Saturday 17th April 2021
Post-descent plans
Schalke, the stars and “the bright madness”
In mathematical terms, Bundesliga club Schalke 04 can keep the class, but nobody is seriously expecting it anymore. The sports director has long been planning the time after relegation. The note says: the fight for two stars, the coach – and a bold 3-year plan.
13 points separate FC Schalke 04 from the relegation place six match days before the end of the season. The possibility of relegation is still in the room, but that would have to be a miracle. And relying on miracles is a poor planning basis for the future. And so Peter Knäbel, sports director of the bottom of the table in the Bundesliga, has long been working on possible second division scenarios.
Star striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who would no longer be tied to the club after the end of the season in the event of relegation, also appears in the mind games. “What I can say for sure: We will talk to each other. What he does on the pitch as a striker and personality and how he faces the other players is great. But what I always have to keep in mind are the numbers and those Perspective, “said Knäbel in the” WAZ “interview, referring to Huntelaar.
The 37-year-old Dutchman, who returned to Schalke from Ajax Amsterdam in January, has since played just four games for the Royal Blues and only scored one goal. Recently, there have been increasing voices calling for Huntelaar to remain palatable even in the event of relegation. Huntelaar even left the last Continuing his football career open and also included a future Schalke 04 in the 2nd Bundesliga at least not categorically. “You don’t know what’s going to happen. Football is a beautiful thing “, he said.
“It’s a long way away”
Knäbel is hoping that captain Sead Kolasinac will remain, who also moved to the Royal Blues on loan from Arsenal FC in January. “It’s a long way. But I’ve already managed a marathon,” said Knäbel about Schalke’s chances at the Bosnian.
The 27-year-old defensive player, who played for the bottom of the table in the Bundesliga between 2011 and 2017, has been on loan from London since January. At Arsenal, Kolasinac had recently not gotten a train. In order to stay at Schalke, however, he would have to accept a significant drop in salary.
When planning the coming season, Knäbel basically expects many “imponderables, especially the corona pandemic, which affects many topics. There will be a transfer market in the summer that will be like never before.”
“It’s absolutely amazing”
Against this background, the 54-year-old did not want to commit to direct promotion as a specific season goal. “I don’t think it’s serious to set goals in advance. But what I absolutely ask of us is that we have ambitions,” said Knäbel. “We have to adjust ourselves and our environment to ups and downs, but this has to have a positive direction overall.”
This text is initially from my colleagues at sport.de published.
Knäbel emphasized once again that he “definitely” wanted to go into the next season with Dimitrios Grammozis as head coach – regardless of the results until the end of the season. For the work so far with his coaching team at Schalke, the 42-year-old deserves “great praise”.
Knäbel said that in three years he will see Schalke “in the Bundesliga with financial stability. First of all, we will most likely have 17 tough opponents and 34 demanding game days in the 2nd Bundesliga. But most people want us in this one Fall back up – it’s absolutely amazing how many sympathizers we have. “
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