By the 80th minute of this top game against Werder Bremen, FC Schalke 04 had practically been relegated. “Well kept up” you would read in the newspapers on Sunday morning. “Sacrificed, but unhappy in the end” – as is so often the case with teams in the relegation battle who lose a game again. But then, with a bit of luck, the ball fell in front of Sepp van den Berg on the edge of the penalty area and the Dutchman followed Franz Beckenbauer’s advice: “If you don’t know where to put the ball, kick it into the goal.” A shot. A scream. Schalke is not yet completely deregistered.
What was remarkable, however, was what happened afterwards: After the initial celebration had died down, it was Marius Bülter who signaled: “Continue! Follow up!” And (all) Schalke followed suit. Team and stadium alike, until Dominick Drexler actually pushed the ball in to make it 2-1 in injury time. Schalke lives. The light is still on in the basement.
During the winter break, not even the boldest optimist in royal blue would have bet even one cent that Schalke would stay in class. Up to the unspeakable World Cup in Qatar, the miners only collected nine measly points. Many fans turned away, the club seemed planless and without leadership.
In the new year, however, everything seems to be different. S04 have already scored twice as many points as in the first half of the season. As beautiful as the snapshot may be; perhaps even more important is that the team has developed. Coach Thomas Reis is largely responsible for this, and his signature can be seen more and more clearly: commitment, dedication and sometimes even really handsome football – not a matter of course for a relegation candidate. Reis has managed to rebuild an identity from the ruins of a traditional club. Somewhere between calf biters and horse lungs – in any case away from the glittering Champions League Schalke, which many in the management floors apparently clung to for a long time without realizing that those times are long gone.
The effect is impressive: fans and team have moved much closer together again. And especially these positively crazy Schalke fans can become a big bargaining chip in the last few games. The late win against Bremen could be the crucial spark that Schalke needed. With the fans behind him, it can quickly become a conflagration of euphoria and carry S04 to victories that weren’t even priced in.
And that’s exactly the crux of the matter: Even if Schalke’s mood is currently crying out for a new start, the team will have to score points that you can’t count on. The rest of the program is under the motto: Unfortunately, it couldn’t be more difficult. Mainz, Bayern, Frankfurt and Leipzig are still on the schedule. In order to have a realistic chance of being over the line in the end, you need at least four points from these four games – maybe even more.
So the rest of the program for S04 doesn’t look rosy – but if a team can currently manage to win victories, then probably FC Schalke.
