for both Hertha and Union.

"That's a good question,” Schwolow replies when asked if he won more than he lost. “I would say yes. Like this game [when the team bus was blocked], we lost 1-0, but we played very well. There were a lot of derbies, but some you call derbies, some you may not. So it's hard to tell which were real derbies.”

Schwolow will quickly understand that Hearts v Hibs is a real derby. The goalkeeper has settled quickly into Edinburgh life and is due to move into his house after a few weeks in a hotel. "I just enjoy everything right now,” he reports. “The people who work in the club are very friendly. Everyone I meet outside of the club, for me, I come from Germany, it's also special for me. They're very friendly people here. Maybe some of you won't agree, but for me it is like this. I'm just enjoying it right now. I focus on every training and every next game.”

Schwolow’s first look at Hearts came in an August 3-3 draw with Motherwell, when his new teammates battled back from 3-0 down to earn a point. At that point he was deep in negotiations with the Tynecastle side as he prepared to move away from Germany for the first time in his career.

“Just normal, through my agent,” Schwolow says as he asked to explain the move. “Then I got some information in terms of the club. Then I went here to Edinburgh to get a feeling for the city and for the club as well. I attended the Motherwell game, where I think I saw a lot. It was very emotional. Yeah, I just enjoyed it. I like the stadium, I like the fans, and especially the chats I had with [sporting director] Graeme Jones were pretty convincing.

"I had it in my mind [to move abroad], but I learned something in football - you never can plan anything. It was just like, now was the perfect time, because I think in Germany I wasn't feeling it. I'm now in a stage of my career where I have to have a good feeling, I have to have the right feeling, and this one I had with Hearts.”

Schwolow has displaced Zander Clark as the team’s No 1, but also has to compete with veteran goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who at 42-years-old was called up to the Scotland squad earlier this week after returning from injury. “It's a great group,” says Schwolow. “There's a lot of competition, but I like that you cannot lean back. You have to always push yourself in training. You also can learn a lot from the guys. We are very experienced goalkeepers. I like that. I've always had that in my career. Obviously in the Bundesliga you have amazing goalkeepers as well. It's just what I'm used to and what I enjoy.”

Who did Schwolow idolise growing up? "Germany has had some great goalkeepers over the years,” he smiles. “I would say when I was very young it was like [Oliver] Kahn and [Jens] Lehmann because they were the best German goalkeepers. Then came the era of René Adler and Manuel Neuer, of course. These two were the shooting stars. They were very young when they started playing in the Bundesliga, so you definitely looked up to them. But especially Gianluigi Buffon was a big idol for me. I loved his calmness and his experienced gameplay.”

Hearts fans will want the same attributes this weekend.