FC Schalke 04
Encyclopedia
Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke (ˈʃalkə), is a German, association-football club
originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen
, North Rhine-Westphalia
. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major successes have been rare since the club's heyday in the 1930s and early 1940s. The football team is the biggest part of a large sports club with more than 100,000 members (August 2011) making it the second largest sports club in Germany. Other activities offered by the club include basketball, handball
, and track and field
.
Schalke won its first major European trophy in 1997 by defeating in the final Internazionale
on penalty kicks for the UEFA Cup
in Milan
. Schalke has a rivalry with Borussia Dortmund
known as the Revierderby
. The mascot of the club is called Erwin (also Ährwin.)
In 1924, the football team parted ways with the gymnasts once again, this time taking the club chairman along with them. They took the name FC Schalke 04 and adopted the now familiar blue and white uniforms from which their second nickname would derive – Die Königsblauen (The Royal Blues). The following year, the club became the dominant local side, on the basis of based on a style of play that used short, sharp, man-to-man passing to move the ball. This system would later become famous as the Schalker Kreisel (spinning top; gyroscope). In 1927, it carried them into the top-flight Gauliga Ruhr, onto the league championship, and then into the opening rounds of the national finals.
However, the ban had little impact on the team's popularity: in their first game after the ban against Fortuna Düsseldorf
, in June 1931, the team drew 70,000 to its home ground. The club's fortunes begun to rise from 1931 and they made a semi-final appearance in the 1932 German championship, losing 1–2 to Eintracht Frankfurt
. The year after, the club went all the way to the final, where Fortuna Düsseldorf proved the better side, winning 3–0.
With the re-organisation of German football in 1933, under Nazi Germany
, Schalke found themselves in the Gauliga Westfalen
, one of sixteen top-flight divisions established to replace the innumerable regional and local leagues, all claiming top status. This league saw Schalke's most successful decade in their history: from 1933 to 1942 the club would appear in 14 of 18 national finals (10 in the German championship and 8 in the Tschammerpokal, the predecessor of today's German Football Association Cup
) and win their league in every one of its eleven seasons.
The club never lost a home game in Gauliga Westfalen in all these eleven seasons and only lost six away games, while remaining entirely unbeaten in the seasons 1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1940–41 and 1942–43; a clear sign of the club's dominance.
in a 6–4 win. The club missed the 1936 final, but would make appearances in the championship match in each of the next six years, coming away victorious in 1937, 1939, 1940, and 1942. Three of those national finals were against Austrian teams –Admira Vienna
, Rapid Vienna
, and First Vienna
– which played in Germany's Gauliga Ostmark after Austria's incorporation into the Reich through the 1938 Anschluss
.
Die Königsblauen also made frequent appearances in the final of the Tschammerpokal, but enjoyed much less success there. They lost the inaugural Tschammerpokal 0:2 to Nūrnberg in 1935. They also made failed appearances in the 1936, 1941, and 1942 finals with their only Cup victory coming in 1937 against Fortuna Düsseldorf
.
Over a dozen seasons, from 1933 to 1945, Schalke won 162 of 189 Gauliga matches, drawing 21 and losing only 6. On the way, they scored 924 goals and gave up just 145. From 1935 to 1939, they did not lose a single league match. The club's dominance throughout this period led them to be held up for propaganda purposes by the Nazi
regime, as an example of "new Germany". This was despite the fact that many players were descended from Polish immigrants, most notably the two stars of the team, Fritz Szepan
and Ernst Kuzorra
.
It would take Schalke until the mid-50s to recover their form. They finished third in a tight three-way race for the 1954 Oberliga West title, decided on the last day of the season. The following year, they appeared in the German Cup final, where they lost 2-3 to Karlsruher SC
. The club's next German championship came in 1958
, with a 3-0 victory over Hamburger SV
.
This is Schalke's last national-championship title to date.
, West Germany's new federal, professional league. Those results earned them selection as one of sixteen sides admitted to the top-flight league.
Their first years in the Bundesliga were difficult. In 1965, they escaped relegation only through the expansion of the league to eighteen teams. A number of finishes at the lower ends the league table followed, before a marked improvement in 1972, culminating in a second place finish to Bayern Munich
and after having led the league for much of the season. In the same season, Schalke won the German Cup for the second time in its history.
. Investigation showed that Schalke had deliberately played to lose their 17 May, 28th-round match against Arminia Bielefeld
by a score of 0–1. As a result, several Schalke players were banned for life, including three —Klaus Fischer
, "Stan" Libuda
and Klaus Fichtel
— who were with the German national team
of the time.
Even though the penalties were later commuted to bans ranging from six months to two years, the scandal had a profound effect on what might have possibly become one of the dominant German teams of the 1970s.
, newly built for the 1974 World Cup and having a capacity of 70,000 spectators. In the wake of the scandal, the club's performance was uneven. They managed another second place result in 1977, finishing just one point behind champions Borussia Mönchengladbach
.
In the early 1980s Die Knappen ran into trouble and found themselves relegated to the second division of the Bundesliga
for the 1981–82 season and, after promotion, again in 1983–84. They returned to the top flight in 1984 but slipped once more to the second tier in 1988. They returned to the Bundesliga in the 1991–92 season and have stayed in the top flight ever since.
