Schalke 04: Ending 53 Years Of Pain

[orion523]

FC Schalke 04

Looking for an entirely new experience, I've decided to try my hand in the German Bundesliga playing as Schalke. Rated the number three football league in the world, Bundesliga is known for it's large crowds and it's attacking style of play which make it the highest scoring league in Europe. It's also a hotly contested league, with four different champions over the last six seasons. Like my Arsenal dynasty before this, I'll be playing on legendary with a legendary board.

[orion523]

2011-12 Season Preview

Last Season: 14th
Expectations: Euro Qualification
Star Player: Raul
Key Recruit: Lewis Holtby

Schalke fans will be seething, having seen their arch-rivals, Borussia Dortmund claim the title last season. Even worse, the Gelsenkirchen club finished a lowly 14th- completely off the pace for European qualification, let alone the title. After replacing controversial Felix Magath, Huub Stevens will be expected to guide Schalke back to continental competition, of any kind.
Manuel Neuer's move to rivals Bayern Munich has to be the key change at the club, this season. Losing a world class keeper when looking to get back into the upper reaches of the table is problematic to put it mildly. Neuer's stunning performances between the sticks was often the only thing keeping Scahlke in games that otherwise would have been lost causes for them. His supreme judgement, aerial confidence, and lightning fast reflexes will be tough to replace. Ralk Fahrmann, who spent three years at Eintracht Frankfurt after moving from Schalke has returned to Gelsenkirchen, and will face the unenviable task of replacing Neuer in goals. However, he performed admirably in the Super Cup against Dortmund, helping the team win the cup after penalties.
Despite last season's woes, the Royal Blues still have talent to call upon. New captain Benedikt Howdes will marshall the defense alongside Christian Metzelder, Japanese wing-back Atsuto Uchida, and teenager Kyriakos Papadopoulos. Julian Draxler is one of Germany's many bright young stars, and just how far his talent develops this season will be interesting to monitor. And, of course, there is the legendary Raul, who has continued to perform for his new club, particularly in their highly impressive run to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Schalke's activity in the transfer market has been limited. Apart from Fahrmann, the only notable signing has been the three million euro transfer of Christian Fuchs, who impressed at fullback for Mainz last season.
Schalke's run in the Champions League shows how much potential the team has. They won't be playing in Europe this season, but are certainly capable of qualifying for the next edition.

[orion523]

August 1st, 2011


Sarpei To Retire At Season's End

35 year old Sarpei Set To End Career With Royal Blues

Gelsenkirchen- In the midst of a pretty successful preseason in which the Royal Blues went 1-2-0, 35 year old defender Hans Sarpei announced that the 2011-12 season would be his last as a professional footballer, ending a 14 year career in which he's made over 250 appearances, all in Germany. Unfortunately for Hans, his final season has already gotten off to a rough start thanks to a broken rib suffered in training this week, he'll be unavailable for action for at last six weeks.

[orion523]

Match Day 1
VfB Stuttgart 1-0 Schalke 04

Stuttgart Prevail In Tightly Played Affair

Mercedes Benz Arena- Stuttgart opened newly renovated Mercedes Benz Arena in the finest way possible today, taking down visiting Schalke 1-0 in a hotly contested defensive battle.
Scoreless late in the first half, Stuttgart midfielder William Kvist came free in the area and was instantly fed the ball by Timo Gebhart who was racing down the wing, Kvist then finished clinically, giving the home side the lead at the half. Pushing for an equalizer, Schalke came close with 20 minutes remaining when substitute striker Chinedu Obasi banged one off the post, but in the end it wasn't to be, and the Royal Blues lost the match.

Bundesliga Round One Results

Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Hamburg SV
FC Cologne 0-1 VfL Wolfsburg
Mainz 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Bayern Munich 2-0 Borussia Monchengladbach
FC Augsburg 1-1 SC Freiburg
Hertha Berlin 1-0 Nurnberg
Werder Bremen 1-0 Kaiserslautern
Hannover 96 2-1 TSG Hoffenheim
VfB Stuttgart 1-0 Schalke 04

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Match Day 2

Schalke 04 2-2 Cologne

Podolski's Heroics Hold Schalke To Draw

Veltins Arena- First halfgoals from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Jefferson Farfan twice put Schalke in front, and twice Cologne's Lukas Podolski responded, once in the first half and once in the second to help lead visiting Cologne to an impressive 2-2 draw with Schalke.

Bundesliga Round Two Results

Kaiserslautern 2-1 FC Augsburg
Nurnberg 0-1 Hannover 96
Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 Werder Bremen
Borussia Monchengladbach 1-3 VfB Stuttgart
Schalke 04 2-2 Cologne
Hamburg SV 3-0 Hertha Berlin
Freiburg 1-1 Mainz
TSG Hoffenheim 1-2 Borussia Dortmund
VfL Wolfsburg 0-1 Bayern Munich

[orion523]

Match Day 3

Mainz 1-1 Schalke 04

Dominant Schalke Must Settle For Draw

Coface Arena- Despite dominating the contest with 60% possession while outshooting the home side 21(13) to 7(3), Schalke could do no better than a 1-1 draw with Mainz.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's penalty conversion 19 minutes in proved to be the one and only time that the Royal Blues were able to beat Mainz keeper Heinz Muller who was absolutely stellar in goal, time and again keeping his team in the match with brilliant save after brilliant save. Following the match Schalke manager Huub Stevens went so far as to say it was the finest display of goal keeping that he'd seen in 30 years in the game, he was that good.

