It wasn’t just FC Schalke 04’s bank account that was a worrying sight after being relegated to the second division last year, but also the parking lot of the football professionals at the stadium. Suddenly there were very ordinary cars that no player would have dared to drive in the lavish previous years – because they would have attracted almost unpleasant attention next to all the souped-up sports cars and flagship sedans.
In the meantime, Schalke is first class again and therefore one or the other extravagant model can be found in the special parking area, including a bright yellow rocket vehicle with Czech license plates, which is believed to be transporting the Czech national player Alex Král. The 24-year-old midfielder was previously under contract with Spartak Moscow and was on loan to West Ham United in the European Cup semi-finals last season. A professional with such career data usually costs not inconsiderable maintenance.
So what?, the old Schalke would have said and reached into the cash register. The new Schalke, however, feels compelled to distance itself from this club tradition. Schalke had to improvise when converting the second division squad to the first division squad because they no longer want to spend money that they don’t have.
In the 2-2 win against Gladbach, he was involved in both goals conceded – and distributed balls with care
The fact that Král is still working in Gelsenkirchen has to do with the circumstances: he no longer wanted to play in Moscow because of the Ukraine war, Fifa opened the way for him to a free transfer with a special rule. Schalke were able to offer him an attractive position as a regular, which he appreciated after spending a year on the bench at West Ham, and it was also an advantage that he already knew the men who spoke to him so well: manager Rouven Schröder and chief scout André Hechelmann had already been in contact with Král at Mainz 05 when he was still playing for FK Teplice and Slavia Prague. The contract with Král is limited to one year, after which he is – at least formally – an employee of Spartak again. A return to Moscow or a move to another, more solvent club is conceivable, which may include the pain of leaving Schalke.
Alex Král played his third competitive game for Schalke in Saturday night’s colorful 2-2 draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach, and coach Frank Kramer doubly stunned the crowd by judging the Czech boss “did a decent job”. Some were surprised by the statement because they had seen that Král was involved in both goals conceded. The others because they realized he had done more than just “neatly” the middle of the game.
Correct statement: Schalke coach Frank Kramer said that Alex Král “did a decent job”.
(Photo: Kröger/Nordphoto/Imago)
In fact, both were true: at 1-1 he missed the moment to hit the ball, and at 1-2 he failed to clear the way for goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow so that he didn’t – as happened – miss the ball. Above all, his ability to pass the ball forward with care and to use the offensive teammates Zalazar, Mohr and Bülter was evident. Král is a player who takes the initiative and has enough qualities to be happily immortalized in Schalke’s memory like his compatriot Jiri Nemec (1993 – 2002). However, the newcomer does not master his specialty, total silence, he is considered lively and talkative.
Král could play an important role as midfield authority-designate in the battle for relegation, but that could one day be a dilemma, as the reunion with Ko Itakura showed. The 25-year-old Japanese had played a significant role in the resurgence last year and made himself almost as popular as Nemec once was. Now, however, Itakura was on the other side and put in an excellent performance in the Gladbach defense center.
While Schalke was not able to pay the fixed transfer fee of six million euros to Manchester City in the summer because then there would hardly have been any money left for further reinforcements, the still solidly financed Borussia could take advantage. Of course, Schalke 04 don’t want to remain a stopover for top players – but for the time being they have to accept the role. Král’s rocket vehicle may be in a different parking lot next year.