The club earned their first honours since the German Cup win of 1972 with a victory in the final of the 1997 UEFA Cup
over Italian side Internazionale
on penalties.
The turn of the millennium has seen much stronger performances from Schalke. During the 1990s and early 2000, the club underwent a successful transformation into a modern, commercial sports organization and established itself as one of the dominant teams of the Bundesliga. Schalke captured consecutive German Cups in 2001–02, and earned second place finishes in the Bundesliga in 2001, 2005 and 2007. The 2001 season finish was heartbreaking for Schalke's supporters as it took a goal in the 4th minute of injury time by Bayern Munich away to Hamburg to snatch the title from Die Königsblauen.
. There, Schalke finished in 3rd place during the group stage and continuing into the UEFA Cup
, where they were eliminated by the eventual winner of the cup Sevilla
in the semi-finals. In 2006, Schalke finished in 4th place in the Bundesliga and a year later they once again finished as runners-up (for the 3rd time in 7 seasons).
In the 2007–08 season, Schalke progressed past the Champions League
group stage for the first time and advanced to the quarter finals after winning the round Porto on penalties. They were stopped by FC Barcelona
in the quarter finals, losing both home and away games 0-1.
On 9 October 2006, Russian oil company Gazprom
would become the club's new sponsor. The company stated it expects to invest as much as €125 million in the club over a 5½ year period. Gazprom's sponsorship has been seen by some analysts as a politically motivated attempt to buy friendship in Germany. Within this sponsorship, Schalke 04 and FC Zenit Saint Petersburg
signed a "partnership agreement." Both clubs intend to work closely on improving football-related issues.
On 13 April 2008, the club announced the dismissal of manager Mirko Slomka
after a heavy defeat at the hands of Werder Bremen
and elimination from the Champions League. Former players Mike Büskens
and Youri Mulder
were put in charge of the first team on an interim basis.
For the Bundesliga season 2008–09, Schalke signed a new head coach, Fred Rutten, previously the manager of Dutch team Twente
. Rutten signed a contract running until June 2010. In March 2009, Rutten was sacked and, once more, Mike Büskens, Youri Mulder and Oliver Reck took over the helm.
On 1 July 2009, Felix Magath
, who had led VfL Wolfsburg
to the top of the table in the Bundesliga, became Head Coach and General Manager of the Royal Blues. On 16 March 2011, Magath was sacked and replaced with Ralf Rangnick, who previously, between 2004 and 2005, had a brief spell being in charge of the team. Within just weeks of his appointment, Rangnick masterminded a 5–2 victory over Inter Milan at the San Siro during the Quarterfinal-stage
of the Champions League. Schalke advanced to the semifinals where they lost 2–0 to Manchester United in the first leg and 4–1 in the second leg.
On September 22, 2011, Ralf Rangnick announced his immediate resignation as Head Coach of Schalke 04 due to long-term exhaustion
. Assistant coach Seppo Eichkorn will coach the team as Interim Manager.
under a sponsorship agreement with Veltins
brewery, was completed in the summer of 2001 and has a capacity of 61,673 spectators. Schalke regularly draws sell-out crowds to what is widely regarded as one of the most modern and best multi-use facilities in Europe. The facility was previously known as the Arena AufSchalke and replaced the Parkstadion
(capacity 62,000) built in 1973. Prior to this the club had played its matches in the Glückauf-Kampfbahn
constructed in 1928 with a capacity of 35,000. The facility was used for amateur matches during its latter years with a reduced capacity of just 5,000.
Popular, unofficial chants are
German championship
DFB-Pokal
German Supercup
Ligapokal
UEFA Cup
UEFA Intertoto Cup
2. Fußball-Bundesliga
Fuji-Cup
(unofficial tournament)
Coppa delle Alpi
(Tournament of the Italian Association)
Oberliga West
Western German football cup
Western German football championship
Ruhrbezirk Championship
Gauliga Westfalen
Westphalia Cup
Manager:
Horst Heldt
Coach: Huub Stevens
Bernhard Trares
("Football is our life"), shown in 1999. Actors Uwe Ochsenknecht
and Ralf Richter
, both of whom were in the award-winning film Das Boot
, where Schalke is briefly mentioned, played the main roles, while many persons associated with Schalke had cameo roles, such as manager Rudi Assauer
, coaches Huub Stevens
and Helmut Schulte, and player Yves Eigenrauch. Also featured were prominent fans like Manfred Breuckmann, Ulrich Potofski or DJ Hooligan. The film is a comedy about "Hans", a Schalke fanatic, and his three pals who somehow get involved in kidnapping and trying to bring back to form the team's new star player "Di Ospeo" and in the process bet Hans' house that their idol will score in the final game. Some critics considered Football is our life to be "one of the worst German comedies ever."
"Schalke" is mentioned in the film Das Boot when the bosun
tells the crew in their ward room "I got bad news for you men. Schalke lost 5–0, looks like we won't be in the final this year."
