Oscar Fraulo has been a Foal for a good two weeks. The 18-year-old midfielder wants to wait for his chance and make a good first impression.
Oscar Fraulo entered the press conference in the garden of the Althoff Seehotel Überfahrt on Tuesday afternoon with a smile on his face. Borussia’s new number 22 answered questions from journalists for the first time with the Tegernsee training camp in full swing. The 18-year-old, who wants to “learn German as quickly as possible,” answered the questions in English. “The first two weeks at Borussia have been super. The team is on a great level. For me as a young player it is fantastic to join such a team. All I can do is learn from the experienced players like Christoph Kramer or Flo Neuhaus,” explained Fraulo, who signed from FC Midtjylland around a fortnight ago.
Seven days after signing, Fraulo wore the Gladbach jersey for the first time in a pre-season friendly against third division side Rot-Weiß Essen (4-2). He played the entirety of the first half and came close to scoring his first goal for the club. After beating a defender in a one-on-one, he took a shot which just whistled past the post. “He is a good lad. He is bold and he helped us win the ball on many occasions,” said Daniel Farke after the game. “Of course it is normal for young lads to make mistakes. But especially with regards to our long-term future, we are very happy that we signed him,” continued the head coach.
A box-to-box player waiting for his chance
Fraulo’s playing career began with his hometown club Odense KS, before he moved to the FC Midtjylland U14s. In August 2021, aged just 17, he made his professional debut against PSV in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League (0-1). That season, he made three more appearances for the first team and five for the second team. He spent the majority of last season, however, playing for the U19s. Fraulo, who describes himself as a “box-to-box” player, is the 19th Dane to have played for the Foals.
As a Danish Foal, he is in the company of Ulrik Le Fevre, Peter Nielsen and Andreas Christensen. “I know a couple of the Danish players who played for Borussia and many of them had great spells here. I hope I can follow suit,” said Fraulo. The youngster, however, knows he needs to be patient: “As a young player, I know that I need to be patient before I get my chance in the first team. That’s why I don’t have a specific goal for the coming season. I want to get to know the team, integrate and understand how we want to play,” explained the 18-year-old. Fraulo is also sharing a room with Jacob Italiano in Tegernsee: “It’s fun to be here. Jacob is a young player and a great guy. It’s a great fit.”
