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The time was too short, he could hardly influence, the team was bad again: Schalke’s interim coach Huub Stevens was not to be envied
Source: AFP / LEON KUEGELER
Even a “coach of the century” does not work miracles – Schalke also loses with Huub Stevens. The defeat against Bielefeld has further increased the team’s difficulties in relegation. How the move to the 2nd division can still be averted remains a mystery.
Dhe leaden time never ends for Schalke 04. Even one day after Huub Stevens took over responsibility for the Royal Blues for the fourth time in his coaching career, S04 suffered another major setback. With the 0: 1 (0: 0) against Arminia from Bielefeld, who is also threatened with relegation, the miners have now been in the league for 29 games without any success. The last win came on January 17th with a 2-0 win over Gladbach.
The hoped-for initial spark for catching up also fizzled out with the cult coach on the bench. With a mere four points after 13 games, Schalke’s chances of staying in the league are now vanishingly slim. The team of Arminen trainer Uwe Neuhaus, on the other hand, brings enormous relief and new hope in the relegation battle.
Stevens was – despite the disappointing result – combative after the game. One must continue to uphold hope and faith. “There is no other way,” emphasized the 67-year-old. And added: “I know that it was difficult and that it will be even more difficult now.” The former national player and Sky expert Didi Hamann, on the other hand, sees the royal blue future completely black. “That they get 20 points in the second half of the season,” said the 47-year-old, “I don’t have the imagination. That’s why they’re now the number one relegation candidate for me. ”
The first shock for Schalke after a quarter of an hour
Whether the short-term installation by Stevens will lead to a longer commitment remains questionable. The coach emphasized that he wanted to “spend Christmas and New Year’s Eve with family at home”. The league starts again on January 2nd. In any case, Stevens had promised his wife Toos, 63, and his children Maikel, 38, and Laura, 34, in mid-2019 to give up their stressful job for good. Especially since Schalke’s “coach of the century”, who won the Uefa Cup in 1997 with the legendary “Eurofighters”, had made an ideal career end 18 months ago: As an interim emergency helper, he had managed his club to stay in the league.
“The blue and white heart is still beating”
Schalke’s coach of the century has returned from retirement to save the club. For Huub Stevens, an absolute matter of the heart.
Quelle: Stats Perform News
Despite all the counter-arguments, however, the “Knurrer from Kerkrade” gave in to the pressure of the Schalke bosses to swap his seat on the supervisory board for the coaching bench. “My blue and white heart is still beating,” said Stevens when he was introduced as the successor to Manuel Baum, who was on leave, “I couldn’t say no.”
In one-on-one conversations before the game, Stevens (“No fun, no performance”) tried to clear blockades from his professionals. The Dutchman made little tactical changes. Schalke played in the formation with a defensive back four, which Baum had recently given. Including the typical Stevens announcement: “The zero must be”. With 35 goals against in twelve games before, an understandable demand.
Since Bielefeld also only ventured cautiously out of the defensive order, there were hardly any dangerous penalty area scenes in the initial phase. Schalke and Stevens had to digest a shock after a quarter of an hour: The captain and central midfielder Omar Mascarell had to leave the field injured.
The guests had the first good chance after a mess in the Schalke penalty area. However, Gebauer forgave from ten meters (19th minute). It went on bumpy and bumpy. After an offside hit (30th), Bielefeld’s Córdova had the lead in the second attempt, but he hit the ball on the post (45th).
Schalke’s first chance came after a mistake by Bielefeld’s keeper Ortega, who parried a shot from Boujellab that Brunner accidentally almost poked into his own goal (47th). Shortly afterwards the lead for the now more dominant guests, Fabian Klos hit with a head to make it 1-0 (54th). Bielefeld then remained in the established order, Schalke could no longer find any means against it.
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