Liga Total! Schalke vs. Hamburg SV
By: Shane |
1 Comment
Pre-season games can often be boring as each side struggles with fitness and decides to take it easy. Fortunately, this was not one of those games. Remember for the Liga Total! Cup halves are only 30 minutes and if tied at the end of 60 minutes it goes straight to penalties. Magath elected to go with a 4-2-3-1, which I think is the best line-up we can work with right now.
————————————————Schober————————————————–
—–Uchida———————-Howedes———Metzelder—————————-Hao——-
————————————Kluge————-Rakitic—————————————
—-Farfan———————————–Baumjohann—————————-Edu———–
———————————————-Raul—————————————————–
This was the rough formation, but as expected Rakitic was moving forward far more than Kluge, and Raul was tracking back frequently to assist in building up the attack making Edu and Farfan higher up than him. The first half was a dominant performance in all but the scoreline: 1-0 Hamburg. Metzelder had a very poor back pass to Schober that was not near strong enough and Ruud “the Horse Face” just beat Schober to it and then finished into an empty net. Couple of alarm bells started ringing there since Magath has bet the farm on Metzelder/Howedes as the CB pairing and they don’t have much back-up besides the 18 year old Papadouolos and a bunch of DM’s who could play CB.
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Category: Schalke Team News
Raul’s Arrival and Foreshadowings
By: Shane | 6 Comments
Raul was officially unveiled on Wednesday. Again, it can’t be stated enough how huge this is for our team and the league. He’s a superstar, but one of the few who is all about the team and will be an awesome role model for younger players. He’s a godsend in the locker room. I can’t wait to watch him play.
Here are some interesting thoughts Felix Magath had to say about Raul and future transfer targets:
“We’re still on the look-out for more reinforcements because Raul obviously needs the right support for his style of play. I’m not going to get involved in speculation about names. What I can say is that a striker is right at the top of our wish list. We’re also trying to get a midfielder and a defender. As his arrival has been in the offing for several weeks, I’ve been thinking about our system for quite a while. We definitely won’t play the way we did last season. In our pre-season friendlies there have been signs that we have come on in 
footballing terms. Because one thing is certain – we want to offer our fans more attractive football than we have been doing.”
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Category: Schalke Team NewsRaul kommt….?
By: Shane | 8 Comments
I woke up Monday morning like a 5 year old on Christmas morning with the firm belief that the second I pulled up the news I would see blaring across the main headline “Raul to Schalke!” Instead, I was left with the feeling that some evil Santa Claus wandered in just as I was pouncing on the presents to snatch them away and say “Nope. You have to wait a few more days…or perhaps forever!” The forever is a bit worrisome as Raul did say he will be in “Germany or England” next season. Woa, now! Where’d this England business come in? Supposedly it is those vile Tottenham Hot Spurs with their 9 strikers who for no reason want another. Well, I wouldn’t put much credence into this England business. Here’s a long winded explanation why you should still be utterly confident he’s coming to Schalke:
I should’ve known better but Monday was a day for Raul to say good bye to Madrid. A club he has played with since 1994. He’s one of those very few superstars who has been with 1 club for near the entirety of their career. He loves that club, it is his home, his pride and joy. And the club loves him from the fans to the board to management to the groundskeepers. This was not a day to announce where he is leaving to. It was a day of farewells.
Thus, when put on the spot by the ever prying media of where he was off to, he didn’t want to get into a line of questioning where people were asking about Schalke and why he decided there and what he thinks of Germany and blah blah blah. So to avoid it he left it nice and open ended to not detract from what was a farewell ceremony.
Fortunately, a nice little sighting has in my mind confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that he will be announced in several days:
Raul’s wife shopping in Dusseldorf.
Sometimes those stalkers at Bild can be very helpful. Now, if your wife is shopping with your 7 month old child in Germany, not far from Gelsenkirchen, I think it is a done deal where you are going. The rumored deal is for 2 years and after that Raul would return to Real Madrid in some kind of club official role. The salary per year seems to be 6 million euros.
Huge signing for the Bundesliga. Enormous signing for Schalke. In the hopes of not making too big an embarrassment out of myself if this deal doesn’t actually happen I’ll save discussions about where Raul will play/fit into the line-up for when the deal actually happens.