Football in Germany
Association football is the most popular sport in Germany. The German Football Association is the sport's national governing body, with 6.6 million members organized in over 26,000 football clubs. There is a league system, with the 1. and 2. Bundesliga on top, and the winner of the first...
originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....
, North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major successes have been rare since the club's heyday in the 1930s and early 1940s. The football team is the biggest part of a large sports club with more than 100,000 members (August 2011) making it the second largest sports club in Germany. Other activities offered by the club include basketball, handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
, and track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
.
Schalke won its first major European trophy in 1997 by defeating in the final Internazionale
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
on penalty kicks for the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. Schalke has a rivalry with Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
known as the Revierderby
Revierderby
The region of Ruhr is home to the famous derby in German football between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04.-Overview:...
. The mascot of the club is called Erwin (also Ährwin.)
Schalke's early years
The club was founded on 4 May 1904 as Westfalia Schalke by a group of high school students and first wore the colors red and yellow. The team was unable to gain admittance to the Westdeutscher Spielverband and played in one of the "wild associations" of early German football. In 1912, after years of failed attempts to join the official league, they merged with the gymnastic club Schalker Turnverein 1877 in order to facilitate their entry. This arrangement held up until 1915 when SV Westfalia Schalke was re-established as an independent club. The separation proved short-lived and the two came together again in 1919 as Turn- und Sportverein Schalke 1877. The new club won its first honours in 1923 as champions of the Schalke Kreisliga. It was around this time that Schalke picked up the nickname Die Knappen –from an old German word for "miners"– because the team drew so many of its players and supporters from the coalmine workers of Gelsenkirchen.In 1924, the football team parted ways with the gymnasts once again, this time taking the club chairman along with them. They took the name FC Schalke 04 and adopted the now familiar blue and white uniforms from which their second nickname would derive – Die Königsblauen (The Royal Blues). The following year, the club became the dominant local side, on the basis of based on a style of play that used short, sharp, man-to-man passing to move the ball. This system would later become famous as the Schalker Kreisel (spinning top; gyroscope). In 1927, it carried them into the top-flight Gauliga Ruhr, onto the league championship, and then into the opening rounds of the national finals.
Rise to dominance
The popular club built a new stadium, the Glückauf-Kampfbahn, in 1928, and acknowledged the city's support by re-naming themselves FC Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04. They won their first West German championship in 1929, but the following year were sanctioned for exceeding salary levels set by the league and, in an era that considered professionalism in sport to be anathema, found themselves banned from play for nearly half a year.However, the ban had little impact on the team's popularity: in their first game after the ban against Fortuna Düsseldorf
Fortuna Düsseldorf
' is a German association football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, currently playing in the second tier of German league football, the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga...
, in June 1931, the team drew 70,000 to its home ground. The club's fortunes begun to rise from 1931 and they made a semi-final appearance in the 1932 German championship, losing 1–2 to Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt is a German sports club, based in Frankfurt, Hesse that is best known for its association football club.- Club origins :...
. The year after, the club went all the way to the final, where Fortuna Düsseldorf proved the better side, winning 3–0.
With the re-organisation of German football in 1933, under Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, Schalke found themselves in the Gauliga Westfalen
Gauliga Westfalen
The Gauliga Westphalia was the highest football league in the Prussian province of Westphalia and the small Free State of Lippe from 1933 to 1945...
, one of sixteen top-flight divisions established to replace the innumerable regional and local leagues, all claiming top status. This league saw Schalke's most successful decade in their history: from 1933 to 1942 the club would appear in 14 of 18 national finals (10 in the German championship and 8 in the Tschammerpokal, the predecessor of today's German Football Association Cup
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
) and win their league in every one of its eleven seasons.
The club never lost a home game in Gauliga Westfalen in all these eleven seasons and only lost six away games, while remaining entirely unbeaten in the seasons 1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1940–41 and 1942–43; a clear sign of the club's dominance.
The championship years 1934–42
Schalke's first national title came in 1934 with a 2–1 victory over favourites Nuremberg. The next year, they successfully defended their title against VfB StuttgartVfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart, is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club is best known for its football team, which has participated in all but two Bundesliga seasons...
in a 6–4 win. The club missed the 1936 final, but would make appearances in the championship match in each of the next six years, coming away victorious in 1937, 1939, 1940, and 1942. Three of those national finals were against Austrian teams –Admira Vienna
VfB Admira Wacker Mödling
FC Admira Wacker Mödling is an Austrian football club from Mödling. The club was originally formed in 1905 as SK Admira Vienna in the Austrian capital...
, Rapid Vienna
SK Rapid Wien
The Sportklub Rapid Wien is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid is the most popular club in Austria and also record title holder having won the Austrian national football title 32 times...
, and First Vienna
First Vienna FC
First Vienna FC is an Austrian association football club based in the Döbling district of Vienna. Established on 22 August 1894, it is the country's oldest team and has played a notable role in the history of the game there...
– which played in Germany's Gauliga Ostmark after Austria's incorporation into the Reich through the 1938 Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
.
