Bundesliga Fanatic

In our first part, we followed Schalke’s on their journey to the UEFA Cup final.  Here we experience the destination, a clash with Italian giants Inter Milan, a clash that would go down in the history books. There they were.  Their first European final.  After decades worth of struggle, beleaguered expectations, relegation, scandals, Schalke was [...]

Few clubs in Germany have the tradition and history Schalke do. They were one of German football’s first great sides and one of the most successful in the first half of the 20th century. Since though, the club has struggled to live up to that history and remained continuously in search of that storied past. [...]

It was just totally unfair.  Saturday’s late fixture on MatchDay 21 of the Bundesliga season featured a high-stepping Bayern München squad hosting the bluer-than-blue Schalke club led by Jens Keller.  A seeming mismatch of epic proportions.  And a mismatch it was, as the Bavarians pasted the slumping Royal Blues 4-0 at the Allianz. Everything has been [...]

It is a bitter winter break in Gelsenkirchen for a team that gave its fans such high hopes with the best season start in 41 years. And if you look at just the numbers, it’s hard to understand where FC Schalke 04 went so wrong. The Royal Blues were 6-2-1 in their first 9 games [...]

FC Schalke 04 have dismissed Coach Huub Stevens, coming to the decision Sunday morning following the club’s 3-1 loss at home to SC Freiburg Saturday.  Schalke youth team coach Jens Keller will guide the Royal Blues in their Tuesday Pokal matchup with Mainz 05. Stevens, 59, was a player in his native Netherlands with Fortuna [...]

Borussia Mönchengladbach haven’t won an away match in Gelsenkirchen since Udo Lattek coached Schalke in 1992. Today’s wasteful performance by the Royal Blues almost changed that. Schalke were going into this match only having won one of their last five matches in the Bundesliga. Out of the last ten matches between the two sides 9 of [...]

With Bayern Munich dropping points earlier in the day in the Bavarian derby to Nurnberg in a 1-1 draw, Huub Steven’s Schalke club had a great opportunity to move up on the runaway Bundesliga leaders in Leverkusen Saturday.  Instead, it was the home side who took all three points, remaining unbeaten at home this season [...]

Following their comeback in the Champions League against Arsenal, Schalke came back again in the league on Saturday, this time to get the maximum points against an in form Bremen.  National Team newcomer Roman Neustädter canceled out Aaron Hunt’s first half goal before substitute Julian Draxler got the matchwinner.  The win keeps Schalke hot on [...]

Huub Stevens’ team continues to impress away from home in the Champions League. Arsenal have been one of the strongest home sides in the Champions League over the last few years. The Gunners last defeat to a non Premier League side in the competition dates nine years back in time. Schalke on the other hand [...]

Schalke came out on top in the 141st Ruhr derby and got their first win at Dortmund in over three years. Afellay and Höger got the goals for the visitors against Jürgen Klopp’s makeshift Dortmund whose tactical changes and Lewandowski’s second half goal were not good enough or able to compensate for their poor start [...]