Ko da yake Mark Schwarzer yana da asalin Jamusanci, farkon shekarunsa a kwallon kafa ta Jamus bai kasance mai sauƙi ba. Kiper ɗan Ostiraliya ya fito fili ya faɗi game da ƙalubalen da ya fuskanta a lokacin yanayi biyu a Jamus a tsakiyar shekarun 1990 — ƙasa da ke neman daidaituwa bayan haɗuwa.

Schwarzer yana ɗan shekara 21 kacal lokacin da ya bar Marconi Stallions na Sydney a 1994 don shiga Dynamo Dresden, kulob din gabashin Jamus wanda har yanzu yana daidaitawa bayan faɗuwar Katangar Berlin. Ya buga wasanni biyu kawai kafin ya koma yamma, zuwa Kaiserslautern, a lokacin da ya biyo baya.

Tsakanin duniyoyi biyu

Yana magana da FourFourTwo, Schwarzer ya bayyana lokacin da ya yi a Jamus da gaskiya mai ban mamaki. "Na ƙaunaci wasu sassan, na ƙi wasu," in ji shi. "Shekarar 1994 ce, shekara huɗu kawai bayan haɗuwar Gabashin Jamus da Yammacin Jamus. Dresden birni ne mai kyau amma yana cikin halakar da ta yi yawa, tare da babban zamanin sake gini da ke gudana."

Duk da asalinsa na Jamusanci, Schwarzer ya ji kamar baƙo tun farko. "Ni baƙo ne — Bajamushe ne, amma ba gaskiya ba, domin an haife ni a Ostiraliya. Ina cikin ƙasa ta kowa ne," ya bayyana. Shingen harshe ya ƙara wahala: ko da yake yana magana Jamusanci kaɗan, yaren gida na Dresden yana da wahalar fahimta.

Bayan cikas na al'ada da harshe, 'yan wasan Ostiraliya ba a mutunta su sosai a kwallon kafa ta Turai a lokacin. "Muna da ɗan nagari nan da can, amma ba a mutunta mu sosai a matsayin 'yan wasan kwallon kafa ba," Schwarzer ya yarda. "Har yanzu akwai babban rarrabuwa tsakanin Gabas da Yamma, kuma shiga tsakanin mutane ya kasance mai wahala."

Kaiserslautern da ƙarshen tafiya

Tafiya zuwa Kaiserslautern bai kawo sauƙi mai yawa ba. Schwarzer ya buga wasanni huɗu, ya yi ƙwarai a biyu daga cikinsu, amma ya yarda da kansa cewa bayyanarsa ta ƙarshe ita ce mafi muni a rayuwarsa. Sa'an nan sai Otto Rehhagel ya zo a matsayin koci — wanda bai son 'yan wasa matasa, kuma Schwarzer baya cikin shirye-shiryensa.

"Bayan shekaru biyu da rabi a Jamus, na san ina buƙatar kulob ɗin da koci ya so ni," Schwarzer ya ce. "Na koyaushe na so in buga a Ingila, kuma matata na iya yin aiki a can da sauƙi, don haka lokacin da Bradford ta zo a watan Nuwamba 1996, ba tambaya ce ba."

Duk da frustration, Schwarzer baya duba wannan lokaci da nadama. "Na buga wasanni biyu kawai a wannan kakar, amma idan na kalli baya, kwarewa da na samu sun kasance masu daraja matuƙa," ya yi tunani. Waɗancan shekarun farawa a Jamus — duk da ƙalubale nasu — sun taimaka wajen gina kiper wanda daga baya zai zama ɗaya daga cikin mafi aminci a Premier League.