Die Königsblauen also made frequent appearances in the final of the Tschammerpokal, but enjoyed much less success there. They lost the inaugural Tschammerpokal 0:2 to Nūrnberg in 1935. They also made failed appearances in the 1936, 1941, and 1942 finals with their only Cup victory coming in 1937 against Fortuna Düsseldorf
Fortuna Düsseldorf
' is a German association football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, currently playing in the second tier of German league football, the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga...
.
Over a dozen seasons, from 1933 to 1945, Schalke won 162 of 189 Gauliga matches, drawing 21 and losing only 6. On the way, they scored 924 goals and gave up just 145. From 1935 to 1939, they did not lose a single league match. The club's dominance throughout this period led them to be held up for propaganda purposes by the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
regime, as an example of "new Germany". This was despite the fact that many players were descended from Polish immigrants, most notably the two stars of the team, Fritz Szepan
Fritz Szepan
Friedrich "Fritz" Szepan was a German footballer in the period leading up to and including World War II. He spent his entire career with Schalke 04 where he won six national championships and one German Cup. He is commonly regarded as one of the greatest Schalke players of all time...
and Ernst Kuzorra
Ernst Kuzorra
Ernst Kuzorra was a German footballer of the pre-war era. During his entire career, he played for Schalke 04, whom he led to six national championships and one national cup...
.
Post-war football
With Germany in chaos towards the end of World War II, Schalke played just two matches in 1945. They resumed regular play following the war and, for a time, continued to compete as a strong side. They set a record in a national championship round match with a 20-0 drubbing of SpVgg Herten, but that spoke more to the weakened condition of German football than the ability of the team. Schalke's play fell off and the best they could manage in the new Oberliga West in 1947 was a sixth place finish: within two years they slipped to 12th place.It would take Schalke until the mid-50s to recover their form. They finished third in a tight three-way race for the 1954 Oberliga West title, decided on the last day of the season. The following year, they appeared in the German Cup final, where they lost 2-3 to Karlsruher SC
Karlsruher SC
Karlsruher SC is a German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg. KSC rose out of the consolidation of a number of predecessor clubs. They currently play in the 2...
. The club's next German championship came in 1958
German football championship 1958
The 54th German football championship was the culmination of the football season in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1957-58. FC Schalke 04 were crowned champions for a seventh time after a group stage and a final....
, with a 3-0 victory over Hamburger SV
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein, usually referred to as HSV in Germany and Hamburg in international parlance, is a German multi-sport club based in Hamburg, its largest branch being its football department...
.
This is Schalke's last national-championship title to date.
Entry to the Bundesliga
Schalke continued to play well, delivering a number of top four finishes, in the years leading up to the 1963 formation of the BundesligaFußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
, West Germany's new federal, professional league. Those results earned them selection as one of sixteen sides admitted to the top-flight league.
Their first years in the Bundesliga were difficult. In 1965, they escaped relegation only through the expansion of the league to eighteen teams. A number of finishes at the lower ends the league table followed, before a marked improvement in 1972, culminating in a second place finish to Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....
and after having led the league for much of the season. In the same season, Schalke won the German Cup for the second time in its history.
The Bundesliga Scandal of 1971
Despite their improved results, the seeds of a major reversal had already been sown. A number of the team's players and officials were accused of accepting bribes as part of the widespread Bundesliga scandal of 1971Bundesliga scandal (1971)
Bundesliga scandal refers to the malicious, for-profit manipulation of games in the 1970–71 German soccer championship season.- History :...
. Investigation showed that Schalke had deliberately played to lose their 17 May, 28th-round match against Arminia Bielefeld
Arminia Bielefeld
DSC Arminia Bielefeld is a German sports club from Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. Arminia offers the sports of football, field hockey, figure skating and cue sports. The club has 11,394 members and the club colours are black, white and blue...
by a score of 0–1. As a result, several Schalke players were banned for life, including three —Klaus Fischer
Klaus Fischer
Klaus Fischer is a German former football player and coach.-Career:Fischer was born in Kreuzstraßl, near Lindberg in the district of Regen....
, "Stan" Libuda
Reinhard Libuda
Reinhard "Stan" Libuda was a German footballer playing on the right wing....
and Klaus Fichtel
Klaus Fichtel
Klaus Fichtel is a former German international footballer who played as a defender....
— who were with the German national team
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
of the time.
Even though the penalties were later commuted to bans ranging from six months to two years, the scandal had a profound effect on what might have possibly become one of the dominant German teams of the 1970s.
Crisis and recovery
In 1973, the club moved to the ParkstadionParkstadion
Parkstadion was a multi-purpose stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, that is no longer used to host any major events. The stadium was built in 1973 and hosted five matches of the 1974 FIFA World Cup...
, newly built for the 1974 World Cup and having a capacity of 70,000 spectators. In the wake of the scandal, the club's performance was uneven. They managed another second place result in 1977, finishing just one point behind champions Borussia Mönchengladbach
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Borussia Mönchengladbach is a German association football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia. The team plays in the Bundesliga and is one of the country's most well-known, well-supported, and successful teams. Borussia Mönchengladbach has over 40,000 members and is the sixth...
.
