The fall of Schalke 04 will always be a bitter story to tell or hear for any soccer fan. The legendary German club suffered their first relegation in 33 years after an extremely disappointing 2020-2021 season
Following up on their relegation, they were en route to equal a 31-game winless streak record held by Tasmania Berlin since 1965 but were spared thanks to a reliving 4-0 win over Hoffenheim.
Unfortunately, the win inspired not, any kind of motivation, but merely a relief. They later went on to win only two games in the next 15 months and consequently crashed away from the German Bundesliga, to, 2. Bundesliga.
They are now a shadow of themselves, and can only now reminisce about the good old days.
What was Schalke 04 like before their relegation?
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Before being relegated, Schalke 04 was among the best European clubs in recent history. World-class players such as Manuel Neuer, Mesut Ozil, IIkay Gundogan, Leroy Sane, Julian Draxler, Leon Goretzka Raul, and Klaas-Jan-Huntelaar graced their royal blue jerseys.
Their achievements are also very significant. Both domestically and in European competitions.
Domestically, they have never won the Bundesliga but have achieved numerous successes in their Cups competition. Winning the DFB-Pokal 5 times, and the German Super Cup once in 2011.
In Europe, they have shone well too. Won the 1997 UEFA Super Cup against Inter Milan in 1996. They also achieved significant strive in the Uefa Champions League competitions, Especially when they defied expectations and reached the 2010-11 UFEA Champions League semi-final, but were eventually knocked out by Manchester United.
What caused Schalke 04 Relegation
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Schalke’s relegation from the Bundesliga could be attributed to a series of unfortunate events that unraveled over the years.
Firstly, it started when their ‘Alpha Alpha’ owner Clemens Tonnies, frustrated an ambitious Horst Heldt and appointed Christian Heidel as Schalke’s new executive manager. With intentions to go beyond their normal odd Champion League qualification.
With this in mind, a new coach Markus Weinzierl was appointed. Supported with a moderate spending spree, a couple of decent players were brought in.
Sadly, after the first season, such ambition of surpassing their normal odd Champion League qualification status wasn’t achieved, rather the situation at the club got worse.
After a 10th-league position finish in Heidel’s first season, he relieved coach Markus of his job and brought in a younger coach, Domenic Tedesco.
Tedesco was an ambitious coach, whose ideals and philosophy aligned with that of Jose Mourinho. He became an instant hit, finishing second the following season, and quickly became fans’ favorite. But despite the second-place finish, criticisms of his conservative football galore. When things stopped going well, these criticisms intensified and the club’s situation got worse.
Sooner than later, Tedesco was relieved of his job, and Christian Heidel resigned from his executive manager’s position as well. Schalke 04 finished 14th in league position. Then Covid 19 came in 2020.
Schalke was finding its foot with David Wagner as head coach until COVID-19 announced itself. Having beaten Borussia Monchenglabach to go 5th on 17 Jan 2020, little did they know that their situation was about to worsen.
By the time the Covid pandemic caused a stop to football events worldwide, they were 7th on the Bundesliga table and winless in 7 matches. Schalke later ended the season at 12th, missing out on any possible European competition.
The result of missing out on European football in 3 out of 4 seasons, and the COVID-19 pandemic fiasco caused thorough damage to Schalke.
They couldn’t repay their debts anymore. Their yearly budgets were minimized significantly. In the words of a former supervisory board member Kemmer:
“Everything came together at once,” “No Champions League money, then Corona, losing €2-3 million for every home game without fans, the wasted money under Heidel. It was a massive tsunami.”
To make matters worse, a break out of COVID-19 happened in the meat factory of their Alpha Alpha owner, which resulted in a more devastating PR to their already bad situation.
Though Clemens Tonnies later resigned, the damage has taken effect already. After a series of changes of Head coaches, Schalke’s relegation from the Bundesliga was confirmed after a 1-0 loss to Arminia Bielefeld on the final day of the 2020-21 Bundesliga season.
Though they made a brief comeback to the Bundesliga in the 2022-2023 season, unfortunately, they didn’t have the finances to sustain themselves. Consequently, the German Giants fell again.
Also Read: Magical Ipswich Town Is 1 Step Closer to Premier League Promotion
From being a European giant to competing in the second tier of the German league would never be an ideal situation that can be normalized. But a little hope for them is that they aren’t the only club going through this phase.
Currently 12th on the Bundesliga League table with 37 points, their fans believe that with the right structure in the club next year, they could get back to the German Bundesliga.
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Ajekwuenu Chibuzor is a lifelong soccer fan and an Ardent Arsenal supporter. He will enjoy talking to you about any topic on soccer. You can follow Chibuzor on Twitter @ajekfelix to enjoy his great soccer content. Remember to subscribe to our Youtube channel where we do several shows daily.
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