January 18th, 2020 was the last time FC Schalke 04 won in the Bundesliga. At that time, Schalke beat Borussia Moenchengladbach with a score of 2-0 at the Veltins-Arena. Since then, the eight-time German league champion has gone 24 games without a win. Of the total 24 points that can be achieved in the 2020/21 season, Die Koenigsblauen is only able to gain 3 points.
Schalke’s crisis didn’t just happen on the pitch. “We are destroying ourselves,” said sporting director Jochen Schneider this week, a day before announcing an even more heartbreaking thing. First, the technical director, Michael Reschke, was dismissed from his duties after only 18 months of work. Reschke is not an inexperienced figure. Furthermore, Schalke suspended two players and terminated the contract of one player.
Nabil Bentaleb and Amine Harit are two names of players who have been suspended by the club until an undetermined time. Meanwhile, the player whose contract was terminated was Vedad Ibisevic. In fact, Ibisevic just joined Royal Blue in September.
Ibisevic did get into a fight with the assistant coach, Naldo, during a training session. But the club said the termination of his contract was not related to the incident. Meanwhile, former Tottenham Hotspurs midfielder Nabil Bentaleb, who has a birthday on November 24 yesterday, was congratulated by the club’s official Twitter account, but was immediately deleted after Schneider issued a suspension statement for the player.
Amine Harit himself drew harsher criticism from Schneider even though he had just signed a new contract in 2019, as was pushed out by coach Manuel Baum. The proof, in Schalke’s 0-2 defeat against Wolfsburg at Spieltag 8, Harit was withdrawn from the field for no apparent reason when the game had just entered the 38th minute.
“He [Harit] was unable to give his potential to the team over the last few months. We will not leave him but will do everything we can to take him to a place where he can use his talents to help the club, “said Schneider.
Frustration is the right diction to describe Schalke’s current condition. Their striker, Mark Uth, focused more on the performance on the pitch which made him sick and angry.
“It really makes us sad every time we play and play football which has not been helped. We were always one step behind, we were late for every tackle and we didn’t even get a yellow card, “said Uth quoted from DW.
“I don’t know how we have to win with a game like this. I had enough and I could only get angry. I feel I just need to go back to the locker room and cry, “he added.
Before all the problems in the first team can be resolved, there are significant problems on the part of the economic structure that could make the club split even more intense, and need to be addressed first.
Economic and Moral Bankruptcy
The Bundesliga hiatus due to the corona virus pandemic in recent months has indeed had a real impact on the economy of Bundesliga clubs. 13 clubs were reportedly bankrupt and ready to go down the division. Among the 13 clubs, Schalke is assumed to have the highest risk. At the end of the 2018/19 season, the Royal Blues reported a debt of 200 million euros, and economists predict the debt will rise to 250 million euros by the end of 2019.
Schalke’s austerity measures have strained their relationship with staunch supporters. All season tickets are non-refundable and staff receive a large pay cut. For hardline supporters, these decisions cannot be taken for granted. Ultras Gelsenkirchen, one of the most outspoken groups voicing criticism, considers the club’s board of directors to ignore the club’s values.
“This whole season can be declared moral insolence. The club quickly loses its trust and identity… We will not allow this club to be taken from us and destroyed, ”wrote the Ultras.
Schalke is the club with the second highest number of fans in Germany (160,000). It would be natural for them to feel left out if they saw the working class background.
Marketing director, Alexander Jobst, proposed fundamental structural changes at Schalke. Jobst made a proposal to change the club ownership model to be 100% owned by external investors. Such a motion would require a 75% majority of the votes from shareholders and would only be followed up at the next annual general meeting. But it is likely to meet stiff resistance from supporters who fear the influence of external investors.
ASL