In the early 1980s Die Knappen ran into trouble and found themselves relegated to the second division of the Bundesliga
2. Fußball-Bundesliga
- Changes in division set-up :* Number of clubs: currently 18. From 1974 to 1981 there were two conferences, each of 20 teams. In 1981–91 it had 20...
for the 1981–82 season and, after promotion, again in 1983–84. They returned to the top flight in 1984 but slipped once more to the second tier in 1988. They returned to the Bundesliga in the 1991–92 season and have stayed in the top flight ever since.
The club earned their first honours since the German Cup win of 1972 with a victory in the final of the 1997 UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
over Italian side Internazionale
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
on penalties.
The turn of the millennium has seen much stronger performances from Schalke. During the 1990s and early 2000, the club underwent a successful transformation into a modern, commercial sports organization and established itself as one of the dominant teams of the Bundesliga. Schalke captured consecutive German Cups in 2001–02, and earned second place finishes in the Bundesliga in 2001, 2005 and 2007. The 2001 season finish was heartbreaking for Schalke's supporters as it took a goal in the 4th minute of injury time by Bayern Munich away to Hamburg to snatch the title from Die Königsblauen.
Current
The last few years have been more successful for Schalke, who finished in the second place in 2005, a result that led to Schalke making its second appearance in the UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions League 2005-06
The 2005–06 UEFA Champions League was the 51st staging of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League, and the 14th since it was rebranded from the European Cup in 1992. 74 teams from 50 football associations took part, starting with the first qualifying round played...
. There, Schalke finished in 3rd place during the group stage and continuing into the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup 2005-06
The UEFA Cup 2005–06 season was won by Sevilla FC, beating Middlesbrough FC in the final. It was the first victory for Sevilla in a European competition, and the first appearance by Middlesbrough in a European final. The final took place at Philips Stadion, in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The match was...
, where they were eliminated by the eventual winner of the cup Sevilla
Sevilla FC
Sevilla Fútbol Club S.A.D. is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, Spain that plays in the Spanish La Liga championship.They are one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football having won a 1 La Liga title, 5 Spanish "Copa del Rey" Cups, 1 Spanish Super Cup and 2 UEFA...
in the semi-finals. In 2006, Schalke finished in 4th place in the Bundesliga and a year later they once again finished as runners-up (for the 3rd time in 7 seasons).
In the 2007–08 season, Schalke progressed past the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
group stage for the first time and advanced to the quarter finals after winning the round Porto on penalties. They were stopped by FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
in the quarter finals, losing both home and away games 0-1.
On 9 October 2006, Russian oil company Gazprom
Gazprom
Open Joint Stock Company Gazprom is the largest extractor of natural gas in the world and the largest Russian company. Its headquarters are in Cheryomushki District, South-Western Administrative Okrug, Moscow...
would become the club's new sponsor. The company stated it expects to invest as much as €125 million in the club over a 5½ year period. Gazprom's sponsorship has been seen by some analysts as a politically motivated attempt to buy friendship in Germany. Within this sponsorship, Schalke 04 and FC Zenit Saint Petersburg
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg
Football Club Zenit is a Russian football club from the city of Saint-Petersburg. Founded in 1925 , the club plays in the Russian Premier League...
signed a "partnership agreement." Both clubs intend to work closely on improving football-related issues.
On 13 April 2008, the club announced the dismissal of manager Mirko Slomka
Mirko Slomka
Mirko Slomka is the current head coach of Hannover 96.-Coaching career:He was the head coach of FC Schalke 04 from 2006 to 2008. He was in charge of Schalke in the year Schalke 04 finished second in the German premier league after VfB Stuttgart...
after a heavy defeat at the hands of Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen is a German sports club best known for its association football team playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded on 4 February 1899 as Fußballverein Werder by a group of sixteen vocational high school students who had won a prize...
and elimination from the Champions League. Former players Mike Büskens
Mike Buskens
Michael 'Mike' Büskens is a former German footballer who played as a midfielder, and the current manager of SpVgg Greuther Fürth....
and Youri Mulder
Youri Mulder
Youri Mulder is a retired Dutch footballer who played as a striker and also a manager.-Club career:...
were put in charge of the first team on an interim basis.
For the Bundesliga season 2008–09, Schalke signed a new head coach, Fred Rutten, previously the manager of Dutch team Twente
FC Twente
FC Twente is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, playing in the Eredivisie. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Eredivisie Champions, Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys...
. Rutten signed a contract running until June 2010. In March 2009, Rutten was sacked and, once more, Mike Büskens, Youri Mulder and Oliver Reck took over the helm.
On 1 July 2009, Felix Magath
Felix Magath
Wolfgang-Felix Magath is a former German football central midfielder and current manager of VfL Wolfsburg.-Playing career:...