Category: Schalke Team NewsWestermann Headed North
By: Shane | 9 Comments
Official today Heiko Westermann has left for Hamburg SV for a fee of 7.5 mil euros. At first glance this looks to be a shocking and bizarre transfer. This may surprise people since he looks a lot older due to the receding hairline, but Westermann is only 26. He was already our captain and before this summer looked like a club staple for the next half a decade. And now we’ve sold him to a major league rival. Magath gave his depressing thoughts on the transfer:
“We’re definitely going to miss him. He has a very good attitude, always trains well and has done a lot for the team as captain. If the financial situation at the club were better, there would never have been any question of him leaving.”
I’m sure there is a lot of truth to what Magath said, but there’s also plenty of psychology layered within. All summer Felix has been downplaying expectations for the coming season by bemoaning the lack of funds, cautioning how difficult it is to compete in 3 competitions, lamenting the quality of the squad. He’s come right out and said that no one should expect nearly as successful a season as last year. To me this is all for the sake of a) covering himself with an excuse in case it is a poor season; and b) making Schalke appear weak to their rivals. This last point is the main one. He doesn’t want to be seen as a favorite and title contender by the media and other teams. He’d still like to sneak up on teams a bit and play at being weak when we’re really not. This Westermann transfer supports that theory, but more importantly the reason this appears to most people as a big loss for us, but really isn’t is as follows:
1. Losing Westermann as captain is nothing. Now it will go to Neuer who will be equally as good at leadership and also the captaincy will give loyalty points with him so we can hope Bayern doesn’t snatch him up after this season.
2. We have a ton of CB and DM cover. Almost the entire roster can play DM and at CB there is ample back-up as well.
3. Westermann was never going to be a consistent starter this season, partly because he doesn’t have a position locked down. Sometimes he plays DM and sometimes CB. His preference is for CB, but with Metzelder coming it is clearly going to be Metzelder/Howedes as the starters. The risk now is if Metzelder can’t stay healthy. At DM we have Jermaine Jones returning from injury. Westermann isn’t that great of a DM anyways. We already have Kluge, Matip, Rakitic, Moritz (and a lot more I could list) who can play there and I’d have to say Westermann would probably be 3rd in the DM pecking order. Tough to have your captain sitting on the bench a lot.
4. Westermann was one of two players (other is Rafinha) on our roster who could be sold for A) a good amount of money; B) don’t have a definite place or long-term future in our team; and C) aren’t youngsters with a ton of potential. Westermann just wasn’t that essential to the squad to outweigh 7.5 million euros.
I wish we could have sold him to Sunderland earlier in the summer as they had made a similar offer, but it looks like Heiko had no desire to play there. My main gripe about this deal is that it improves Hamburg a lot.
The above isn’t a knock on Westermann, it is just viewing the transfer from a purely economical and team perspective. I wish Heiko the best of luck and I appreciate all he has done for Schalke. Here’s some highlights showcasing his goal scoring prowess to see him off!
Category: Schalke Team NewsTransfer Update Bonanza!
By: Shane | 1 Comment
Apparently, the board has actually handed Magath 30 million Euros for transfers so it seems it is far above just the funds from CL qualification that I had mentioned previously. Originally, I wanted to break this into just 2 posts, but in the hopes of not splurging too much info all at once I’m going to only discuss “transfers in” and potential future transfers today. Then we can tackle who has left or been loaned next.
Transfers In:
Metzelder – The veteran CB comes on a free for a 3 year deal. Lots of past big game experience from the National team and Real Madrid. The problem of course is that he’s barely played for Madrid and after EURO 2008 has been out of the National team. Injury problems were part of the issue but also his form just wasn’t good enough. He’s an X-factor. Could be a flop or could be great. With Bordon moving to Qatar, Metzelder is supposed to be his main replacement. In pre-season matches he has been paired with Howedes consistently at CB and they have frequently been given the full 90 minutes. Unclear what will happen when Westermann is fully fit again.
