DAt FC Schalke 04, they lost faith in the god of football long ago. The great Rudi Assauer himself, as manager, ordered this special form of atheism for the royal blue fan base after the dramatically missed championship in 2001. And yet even today there sometimes seems to be some higher power at play when the footballers of this club perform their very special dramas.
As in the vital 2-1 win against VfB Stuttgart on Saturday evening, which was not only held in an enchanting stadium atmosphere. There was a subtle irony to the story of the evening, as if some creative spirit was at play.
Schalke hadn’t scored a single goal for weeks, and the lack of striker talent and quality was a constant issue in Gelsenkirchen. And now Marius Bülter scored a goal to make it 2-0 in the meantime, which was more complicated than any other goal that was scored on this Bundesliga Saturday: an artful shot with the heel into the far corner, which in its beauty also seemed amazingly simple.
The limits of tolerability
In addition, Ralf Fährmann pursued the intention of maintaining the myth of his own invincibility after four duels that ended 0-0 in Schalke goal. Until a completely harmless ball slipped through his legs to make it 2:1; neutral viewers could only laugh. For all Schalke, the final phase of the game became a showdown, the thrill of which reached the limits of what was bearable.
All of Schalke’s hopes, fears, weaknesses and strengths became visible after Borna Sosa’s next goal as if under a magnifying glass, before the big message finally came out: Nothing is reliable, everything is possible at this crazy football location, including staying in the class. “We’re number one in the pot” sang the fans, taking the contradiction game to the extreme; after all, arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund had taken first place in the table by beating TSG Hoffenheim three hours earlier, and Schalke are still bottom of the table behind VfL Bochum.
But the usual evaluation mechanisms are irrelevant under the influence of the magic that the Stuttgart Sosa had also felt. “There might be a bit of fear because the atmosphere was very, very strong,” said the Croatian, and VfB goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow explained: “They bought our guts, they were just more poisonous than us, they had more grip, they started with a completely different intensity.”
Special connection with the fans
That was the translation of Schalke’s successful forces into football language. In fact, the difference in energy was spectacular in this relegation duel, especially in the first half. “Something was created there,” said Bülter, not just referring to the greatly improved quality of football, which has a lot to do with the skills of central defender Moritz Jenz, who was loaned out by Celtic Glasgow in the winter. And with Rodrigo Zalazar’s return and Alex Kral’s form, everyone feels that they can’t finish the season here like they could in Hoffenheim or Augsburg.
Stabilizes the Schalke defense: Moritz Jenz
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Image: dpa
There’s that special connection with the fans who, after a staggering 6-1 loss to RB Leipzig, aggressively demanded commitment and dedication, and the players seem to have gotten through that. The team doesn’t have to be particularly great at football, but “every opponent at least has to break the fucking lawn”, a speaker from the Ultras circle had demanded at the time.
After this victory, a demanding speech was held again, after all, two district derbies are imminent. This form of exchange is a balancing act because it is not so long ago that the players were said to have been chased through the arena and even beaten by people from the fan environment after relegation in 2021. But for now the connection works. “It is now that we have put ourselves in a good starting position,” said coach Thomas Reis.
The fear of losing something
Next Saturday, Schalke can overtake their rivals from the neighboring city in the small derby at VfL Bochum on their own, before BVB visit Gelsenkirchen the following week. It can be taken for granted that this vibrant energy, which was created against VfB Stuttgart under the closed roof of the soccer hall, will be effective again. The team “left their hearts on the pitch,” said Fährmann, “everyone who was in the stadium got goosebumps today.”
In the meantime, the small winning streak with now five games without defeat has also strengthened self-confidence. “The last few weeks have given us a lot of strength,” said midfielder Tom Krauss, and Schalke are actually playing football again on an equal footing with the competition. However, and the game against VfB also showed that, the enormous emotionality in the club has a downside. When the team “had it in their heads again that they could lose something” after the connecting goal, Reis said they lost courage and sovereignty. And that’s likely to happen to the team more often over the coming weeks.