, who had led VfL Wolfsburg
VfL Wolfsburg
VfL Wolfsburg is a professional German association football club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, who play in the Bundesliga football competition. Wolfsburg have won the Bundesliga once in their history, in the 2008–09 season, and were DFB-Pokal runners-up in 1995. The current head coach is Felix...
to the top of the table in the Bundesliga, became Head Coach and General Manager of the Royal Blues. On 16 March 2011, Magath was sacked and replaced with Ralf Rangnick, who previously, between 2004 and 2005, had a brief spell being in charge of the team. Within just weeks of his appointment, Rangnick masterminded a 5–2 victory over Inter Milan at the San Siro during the Quarterfinal-stage
2010–11 UEFA Champions League knockout phase
The knockout phase of the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League began on 15 February 2011 and concluded on 28 May 2011 with the final at Wembley Stadium in London, England...
of the Champions League. Schalke advanced to the semifinals where they lost 2–0 to Manchester United in the first leg and 4–1 in the second leg.
On September 22, 2011, Ralf Rangnick announced his immediate resignation as Head Coach of Schalke 04 due to long-term exhaustion
Burnout (psychology)
Burnout is a psychological term for the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest. Research indicates general practitioners have the highest proportion of burnout cases; according to a recent Dutch study in Psychological Reports, no less than 40% of these experienced high levels of...
. Assistant coach Seppo Eichkorn will coach the team as Interim Manager.
Stadium
The club's stadium, known as the Veltins-ArenaVeltins-Arena
Veltins-Arena is a football stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It opened in 2001, as the new home ground for German Bundesliga club Schalke 04....
under a sponsorship agreement with Veltins
Veltins
Brauerei C & A Veltins is a brewery in the west German city of Meschede-Grevenstein.Veltins ranks number 7 among Germany's best selling breweries....
brewery, was completed in the summer of 2001 and has a capacity of 61,673 spectators. Schalke regularly draws sell-out crowds to what is widely regarded as one of the most modern and best multi-use facilities in Europe. The facility was previously known as the Arena AufSchalke and replaced the Parkstadion
Parkstadion
Parkstadion was a multi-purpose stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, that is no longer used to host any major events. The stadium was built in 1973 and hosted five matches of the 1974 FIFA World Cup...
(capacity 62,000) built in 1973. Prior to this the club had played its matches in the Glückauf-Kampfbahn
Glückauf-Kampfbahn
Glückauf-Kampfbahn is a multi-use stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany . It was initially used as the stadium of FC Schalke 04 matches. It was replaced by Parkstadion in 1973. The capacity of the stadium was 34,000 spectators....
constructed in 1928 with a capacity of 35,000. The facility was used for amateur matches during its latter years with a reduced capacity of just 5,000.
Club songs
Blau und weiß, wie lieb ich Dich ("Blue and White, How I Love You") and Königsblauer S04 ("Royal Blue S04") are the official club songs.Popular, unofficial chants are
- Ein Leben lang, Blau und Weiß ein Leben lang ("a life-long, blue and white a life-long"),
- Opa Pritschikowski ("Grandpa Pritschikowski"),
- Wir sind Schalker ("We are Schalke"),
- Schalke ist die Macht ("Schalke is the Power"), and
- Steht auf, wenn ihr Schalker seid ("Stand up if you're Schalke"), sung to the melody of "Go WestGo West (song)"Go West" is a song by the 1970s disco group Village People. The song eventually found greater success when it was covered in 1993 by the synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys.-Village People version:...
" of the Pet Shop BoysPet Shop BoysPet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
(itself a cover of a Village PeopleVillage PeopleVillage People is a concept disco group that formed in the United States in 1977, well known for their on-stage costumes depicting American cultural stereotypes, as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics....
song).
Honours
German football champions
The German football champions are the annual winners of the highest association football competition in Germany. The history of the German football championship is complex and reflects the turbulent history of the country through the course of the 20th century.Brought to the country by English...
- Winners – 1934, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1958German football championship 1958The 54th German football championship was the culmination of the football season in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1957-58. FC Schalke 04 were crowned champions for a seventh time after a group stage and a final....
- Runners-up – 1933, 1938, 1941, 1972, 1977, 2001, 2005, 2007, 20102009–10 Fußball-BundesligaThe 2009–10 Fußball-Bundesliga was the 47th season of the Fußball-Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. The season commenced on 7 August 2009 with the traditional season opening match involving the defending champions VfL Wolfsburg and VfB Stuttgart. The last games were played on 8 May 2010...
DFB-Pokal
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
- Winners – 1937, 1972, 2001, 2002, 20112010–11 DFB-PokalThe 2010–11 DFB-Pokal was the sixty-eighth season of the annual German football cup competition. It commenced on the weekend around 14 August 2010 with the matches of Round 1 and concluded on 21 May 2011 with the final at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin...
- Runners-up – 1935, 1936, 1941, 1942, 1955, 1969, 2005
German Supercup
- Winners – 20112011 DFL-Supercup-References:...
- Runners-up – 1940, 20102010 DFL-SupercupThe 2010 DFL-Supercup marked the return of the German Supercup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal competitions. The competition had not been played in an official capacity since 1996, and was replaced by the DFB Liga-Pokal from 1997...
Ligapokal
- Winners – 2005
- Runners-up – 2001, 2002, 2007
UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
- Winners – 19971997 UEFA Cup FinalThe 1997 UEFA Cup Final was contested between Schalke 04 of Germany and Internazionale of Italy. The tie was a tight affair, with each leg being won 1–0 by the home-team. After 210 minutes of football, the tie was eventually settled on penalties, with Schalke winning 4–1 at the Stadio...