Atsuto Uchida - Originally, I thought this was a direct replacement for Rafinha who I was certain would be leaving this summer. Surprisingly, talk of Rafinha moving has been virtually nil, except for some mild rumors to Hamburg. We should really cash in on him as his contract ends June 30, 2011 and I can’t see him or us wanting to extend. Anyways, Uchida is completely a right back (not one of those “well, he’s a right winger who could also play right back”). He comes from Kashima Antlers who seems to win the J-League consistently. He’s 22, was at the World Cup for Japan (although he did not play), and is very motivated about learning the language and acclimating himself to Germany. He decided to forego the 3 weeks vacation he could have taken following the World Cup and come straight to training. I’m really rooting for him to do well. The difference in attitude between him and Rafinha is about a mile wide, but we’ll see soon what the difference in play is. The J-League is a real enigma to me in terms of quality. We’ve seen Hasebe do well in the BL and Edu has been alright. Of related interest is another Japanese player, Kagawa, going to rivals Dortmund.
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Category: Schalke Team NewsImmer Blau!
By: Shane | 9 Comments
First post to start up a fresh Schalke blog. There have been a lot of happenings this summer. Tons of roster activity and some management shuffling to boot! Let’s break down the busy transfer window thus far as we prepare for a 3 fronted campaign in the coming year. I’m going to split this up into two posts as the amount of moves warrants it.
Our Biggest Transfer
Sorry to disapoint, but it’s not a player. It’s Horst Heldt from Stuttgart who will be on our managing board “officially” in charge of sport and marketing, but expect him to be involved in player transfers a lot. And if getting him wasn’t a big enough prize we didn’t have to pay them a fee to pry him away, even though they tried to make a big stink about it. Heldt is an old pal of Magath’s from his time at Stuttgart and Magath has been trying to bring him along wherever he’s went since. He tried unsuccessfully to get him to Wolfsburg a few years ago, but now he’s got him at Schalke. Heldt’s track record speaks for itself as Stuttgart played in a European competition in every year he was with them as well as helping them to their league title in 2007. It’s always good when the person’s former boss has this to say about them leaving:
“This is the deepest disapointment in my 7 years in office. When I heard about it I was furious. The whole board is angered. I have never had a bad word to say about him.”
– Stuttgart President Erwin Staudt
You can see Heldt taking a “pleasant” farewell call from Stuttgart to the left. I’m sure they wished him the “best of luck.”
The big implications of this move are that it gives a strong signal that Magath is entrenching himself in Schalke and hopefully is here to stay for a long time. I had a mild moment of concern when his name was being tossed around for the Hamburg vacancy back in May. Fortunately for us the Dino’s opted for just about the most uninspiring choice possible in Armin Veh, who looks like he should have starred as the villain in a James Bond flick. Now with Magath being placed on the managing board and bringing in the man he most wanted, Heldt, I feel a lot more comfortable believing Magath is here for the long haul. There’s no other large, Bundesliga club where he can be this adored by the fans and have this much power. His only complaint can be over the amount of funds he has to spend on transfers. This also has good news associated with it because Magath and chairman Tönnies met and at least publicly announced yesterday the funds secured from CL qualification can 100% be used to bolster the squad. How much is that exactly? Well, somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 million euros. Not staggering, but still a nice sum to play with.
Back to Heldt, the last major impact of this news is that with the addition of Champions League this year we really needed another capable person to take the load off of Magath. We also know that we’re not running into a situation where the club’s management goes out and buys a player that the trainer didn’t even want, which you often see at other clubs. Heldt and Magath will definitely be in sync with each other.
Next time we’ll actually get into the player movements in and out.
Category: Schalke Team Newslate goal brings disappointing year to an end with a loss
By: Porter | 1 Comment
Schalke supporters will be please to see this season finally come to an end. “Fittingly” the terrible season, the lowest place finish of the decade, ended with a disappointing 3-2 loss to Hoffenheim in Gelsenkirchen.
Die Königsblauen fell behind 1-0 four minutes perform the hour as Demba Ba turned in Carlos Eduardo’s cross. The goal came after Hoffenheim ‘keeper Timo Hildebrand had denied Schalke twice in the early stages of the day. However at the strike of the half hour there was no stopping Mladen Krstajić as he headed-in Ivan Rakitić’s corner from the right. Only four minutes later Benedikt Höwedes surged into the box before crossing to Jefferson Farfán for a close range finish. Despite controlling the majority of possession, Hoffenheim brought the match level again as Carlos Eduardo dipped a free-kick over the wall in. However Schalke’s hope for finishing off outside of the loss column ended as Rafinha was adjudged to bringing down Fabrício in the area and Eduardo converted from the spot.
