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Germany beats Costa Rica

1 Dec 2022
2022 WORLD CUP - DAY 07 - GROUP E - SPAIN VS GERMANY 1:1

a draw between Spain and Germany

27 Nov 2022
2022 WORLD CUP - DAY 03 - GROUP E - GERMANY VS JAPAN 1:2

Japan beats Germany

23 Nov 2022
2018 WORLD CUP - GROUP F - GERMANY - SQUAD

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27 Jun 2018
2018 WORLD CUP - DAY 14 - GROUP F - KOREA VS GERMANY 2:0

Defending champions Germany knocked out of the tournament.

27 Jun 2018
2018 WORLD CUP - DAY 10 - GROUP F - GERMANY VS SWEDEN 2:1

Germany is back on track.

23 Jun 2018
2018 WORLD CUP - DAY 04 - GROUP F - GERMANY VS MEXICO 0:1

...

17 Jun 2018
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National Team - Nigeria - Coach - Rohr is a 'father figure' for Nigeria team

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5 Dec 2017
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‪FC Schalke 04‬
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 11/2014


Full name:
Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V.

Nicknames:
Die Königsblauen (The Royal Blues)
Die Knappen (The Miners)

Founded:
4 May 1904

Ground:
Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen
 
Capacity:
61,973

President:
Clemens Tönnies

Executive Board:
Horst Heldt (CEO; Chief Executive Officer)
Alexander Jobst (CBO; Chief Brand Officer)
Peter Peters (CFO; Chief Financial Officer)

Manager:
Roberto Di Matteo[

League:
Bundesliga

2013-14:
3rd

 

Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04, is a professional German association-football club and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. 

Schalke has long been one of the most popular professional football teams and multi-sports club in Germany, even though major successes have been rare since the club's heyday in the 1930s and early 1940s. Schalke play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. 

The elite professionalism in association football team as of August 2014 is the biggest part of a large multi-sports club with 129,672 members (as of March 2014) making it the second-largest sports club in Germany and the third-largest sports club in the world in terms of membership, pursuing the world’s second and first on this measure, rival FC Bayern Munich and SL Benfica. 

Other activities offered by the club include athletics (track and field), basketball, handball, table tennis, and winter sports.

Founded in 1904, Schalke have won seven German championships, five DFB-Pokals, one DFL-Supercup, and one UEFA Europa League.

Since 2001, Schalke's stadium is the Veltins-Arena.

Schalke holds a long-standing rivalry with Ruhr neighbours Borussia Dortmund, arguably the most widespread and well-known rivalry in German football, and matches between the two teams are referred to as the Revierderby. 

The mascot of the club is named Erwin.

S04 is currently ranked as the 9th best football team in Europe and on Continental Europe by UEFA's UEFA club rankings.

In terms of operating income, S04 possesses the 7th highest operating income of any football club on Earth at "$ 64.4 million or £ 38.2 million (€ 48 million)", and 0% debt as of August 2014. 

S04 generates the 12th highest revenue of any football club in the world at "$ 265.6 million or £ 157.8 million (€ 198 million)".

In May 2014, Schalke 04 were ranked by Forbes Magazine as the twelfth most valuable football club in the world, at "£ 355.3 million or $ 598.5 million (€ 446 million)", an increase of 16% from the previous year.


RECENT FAMOUS PLAYERS

Gerald Asamoah was the S04 leading goal-scoring figure from the turn of the 21st century through to the mid 2000s as well as playing over 250 games for S04 over 11 years and Schalke players celebrate winning the DFB-Pokal in 2002

Raúl, the all-time top goalscorer in European club competitions, played for Schalke from 2010 to 2012.


KEVIN PRINCE BOATENG

 


HISTORY

 

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 colours 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 kit from which their second nickname would derive - Die Königsblauen (English: The Royal Blues). 

The following year, the club became the dominant local side, 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 (English: 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 renaming 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, 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 DFB-Pokal) 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

Schalke's first national title came in 1934 with a 2:1 victory over favourites 1. FC Nuremberg. 

The next year, they successfully defended their title against VfB Stuttgart 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 Wien, Rapid Wien, 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 Nuremberg in 1935. 

They also made failed appearances in the 1936, 1941, and 1942 finals with their only 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".


POST WAR FOOTBALL 

Commonly regarded as the greatest S04 player of all time Ernst Kuzorra alongside Fritz Szepan, Ernst Kuzorra is also commonly regarded as one of the greatest German forwards and led S04 to become the dominant team in German football winning six German championships and one DFB-Pokal from 1934 to 1942. 

Ernst Kuzorra was one of the main axes of what became known as the "Schalker Kreisel; a system that used quick and short passing", to confuse and overwhelm the opponent.

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 DFB-Pokal final, where they lost 2:3 to Karlsruher SC. 

The club's next, and to date last, German championship came in 1958, with a 3:0 victory over Hamburger SV.


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 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 1964-65, they escaped relegation only through the expansion of the league to eighteen teams. 

A number of finishes at the lower end of the league table followed, before a marked improvement in 1971–72, culminating in a second place finish to FC Bayern Munich and after having led the league for much of the season. 

In the same season, Schalke won the DFB-Pokal 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 1971. 

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.

 

CRISIS AND RECOVERY

FC Schalke 04 starting line-up in their victorious 1997 UEFA Europa League Final.