UEFA Intertoto Cup
UEFA Intertoto Cup
The UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued...
- Winners – 2003, 2004
2. Fußball-Bundesliga
2. Fußball-Bundesliga
- Changes in division set-up :* Number of clubs: currently 18. From 1974 to 1981 there were two conferences, each of 20 teams. In 1981–91 it had 20...
- Winners – 1982, 1991
Fuji-Cup
Fuji-Cup
The Fuji-Cup was a German football competition held during the summer break from 1986 to 1996 immediately prior to the kick-off the Fußball-Bundesliga season. The competition featured four leading teams, playing two semi-finals and a final in a generally more provincial area of the country...
(unofficial tournament)
- Winners – 1996
Coppa delle Alpi
Coppa delle Alpi
Coppa delle Alpi , was a football tournament, first organized by the Italian national league to start 1960 and then aided by the Swiss League in 1962 for the reason that the majority of the Alps are in Switzerland...
(Tournament of the Italian Association)
- Winners – 1968
Oberliga West
Oberliga West (1947-63)
The Oberliga West was the highest level of the German football league system in the west of Germany from 1947 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963...
- Winners – 1951, 1958
Western German football cup
- Winners – 1955
Western German football championship
Western German football championship
The Western German football championship was the highest association football competition in Western Germany, in the Prussian Province of Westphalia, the Rhine Province, the northern parts of the province of Hesse-Nassau as well as the Principality of Lippe, later to become the Free State of Lippe...
- Winners – 1929, 1930, 1932, 1933
- Runners-up – 1927
Ruhrbezirk Championship
- Winners – 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1933
Gauliga Westfalen
Gauliga Westfalen
The Gauliga Westphalia was the highest football league in the Prussian province of Westphalia and the small Free State of Lippe from 1933 to 1945...
- Winners – 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944
Westphalia Cup
- Winners – 1943, 1944
Youth
- German Under 19 championship
- Champions: 1976, 2006
- Runners-up: 1975, 1980, 1981
- German Under 17 championship
- Champions: 1978, 2002
- Runners-up: 1977, 1980
- Under 19 Bundesliga WestUnder 19 Bundesliga (football)The Under 19 Fußball-Bundesliga is the highest level in German Under 19 football. It was created in 2003 and is divided in three divisions with 14 teams each...
- Champions: 2005
Current squad
For recent transfers, see List of German football transfers summer 2011 and List of German football transfers winter 2010–11.Manager:
Horst HeldtHorst Heldt
Horst Heldt is a former German football player, now general manager at Bundesliga side FC Schalke 04.- Career as player :...
Coach: Huub Stevens
Huub Stevens
Hubertus "Huub" Jozef Margaretha Stevens is a Dutch football manager and former defender.- Playing career :...
Players out on loan
FC Schalke 04 U23 squad
Manager: Bernhard TraresBernhard Trares
Bernhard Trares is a retired German professional footballer, who played mainly as a central defender.-Playing career:...
Notable former players
To celebrate the 100th birthday of the club, the supporters voted for Schalker Jahrhundertelf, the "Team of the Century":Records
|
| Klaus Fichtel Klaus Fichtel Klaus Fichtel is a former German international footballer who played as a defender.... |
477 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | |
Norbert Nigbur Norbert Nigbur Norbert Nigbur is a former German international football player.The goalkeeper joined Gelsenkirchen's biggest club, FC Schalke 04, from tiny SV Gelsenkirchen 06 in 1966, playing 456 matches in the Bundesliga for Schalke and Hertha BSC in between 1966 and 1983, being the first first-team player... |
355 |
| 3 | |
Rolf Rüssmann Rolf Rüssmann Rolf Rüssmann was a German international footballer who played as a defender for FC Schalke 04, Club Brugge and Borussia Dortmund.-Player bio:... |
304 |
| 4 | |
Klaus Fischer Klaus Fischer Klaus Fischer is a German former football player and coach.-Career:Fischer was born in Kreuzstraßl, near Lindberg in the district of Regen.... |
295 |
| 5 | |
Olaf Thon Olaf Thon Olaf Thon is a retired German footballer, and a current coach.Mainly a central midfielder, his 19-year professional career was solely associated to Schalke 04 and Bayern Munich, having amassed more than 500 official games and 100 goals for both combined... |
295 |
| 6 | |
Herbert Lütkebohmert Herbert Lütkebohmert Herbert Lütkebohmert was a German footballer who played for and TSV Marl-Hüls, Schalke 04 and 1. FC Bocholt.-External links:... |
286 |
| 7 | |
Gerald Asamoah Gerald Asamoah Gerald Asamoah is a Ghanaian-born German footballer. He last played as a forward for FC St.Pauli, following an 11-year long stay at Schalke.-Club career:... |
277 |
| 8 | |
Mike Büskens Mike Buskens Michael 'Mike' Büskens is a former German footballer who played as a midfielder, and the current manager of SpVgg Greuther Fürth.... |
257 |
| 9 |  |
