It cannot be argued that the great organisation that is FC Schalke 04 is not a major club as this famous association stands by its values of displaying a hard work ethic week in week out. Schalke 04 is the second largest sports club in Germany with 100,000 members that attracts just over 60,000 supporters to their famous Veltins Arena situated in the area of Buer near Gelsenkirchen. ‘The Miners’ always come in the top 20 of the ‘Deloitte Football Money League’ in terms of annual revenue, generating a whopping €174.5 million in 2012. Some football enthusiasts must wonder how ‘Die Königsblauen’ has not won the German Bundesliga, however the club itself has won a few major honours.
This account is going to explore some of Schalke 04’s most highlighted events over their illustrious history and examine their chances in the second half of the campaign, which is due to kick on January 24th.
In 1934 Schalke 04’s first German title arrived after beating favourites 1.FC Nürnberg 2-1. This was just the type of ignition that Schalke 04 needed as the following year they successfully defended their title against VfB Stuttgart in an entertaining 6-4 victory. ‘Die Knappen’ displayed their dominance in this era by acquiring this trophy again in 1937, 1939, 1940, and 1942. Three of the national finals that ‘The Miners’ were involved in were unbelievably against Austrian teams who were, Admira Vienna, Rapid Vienna, and First Vienna– which played in Germany's ‘Gauliga Ostmark’ after Austria's incorporation into the Reich during the 1938 Anschluss.
Between the years of 1933 and 1945, Schalke 04 won 162 out of 189 in their ‘Gauliga Ostmark’ matches, losing only 6 and drawing 21 times. In this period Schalke 04 revealed their scoring governance as they accumulated 924 goals and conceded only 145. In the years of 1935 to 1939, Schalke 04 did not lose a single league match to any opponent they were confronted with. These achievements caught the eye of many in Germany throughout this period and this led them to be held up for propaganda reasons by the Nazi regime, as an example of ‘Neue Deutschland’ (New Germany). This was surprising due to many Schalke 04 players descending from Polish immigrants, including their most influential players Fritz Szepan and Ernst Kuzorra.
When ‘Die Knappen’ inaugurated into the German Bundesliga in 1963, they have somewhat been inconsistent with their endings in the league. During the first few years of the German Bundesliga, Schalke 04 found it very hard to adjust to the new league for example in 1965, they just missed out on relegation, only through the league increasing to eighteen teams. A number of finishes at the lower end of the league table followed after, before development started in 1972 as they acquired a second place finish to FC Bayern München. In the same season, Schalke 04 won the German Cup for the second time in its history.
When observing at Schalke 04 more recently however, they have managed to finally get some dependability in regards to winning trophies and staying towards to upper ends of the league. In 1997, they won their most coveted trophy, the UEFA Cup, beating Inter Milan on penalties. Since this trophy, Schalke 04 has won the DFB Pokal three times, PREMIERE League Cup in 2005 and the German Super Cup in 2011. However, they still have not managed to win the German Bundesliga, which seems to be a gaping black hole due to their rivals Borussia Dortmund acquiring the trophy on a few occasions.
When assessing Schalke 04’s season so far, it has somehow been a disappointing one as they currently sit on seventh place in the Bundesliga table. ‘The Miners’ have played seventeen games gaining twenty-eight points, resulting in them scoring thirty-two and conceding twenty-eight goals. The intentions of Schalke 04 will be the same as last season and that will be to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. However, they may find this difficult as other sides such as Borussia Mönchengladbach who are currently third, Hertha BSC who are fifth and then you have usual suspects such as Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund and of course Bayern München. So gaining that UEFA Champions League spot will be hard and even more so than last year.
FC Schalke will want to see the back of the transfer window as their very own prized asset Julian Draxler has been linked with a move away. Arsenal has been heavily linked and Schalke 04 have commented saying there is not much they can do if ‘The Gunners’ trigger Draxler’s buy out clause, which is in the region of £37 million. They have strengthened their team however with creative player Sidney Sam and midfielder Jan Kirchoff. However, Jan Kirchoff is currently nursing an injury and had to have surgery on a partial tear in his right ligament.
The next part of the season is very crucial to Schalke 04 as they will want to secure UEFA Champions League football for next season. Their supporters will be expecting it for sure.