Sad 120th anniversary of the famous club. No chance of advancement and close to another fall

The most famous years of the club from the most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia are linked to the period of the German Empire, when it won six championship titles. He added the last one in the year 1957/1958.

He is one of the founders of the joint Bundesliga in 1963/1964 (the record holder in the number of titles Bayern Munich is not), but he never reached the top, although he was close to it especially in 2000/2001.

However, the trophies in the hall of fame were increasing, the biggest being the victory in the UEFA Cup from the year 1996/1997, in which the Czech legionnaires, the vice-champions of Europe 1996 Jiří Němec and Radoslav Látal, had a big part in it.

However, recent years have not brought much joy. Even though the team managed to come back immediately after relegation in the spring of 2022, it was immediately followed by a fall again and the hope of being among the chosen ones is now very vague. “It’s sad,” sighs Czech midfielder Jan Morávek, who is among those who have passed through Schalke 04.

Retrospective analysis leads to the finding that the slump was the natural consequence of poor management, under which chairman Clemens Tönnies is largely a signature. A businessman who owns 45% of the meat processing company Tönnies Holding and Forbes magazine estimates his assets at 1.6 billion US dollars (over 32 billion crowns).

He has been in management since 1994, in 2001 he became its top man for 19 years (until 2020). However, poor transfer policy and sportsmanship resulted in relegation. “Just after my departure in 2012, almost 20 coaches were replaced (18 to be exact) and ridiculously expensive players were bought,” points out Morávek.

FC Schalke 04

Nevertheless, such a drop was not expected. “The fate of Schalke is a mystery to many in Germany as well,” admits renowned German journalist Michael Postl from the specialist magazine Kicker. He found himself on the brink of collapse in the 2021 relegation. “There was even a threat that it would fall to the third league,” recalls the German columnist.

However, a very pleasant awakening came. Unfortunately, momentary. “Thanks to smart team building and consolidation, a direct return to the Bundesliga was achieved,” continues Postl. “Although reinforcements such as striker Simon Terodde and reinforcements in the defense came, it was not enough for the top competition. In the end, the management wrote off coach Thomas Reis, who knows the Ruhr and is able to stir up the team emotionally,” defends the dismissed expert.

It was believed that he was able to achieve direct promotion again. However, the results did not come and coach Reis had to leave after only seven rounds.

However, it was not possible to hire a competent replacement. “Finding a coach has proven difficult and working at Schalke is seen as a catapult,” Postl finds the analogy apt.

Belgian coach Karel Geraerts, who came from Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, has been carrying this cross on his shoulders since last October.

The financial side is also not happy. “Even coach Reis had to pay 300,000 euros (about six and a half million crowns) himself so that Schalke could buy him out of his contract in Bochum,” the German journalist returns to October 2022.

It is not surprising that there are not many interested parties who would like to take over a poorly managed and financially distressed club. “Although the budget of around 20 million euros (half a billion crowns) is one of the best in the second league,” reveals Postl.

And the nervousness continues to grow. “Many players cannot get rid of the pressure, which is greater at Schalke than elsewhere, as is the case at traditional clubs,” Postl discusses. “There are too many people involved in management who have little knowledge of the sport. In addition, the club lacks a strong man, the face of the club, such as the late Rudi Assauer or Clemens Tönnies, although he was criticized a lot for racist statements and his employees in the meat processing plant did not have good working conditions,” explains internal affairs.

It is not even possible to raise moral strength. “I’m not even in contact with anyone,” admits Morávek. “Sometimes, when we meet somewhere, I say hello to Manu Neuer, but that’s all,” he recalls that the goalkeeper of the German national team, the 2014 world champion from Brazil, who is considered one of the best on the planet, is a native of Gelsenkirchen and in He was with Schalke until 2011 before moving to Bayern Munich.

Personal relationships are not hot. “But that’s how it goes in the German dressing room, there are no great friendships, let alone permanent ones, it’s not like here,” Morávek complains.

The management also failed to retain top-quality players and bring in-house talent from the highly rated education system called Knappenschmiede (mining forge) into the professional squad, such as Leroy Sané, Benedikt Höwedes or Julian Draxler.

At the same time, the club has very loyal and dedicated fans. “There are 40 or 50,000 of them going to the second league, even though there is zero hope of promotion to the Bundesliga. That’s great,” the Czech legionnaire bows to them. “The environment is very emotional, but that only makes the coach’s job more difficult,” adds Postl’s observation.

Devoted fans can get under your skin. “Five thousand fans were curious at his first training session alone,” describes the atmosphere of Morávka’s player agent Jiří Stejskal. Even the fanatical loyalty of the fans to the club is hard to understand for our people. “At the same time, Gelsenkirchen, where the club is based, is such a bigger village,” points out Stejskal. “But the fans are great!” confirms the acquaintance.

One of Schalke 04’s best seasons, when the rarest UEFA Cup trophy was displayed in the club’s hall of fame, dates back to 1996/1997. In the final, the German team beat the Italian Inter Milan, in the rematch, shots from the penalty spot were decided. “It was a beautiful time,” dreams Czech midfielder Jiří Němec, who played a big part in the triumph with compatriot Radoslav Látal. “It was a strong team, mostly made up of foreigners, but Dutch coach Huub Stevens created a great team,” he praises even years later.

However, the next trophy is a long way off. The fans will not have much joy even in the year of the round anniversary of the foundation. “I am terribly sorry for them,” concludes Moravek.

Czech players in Schalke 04 since the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963