Jiří Němec Jirí Nemec Jiří Němec is a former Czech football player. He played for Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic.He won a total of 84 international caps for the two teams, scoring one goal, and played at both Euro 96 and Euro 2000.... |
256 |
| 10 | |
Yves Eigenrauch Yves Eigenrauch Yves Eigenrauch is a retired German footballer, who played mainly as a right defender.-Football career:After beginning his career with Arminia Bielefeld, Eigenrauch went on to spend twelve years with FC Schalke 04, being regularly used during nine of his first ten... |
229 |
|
| Klaus Fischer Klaus Fischer Klaus Fischer is a German former football player and coach.-Career:Fischer was born in Kreuzstraßl, near Lindberg in the district of Regen.... |
182 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  |
Ebbe Sand Ebbe Sand Ebbe Sand is a Danish former professional footballer who most notably played as a striker for FC Schalke 04 in Germany. He was the German Bundesliga top scorer in 2001, and he won the German Cup in 2001 and 2002 with Schalke... |
74 |
| 3 | |
Kevin Kurányi Kevin Kurányi Kevin Dennis Kurányi is a German footballer who plays in Russia for Dynamo Moscow. He is a striker who possesses great aerial ability and finishing skills.- Early life :... |
70 |
| 4 | |
Olaf Thon Olaf Thon Olaf Thon is a retired German footballer, and a current coach.Mainly a central midfielder, his 19-year professional career was solely associated to Schalke 04 and Bayern Munich, having amassed more than 500 official games and 100 goals for both combined... |
52 |
| 5 | |
Erwin Kremers Erwin Kremers Erwin Kremers is a former German footballer who played as a striker. His twin brother, Helmut Kremers, also played as a German international with the two brothers playing with each other regularly... |
50 |
| 6 | |
Ingo Anderbrügge Ingo Anderbrügge Ingo Anderbrügge is a retired German footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder.-Football career:... |
46 |
| 7 | |
Helmut Kremers Helmut Kremers Helmut Kremers is a former German football player. His twin brother, Erwin Kremers, also played as a German international with the two brothers playing with each other regularly... |
45 |
| 8 | |
Rüdiger Abramczik Rüdiger Abramczik Rüdiger Abramczik is a former German football player and coach, best known for his ability to cross the ball .... |
44 |
| 9 | |
Gerald Asamoah Gerald Asamoah Gerald Asamoah is a Ghanaian-born German footballer. He last played as a forward for FC St.Pauli, following an 11-year long stay at Schalke.-Club career:... |
44 |
| 10 | |
Klaus Täuber Klaus Täuber Klaus Täuber is a retired German footballer who played for and SpVgg Erlangen, Nuremberg, Stuttgarter Kickers, Schalke 04, Bayer Leverkusen. His brothers - Jürgen and Stephan - were also professional footballers.... |
39 |
In popular culture
Schalke has been subject of a feature-length film called Fußball ist unser LebenFußball ist unser Leben
Fußball ist unser Leben is a German football drama/comedy movie, centering around supporters of FC Schalke 04. It was directed by Tommy Wiegand, with Uwe Ochsenknecht and Ralf Richter in the main roles.-Plot:...
("Football is our life"), shown in 1999. Actors Uwe Ochsenknecht
Uwe Ochsenknecht
Uwe Adam Ochsenknecht is a German actor and singer.-Work:Films Uwe Ochsenknecht has starred in include Schtonk!, Das Boot and the TV miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune.-Personal life:...
and Ralf Richter
Ralf Richter
Ralf Richter is a German actor. He debuted as the crude sailor "Frenssen" in the Academy Award nominated 1981 film Das Boot and frequently appeared in German TV series...
, both of whom were in the award-winning film Das Boot
Das Boot
Das Boot is a 1981 German epic war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, and Klaus Wennemann...
, where Schalke is briefly mentioned, played the main roles, while many persons associated with Schalke had cameo roles, such as manager Rudi Assauer
Rudi Assauer
Rudolf "Rudi" Assauer is a former German football manager and former player. Due to his habit of smoking a great number of cigars, he has been given the nickname "Stumpen-Rudi", or "Cheroot Rudi"....
, coaches Huub Stevens
Huub Stevens
Hubertus "Huub" Jozef Margaretha Stevens is a Dutch football manager and former defender.- Playing career :...
and Helmut Schulte, and player Yves Eigenrauch. Also featured were prominent fans like Manfred Breuckmann, Ulrich Potofski or DJ Hooligan. The film is a comedy about "Hans", a Schalke fanatic, and his three pals who somehow get involved in kidnapping and trying to bring back to form the team's new star player "Di Ospeo" and in the process bet Hans' house that their idol will score in the final game. Some critics considered Football is our life to be "one of the worst German comedies ever."
"Schalke" is mentioned in the film Das Boot when the bosun
Boatswain
A boatswain , bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The boatswain supervises the other unlicensed members of the ship's deck department, and typically is not a watchstander, except on vessels with small crews...
tells the crew in their ward room "I got bad news for you men. Schalke lost 5–0, looks like we won't be in the final this year."