Once a “fighting pig”, now sports director: Marc Wilmots Image: dpa
He was once revered as a “fighting pig” “at” Schalke. As sports director, Marc Wilmots is now supposed to finally help the ailing Revier club recover. But the problems run deep.
Memories are a pretty relevant force in football, and so some older FC Schalke 04 supporters will have warmed their hearts when Marc Wilmots was appointed as their new sporting director last week. Wilmots is not only a cult player for the Revierklub, he is not only the man who completed the greatest success in the club’s history, the UEFA Cup victory in 1997, with his converted penalty against Inter Milan and created the happiest football moment in the lives of many supporters.
With his shirt-sleeves and his Flemish language, the 54-year-old Belgian is also reminiscent of the legendary successful coach Huub Stevens: “I don’t want Schalke 04 to die,” says Wilmots. There is no doubt that a sports director who not only knows the club but has taken it to his heart is taking on responsibility here.