In 1973, the club moved to the Parkstadion, newly built for the 1974 FIFA 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 1976-77, 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 DFB-Pokal win of 1972 with a victory in the final of the 1996-97 UEFA Cup over Italian side Internazionale on penalties. 

Coached by the Dutch coach Huub Stevens, the 1997 Schalke squad earned the nickname "Euro Fighters", which is still in use among fans. Stevens, who was widely unknown in Germany at the time, quickly earned himself a cult following among the Schalke supporters

Gerald Asamoah was the S04 leading goal-scoring figure from the turn of the 21st century through to the mid 2000s as well as playing over 250 games for S04 over 11 years and Schalke players celebrate winning the DFB-Pokal in 2002

Raúl, the all-time top goalscorer in European club competitions, played for Schalke from 2010 to 2012.

Stevens successfully implemented a system of rigid discipline, especially in the defence. 

His Motto Die Null muß stehen. (engl.: 'It has to read nil'), emphasising the importance of not conceding any goals, has found its way into everyday language in Germany.

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 organisation and established itself as one of the dominant teams of the Bundesliga. 

Schalke captured consecutive DFB-Pokals in 2000-01 and 2001-02, and earned second place finishes in the Bundesliga in 2000-01, 2004-05 and 2006-07. 

The 2000-01 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 League. 

There, Schalke finished in third place during the group stage and continuing into the UEFA Cup, where they were eliminated by the eventual winners Sevilla in the semi-finals. 

In 2005-06, Schalke finished in fourth place in the Bundesliga and a year later they once again finished as runners-up for the third time in seven 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 beating FC Porto on penalties in the round of 16. 

They were stopped by FC Barcelona in the quarter-finals, losing both home and away games 0:1.

FC Schalke 04 royal blue trademark jersey with sponsor Gazprom elaborately showcased prior to a match with Zenit Saint Petersburg at the Veltins-Arena to celebrate Gazprom's investment of over €125 million in S04.

On 9 October 2006, Russian oil company Gazprom became the club's new sponsor.

The company stated it expects to invest as much as €125 million in the club over a five-and-a-half 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 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 2008-09 Bundesliga season, Schalke signed a new head coach, Fred Rutten, previously the manager of Dutch team FC 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 Königsblauen. 

The appointment of Magath as manager coincided with a multi-million euro spending spree, allowing Schalke to acquire internationally known forwards Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Raúl. 

Magath's tenure at the club was initially successful, seeing the side score a glut of goals in the first few months of the season, though defensive frailties and Magath's questionable squad selection had made him unpopular with Schalke supporters by December 2010. 

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 Italian club Internazionale at the San Siro during the quarter-finals of the Champions League. 

Schalke advanced to the semi-final where they lost 2:0 to Manchester United in the first leg and 4:1 in the second leg.

On 22 September 2011, Ralf Rangnick announced his immediate resignation as head coach of Schalke 04 due to long-term exhaustion.

Assistant coach Seppo Eichkorn coached the team as Interim Manager until the appointment of Huub Stevens on 27 September 2011. Stevens' contract is to run until 30 June 2013.

Despite having legendary status among Schalke supporters, Stevens' return to Schalke was met with some scepticism as fans feared that Stevens, who coached Schalke to the 1997 UEFA Cup win with a rigidly defensive system, could ditch Rangnicks system of attacking play in favour of returning to the 1997 defensive antics.

The doubts of the supporters proved unfounded. 

Although Schalke played a somewhat inconsistent season, they reached third place in the Bundesliga and therefore direct qualification for the UEFA Champions League.

Schalke had an excellent start to the 2012-13 Bundesliga season, and worked their way to second place in the league by November, just behind Bayern Munich. 

On 20 October, Schalke traveled to Borussia Dortmund for Matchday 8, and were able to defeat the home side 2:1 to secure their first league Revierderby win since February 2010 while securing a UEFA Champions League place by finising fourth.

In the 2013-14 UEFA Champions League group stage, S04's opponents were Steaua Bucharest, FC Basel, and Chelsea. Schalke finished the group stage in second place and exited in the round of sixteen to Real Madrid.

The most prominent S04 addition was the arrival of Kevin-Prince Boateng at S04.

After a disappointing first round of the 2013-14 Bundesliga that saw S04 in seventh place in the Bundesliga table as well as an early exit from the 2013-14 DFB-Pokal in the first knockout round, S04 played their most successful season second half of the club's history. 

The season was marked by a lot of injuries to key squad players such as Jefferson Farfán and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for almost the entire season and this explains the cruising that S04 handed to Real Madrid in the 2013-14 UEFA Champions League round of sixteen. 

It also led to performance related discussions about head coach Jens Keller. 

Partially, S04 fielded up to ten young players with potential who played in the S04 youth system throughout the season. 

Among the brightest S04 young player discoveries of the 2013-14 season were Max Meyer and Leon Goretzka. 

The young S04 squad won 11 out of 17 games in which S04 retrieved 36 points. 

At the end of the 2013-14 season, the young S04 squad reached the third place in the league table and thus for the third time in a row qualified for the UEFA Champions League, in which is a feat that S04 have never before achieved.

On 7 October 2014, after a 1:2 defeat to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and merely eight points in seven games, Keller was sacked and succeeded by Roberto Di Matteo.

 


Players

  • Nabil Bentaleb
  • Breel Embolo