Bundesliga Round Three Results

Cologne 4-1 Kaiserslautern
Mainz 1-1 Schalke 04
Bayern Munich 3-0 Hamburg SV
Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Nurnberg
Borussia Monchengladbach 0-3 VfL Wolfsburg
FC Augsburg 0-3 TSG Hoffenheim
Werder Bremen 4-1 Freiburg
Hannover 96 2-1 Hertha Berlin
VfB Stuttgart 1-3 Bayer Leverkusen

[orion523]

August 27th, 2011

Holtby Demands Transfer!

20 Year Old Holtby To Be Sold By Stevens

Gelsinkirchen- Still reeling from the sale of German International keeper Manuel Neuer, Schalke Manager Huub Stevens has been blindsided again, this time by 20 year old star midfielder Lewis Holtby who has turned in a transfer request just four days shy of the close of the window. Holtby then took his case to the press saying: "I don't like where this club is headed and I want out, now. I will never play for Schalke again."
Stunned by this betrayal, Stevens angrily retorted "He'll get his wish, make no mistake. There's no room on this club for weaklings who attempt to run at the first sign of adversity." With just four days left in the transfer window and an important match with Borussia Monchengladbach in between, it should be very interesting to see how this all plays out. Schalke could demand as much as fifteen million Euros for Holtby on the open market, giving them plenty of cash to sign a replacement if of course the board allows it......

[orion523]

Match Day 4

Schalke 04 4-1 Borussia Monchengladbach

Huntelaar Hat Trick Guides Schalke To Victory

Veltins Arena- With just 28 goals in his last 85 club matches including just 8 in league play last season, some in the media have openly wondered if 28 year old Klaas-Jan Huntelaar would ever return to the form which saw him net an amazing 172 goals in 235 matches between 2003-09, but
judging by his performance so far this season, that answer is a resounding yes, and Schalke fans couldn't be happier. Already having bagged two goals in his first three games, Huntelaar was unstoppable this afternoon, scoring three times and just missing twice more as Schalke hammered visiting Borussia Monchengladbach by the score of 4-1.

Bundesliga Round Four Results

Nurnberg 2-0 FC Augsburg
Kaiserslautern 0-1 Bayern Munich
TSG Hoffenheim 0-1 Werder Bremen
Schalke 04 4-1 Borussia Monchengladbach
Hamburg SV 1-1 Cologne
Hertha Berlin 0-0 VfB Stuttgart
Freiburg 2-1 VfL Wolfsburg
Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 Borussia Dortmund
Hannover 96 2-2 Mainz

[orion523]

League Table
August 31st, 2011

Bundesliga Table
TEAM	GP	W	D	L	PTS
1. Bayern Munich	4	4	0	0	12
2. Borussia Dortmund	4	3	1	0	10
3. Werder Bremen	4	3	1	0	10
4. Hannover 96	4	3	1	0	10
5. VfB Stuttgart	4	2	1	1	7
6. Bayer Leverkusen	4	1	3	0	6
7. VfL Wolfsburg	4	2	0	2	6
8. Cologne	4	1	2	1	5
9. Schalke 04	4	1	2	1	5
10. Freiburg	4	1	2	1	5
11. Mainz	4	0	4	0	4
12. Hamburg SV	4	1	1	2	4
13. Hertha Berlin	4	1	1	2	4
14. TSG Hoffenheim	4	1	0	3	3
15. Nurnberg	4	1	0	3	3
16. Kaiserslautern	4	1	0	3	3
17. FC Augsburg	4	0	1	3	1
18. Borussia Monchengladbach	4	0	0	4	0

[orion523]

August 31, 2011

Back Door Deal Sends Holtby To Leverkusen, Stevens Furious!

Gelsenkirchen- Hoping to go into deadline day with a huge amount of leverage, Schalke Manager Huub Stevens was stunned to find that disgruntled midfielder Lewis Holtby was sold overnight in a back door deal between the Schalke supervisory board and the board of Bayer Leverkusen. Although details of the deal were not announced, Stevens was furious as he left a heated meeting with club executives, calling the sale "a betrayal of the highest order" as he stormed off to the club's training ground to meet with his players. Later in the morning, a visibly agitated Stevens announced the sale to the media saying only that he was granted an additional eleven million Euros from the sale and that he would use those funds to hopefully bring in a suitable replacement. When asked if he ultimately approved the sale, Stevens cryptically replied "The lad was sold and I wish him the best, he is a very smart young man you know."