With the disappointing year behind them, Schalke can now step forward under the confident leadership of Felix Magath. There is a number of changes likely on the horizon though and based upon the new coaches resume, the future bodes well for the club.
New blogger needed: If you’re interested in taking over Hoffenheim Offside, give the application guidelines a read and then send an email to daryl[at]theoffside[dot]com
Category: Schalke Team NewsSchalke makes Berliners life miserable
By: Porter | 1 Comment
Schalke stymied Hertha BSC in route to a nil draw at the Olympiastadion, thus killing off the Berliners chances for the Bundesliga title. With chances for European football long since over by Schalke it was a superb display of playing for pride and one to make all fans proud.
With Heiko Westermann and Halil Altintop back in the lineup, Schalke was focused in returning from their journey to the capital with a point. Complete ball possession dominated the proceeding as Schalke limited the the home sides efforts. However that isn’t to say they didn’t have their chances, most notably with Marko Pantelić consistently denied by “man of the match”, Schalke ‘keeper Manuel Neuer. On the opposite end, Schalke’s efforts were pinned back most notably with Pál Dárdai and Serbian international Gojko Kačar keeping advances in-check. Just before the hour mark Andriy Voronin came in for Hertha but there was no way through as the match ended without a score.
Schalke’s season comes to a close next Saturday against Hoffenheim at home in Gelsenkirchen with of-course many changes to come in the summer.
Category: Schalke Team Newslate goal beats Schalke
By: Porter | Add Comments
Schalke’s chances for European football ended as they lost 1-0 to Borussia Mönchengladbach. The second loss in a row leaves the club six points behind Dortmund with time quickly running out.
The loss was frustrating as Gladbach were unable to pose an attacking threat for the majority of the match. With the Gladback on their heels, Schalke pushed forward and were effectively in a practice ground exercise trying to break through eleven men behind the ball. After being unable to find their way through Gladbach was gift wrapped a chance from the spot twenty-two minutes in as Rafinha was adjudged to bringing Alexander Baumjohann down in the area. However Manuel Neuer stopped Marko Marin’s attempt and the match remained even. The well organized Schalke side attacked consistently but with each advance, finishing was off. In one of the most common threads of the sport, missing opportunities come back to haunt you and just as the match looked to be headed for a draw Gladbach’s veterans stepped up. Called by many as too old to have an impact when he joined Gladback in January Tomáš Galásek has consistantly been the glue to maintain a tough defending stance. The thirty-six year old Czech sent a long clearance to Oliver Neuville, who then provided Roberto Colautti the ball with striker drilling the ball to the back of the net for the win.
Category: Schalke Team NewsThe appointment of Felix Magath
By: Porter | 2 Comments
Schalke’s announcement last week that Wolfsburg’s Felix Magath has agreed to take the role of general manager and head coach has been heralded by many as the clubs chance to rebuild its stature in European football.
Via the club web-site supervisory board chairman Clemens Tönnies said of the appointment:
“We’re delighted he’s decided to join us. He is the top-class solution I said we would present. His appointment is a major success for us in the footballing area.
He has the necessary authority and expertise to do the job. It may even be the model for the future.”
While the hiring was heavily rumoured it still came with a number of surprising sub-plots, mostly to do with the new man’s discussion of “money” being the motivating factor. Given that Wolfsburg is owned by automobile manufacturer Volkswagen and is prudently trying to manage its business affairs through the difficult financial climate, a number of questions have been raised by the clubs intentions to spend with the top clubs in Europe to attract new talent as well as pay Edin Džeko the amounts needed to keep him. If this influenced Magath’s decision it is also interesting to note that Schalke is intending to reduce its own salary budget by upwards of €10m.
So what precisely does the new leader to bring to Schalke and is he merely making the move to Gelsenkirchen for his own salary demands? No doubt he is one of the best coaches in the Bundesliga today and has amassed a tremendous record of success but how will it impact the clubs development program of domestic talent remains to be seen. While I expect the results will come under Magath, I don’t for a second believe he will live and breathe for the success of the Königsblauen. And as sure as can be, when someone offers more money he’ll be gone as quick as can be because he’s also proven that also.
Category: Schalke Team News
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