FC Schalke 04 disappointed in the game in Hoffenheim and is bottom of the table again. Internal criticism is loud, and there is an emergency meeting on the bus. The first players call for a final before the basement duel with Hertha BSC.
TGoalkeeper Ralf Fährmann didn’t fuss at all after the sobering Sunday evening in the Sinsheim stadium and spoke of an upcoming final in the relegation battle. “I never really said that, but I think on Friday — that’s one,” he said. And what can FC Schalke 04 take with them from the 0: 2 (0: 1) at fellow competitor TSG 1899 Hoffenheim to the next, even more explosive game between the bottom of the table and the penultimate Hertha BSC in the Bundesliga? “The mood of the fans, that’s all,” said the 34-year-old.
After an intermediate high, the second defeat in a row catapulted the Gelsenkircheners to where they had been for a long time: all the way down in the table cellar. Coach Thomas Reis said dryly in the press conference: “We don’t need to look back, there’s no team.”
Schalke coach Thomas Reis chose clear words after the defeat in Hoffenheim
Source: AP/Martin Meissner
Unlike the Schalke team, the Gelsenkirchen fan power demanded a lot of respect even from the Hoffenheim supporters – and a remarkable irony. “Away win! Away win!” chanted the home crowd after the final whistle, and even the stadium announcer blew deeply after TSG’s third success in a row: “That was really a very important away win at home against Schalke.”
But even an estimated 15,000 loud Royal Blues could not roar to victory. “We just couldn’t do it. That hurts. We knew how important the game was, what an opportunity we had to climb the table,” said striker Marius Bülter in a DAZN interview after the next setback in the fight to stay in the class. Fährmann was also self-critical with his team: “All in all, it wasn’t a good game from us.”
Knäbel rides in the team bus
Peter Knäbel had a similar experience. After the game, the sports board decided not to make the almost four-hour drive home to Gelsenkirchen (360 kilometers) in a private car, but instead to take the bus with the team. The trip quickly became a crisis meeting. “We’ll do the analysis there,” Reis announced before departure.
Before the next important challenge on Friday against Hertha (8.30 p.m., in the WELT sports ticker), Schalke, who are now five points behind VfL Bochum in the first safe non-relegation zone, are one point behind the Berliners. VfB Stuttgart, which is on the relegation place, is two points away.
Nevertheless, after the final whistle, the visiting fans waved their flags almost halfway across the stadium as the players trotted into their corner with their heads bowed and thanked them for their support. Schalke booked two goals from aluminum and scored once – but through Alex Král (22nd minute) into their own goal. In addition, the guests had to accept a penalty from Ihlas Bebou (70th) in front of 30,150 spectators in the sold-out arena. Fährmann saved the first penalty, but the attempt was repeated because he was in front of the line.
Schalke’s coach became clear after the end of the game. “When you talk about the relegation battle, I’ve only seen one team that invested in it and that was Hoffenheim. That was absolutely not enough. The first half was not worthy of the relegation battle. It was underground today. We’re working this up. I believe that few can claim to have come close to their performance if I take Ralf Fährmann out,” criticized Reis, who was “very disappointed and also appalled” by his team’s performance in the first half. Over 90 minutes it was not a performance that was enough to stay up. “Even if the defeat hurts, now is the time to keep going. We have a very important game on Friday that we definitely want to win, and maybe we have to, in order to stay in the race.”
Bülter warned: “It’s only possible if we stick together – the fans showed that after the game.” Hoffenheim’s coach Pellegrino Matarazzo also registered “an amazing number of flags” from the opponent, but said after the attempt at conquest, which was at least sportily averted, as before the game: “It will always be our stadium.” His defender Kevin Vogt had to laugh at the “away win” shouts from the TSG fans: “I thought that was crazy.”
