"EL CAPITANO," joked Stuart McCall as he shuffled past Rouven Sattelmaier in the corridor outside the Echterdingen dressing rooms.

The German keeper was a surprise choice to wear the armband in the first half before Romain Vincelot resumed normal service after the mass team changes.

But maybe it was another sign at how settled Sattelmaier has become within the Bantams ranks.

Going into his second campaign at Valley Parade, he is no longer the newbie trying his luck to break into the English game.

With eight appearances under his belt, Sattelmaier has proved a credible rival to Colin Doyle for the regular jersey.

The pair have been sharing playing duties in the opening friendlies – although Doyle barely had to touch the ball on Saturday – and Sattelmaier believes that both keep each other on their toes under the watchful eye of goalkeeping coach Steve Banks.

Two into one does not go and it can inevitably be frustrating for the stopper stuck on the bench.

But while Sattelmaier is confident of giving Doyle a real run for his money, the duo are close pals. Their rivalry for the starting shirt is healthy but friendly.

Sattelmaier said: "The training sessions with Banksy are great and I think we push each other. But we also fit as people as well. We're good friends and I think that's important.

"I've never had that before in the whole of my career, where two goalkeepers get on like that. We understand each other and I think that helps."

Sattelmaier enjoyed the chance to perform virtually on his doorstep on Saturday – Echterdingen is only 50 minutes from his family home, so his parents were there.

But with a year's experience under his belt, he no longer feels a foreigner still adapting to the English football environment.

He said: "It definitely feels very different. Last season I was much more excited to see what the difference was between Germany and England. Now I know the rules, what is going on and what you expect from the other teams.

"I have learned different things, especially with the training. I think we do it right but we always need to improve.

"It was nice to play in Germany but it is still pre-season. You still have to do all the work. But it was good for my parents. They came over for a couple of games in December last season and hopefully they can do it again."

There is the added expectation on City this time around of looking to better a campaign that ended with play-off final defeat at Wembley. Sattelmaier knows that will be no easy task.

He said: "I think it's hard to say how we will do because there are so many clubs involved. Big clubs got relegated from the Championship last season.

"The season is so long and the most important thing is to have a good start and then build on that. I think our problem last year was that period in the winter when we had too many draws."

Sattelmaier heads into the imminent League One campaign with his eyes wide open. The marathon of the season is no novelty any more – not that understanding the unrelenting length of the schedule makes it any more manageable.

He admitted: "It's a massive difference. In Germany, from pre-season the focus is until the winter break so you see that as the first step. But here there is no gap like that – you have to go all the way through.

"As a manager in England, it must be hard to change little things through the season because you don't have time. You are always playing games. You can't train as hard during the week.

"In Germany, you have a full week most times so you can go hard on a Tuesday. But here you often have games Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday. In Germany we call that an 'English week' but it is normal here.

"Everyone asks me about the differences and you can't just say one thing. You couldn't come over from Germany for just two or three weeks to understand them. You'd need to stay six weeks to see it all.

"But now this is my second year so I know how it works and how long the season is. I am prepared for it."