Royal Blue Trainer Eaters
FC Schalke 04 is burning itself down
By Tobias Nordmann
September 27, 2023, 11:28 a.m
The start of the resurgence mission fails, player Timo Baumgartl gives a critical interview – a few days later coach Thomas Reis flies. FC Schalke 04 is throwing out its great, perhaps its greatest hope. But the reasons lie deeper.
In Gelsenkirchen, the city of 1000 fires, it is burning ablaze. In the Erle district, where the once great FC Schalke 04 found its sporting home, the traditional club is once again torching itself. Coach Thomas Reis has to go, four days after a bitter 1:3 defeat at FC St. Pauli and four days after a remarkable interview with the player Timo Baumgartl, who was temporarily banished to the U23 the next day for his honesty. By then it was clear that things could get tight for the hopeful on the sidelines. But the fact that he was flying before the next game was a surprise.
The coach would probably have survived the defeat at Millerntor, which with a little more luck could have resulted in a draw. But not the statements of his defender, which the club sanctioned for violating internal rules of conduct. Given the developments of the days leading up to Wednesday, this interview must be understood as a cry for help, not as an outburst of anger from a frustrated player. Reis had obviously lost relevant parts of the team and had not adapted his tactical convictions to the circumstances of the squad that had been rebuilt after relegation. And was apparently not prepared to do so after the messed up start to the season – relegation place instead of promotion place.
There are no miracles at Schalke
It is the crashing end of a relationship that began with fiery love. The club’s bosses fell in love with the coach when he was still employed at VfL Bochum. When he coached his little rival from Castroper Straße to two miracles: promotion and staying in the league. In Bochum they were ready for a really big story. SC Freiburg and Christian Streich were seen as role models. But then the Royal Blues intervened. After a false start with VfL and media reports that portrayed Reis as a man of untruths (as far as his contacts with Schalke were concerned), he had to go to “Anne Castroper” and did so as quickly as possible to Gelsenkirchen.
Although he didn’t achieve a third miracle there, he rushed through the second half of the season very respectably with a helpless team that had been given a lot of support during the winter break. Schalke finished in eighth place (22 points) in the unofficial second half of the season table. If the mortgage from the first series hadn’t been so gigantic (only nine points), Reis would have had a monument in the area around the arena long ago. At least it was enough for the club and its surroundings to go down in a spirited mood and for there to be no serious riots or hunting scenes from the fans. In the rush of great emotions and good memories, including the fascinating 2-2 draw against BVB, we believed that it would be good. Even if things on the transfer market spoke a different language.
Marius Bülter, the offensive solo entertainer, left the club and is now sitting on the bench at TSG Hoffenheim. It was by no means the only hero in this anti-hero story who found a new club. There were also Rodrigo Zalazar, Tom Krauß, Alex Kral, Maya Yoshida and Moritz Jenz. All of them were protagonists of this reconciliatory race to catch up, which brought so much happiness back to this club, which has been fighting against the decline for years and is caught in increasingly violent waves.
Royal blue was briefly pink
Since the beginning of 2020, the club has had nine coaches, including all interim solutions. This is an indication of panic, not conviction. Reis had created exactly that. On the sidelines, in the stands. He was a man who understood what Schalke wanted. Full identification, expressed (as in Bochum) with the iconic sweaters from the fan edition, and full passion. He woke her up. The team burned, struggled, sacrificed themselves. Royal building was pink.
But then the break. Because the team couldn’t compensate for the departures, because the squad overall has too few leading players and too little depth. The quality in some positions is certainly high enough to achieve the goal of promotion. But not everywhere. There is a lack of speed, especially on the flanks. This is a disaster for Reis’ tactical idea. In addition, Reis had a falling out with goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann. In the second half of the season he, who didn’t always have an easy time at Schalke, mutated into a fan favorite and a great stabilizer. Demoting him to number two was definitely not the smartest move. Likewise, to enforce the risky defense, although, as Baumgartl had revealed, there was no conviction in the team for it. Combined with the results, Reis could not survive this.
And maybe he’s not the only one. It is currently not foreseeable that the contract with sports director Peter Knäbel, which expires in the summer of 2024, will be extended. What’s more: a hasty extension of his contract would probably cause even more unrest in the club, because Knäbel’s work is generally viewed critically. And the new sports director André Hechelmann is already a strong player at Schalke. The fans in particular are anything but satisfied with the signings made on the transfer market.
Will Magath take over?
And the people of Gelsenkirchen are actually very afraid of doing the same as Hamburger SV. This rattling giant, which is trying to return to the Bundesliga for the sixth time in a row and recently embarrassed itself twice against the newly promoted Elversberg and Osnabrück. Schalke still see themselves in the top group of the Bundesliga rather than in the elevator between the elite class and the lower house. Or even deeper. The return to the “top six” was announced in the summer. The Bundesliga, of course.
So now restart again. And there is no imagination as to who could do it. First, Matthias Kreutzer takes over again. But then? Schalke hardly has any resources to finance another top coach. Frank Kramer, Reis’ overwhelmed predecessor, was already a result of the financial misery. Maybe Felix Magath will do it again? He recently offered himself as a cost-effective national coach. He would be the 64th coach of FC Schalke 04 in the 61 years since the introduction of the Bundesliga…