by You don’t have to look back too far to remember that Schalke 04 that dazzled Europe by reaching the Champions League semi-finals. It was in the 2010/11 season, losing to a Manchester United team that couldn’t beat Guardiola’s Barcelona at Wembley. Now, 13 years later, one of the founders of the Bundesliga could become an amateur team.
Schalke competes in the 2. Bundesliga, the silver category of German football after its catastrophic relegation in 2021. Far from taking flight, the team led by Karel Geraerts occupies fifteenth place with 20 points in 19 games. tied with Brunswick and Hansa RostockThey are in free fall and flirting too much with relegation spots to the Third Division that could condemn the historic club forever.
With an unaffordable debt of 165 million euros, they would not obtain the license and that would mean that they would have to start from scratch., as if it were an amateur club. An outcome that would be too sad for the followers of a team with 120 years of history (it was founded in 1904).
A CONSIDERABLE RECORD
The club’s showcases have several trophies:
- UEFA Cup: 1996-97
- Intertoto Cup (2): 2003, 2004
- German League (7): 1934, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1958
- German Cup (5): 1938, 1972, 2001, 2002, 2011
- German Super Cup: 2011
- League Cup: 2005
- Alpine Cup: 1968
With a stadium with capacity for more than 60,000 spectators, the Veltins-ArenaThe social mass of the club is more than considerable and its possible disappearance, or at least, fall to amateur football, would be a very hard blow for thousands and thousands of fans.
UN SCHALKE CHAMPIONS
In addition to Germany, Schalke has been close to reigning in Europe’s queen competition, the Champions League. The German team has participated eight times in a final phase of the tournament, reaching the semi-finals in the 2010/11 edition. They fell to Manchester United, who could not beat Guardiola’s fearsome Barça in the final at Wembley.
That course, in which a beautiful squad was created with players of the caliber of Neuer, Metzelder, matip, Rakitic, jury, farfan, raul, Huntelaar oh caristeasamong many others, they were the great revelation of the Old Continent.
Schalke reached the semi-finals of the 2010/11 Champions League / Bundesliga
Directed by Ralf Rangnick, they passed as group winners against Olympique de Lyon, Benfica and Hapoel. In the round of 16 they eliminated Valencia (4-2 on aggregate) and in the quarterfinals they eliminated Inter Milan (7-3 on aggregate). Unfortunately, their adventure went awry in the semi-finals, where Manchester United gave them a resounding 6-1 on aggregate, after achieving a good 0-2 in Germany and beating at Old Trafford (4-1).
Now, with a very different reality, Schalke can fall into complete hell. There is still the league ahead, but many things have to change so that a season like 2010/11 can be repeated at the Veltins Arena.
