Schalke have been an ever-present in the top-flight of German football since the 1991/92 season and in nine of those campaigns, the club have finished in the top three positions.
However, following back-to-back bottom half of the table finishes in the previous two seasons, Schalke’s Bundesliga status is under threat. Former Tottenham Hotspur manager, Christian Gross, has been tasked with saving the club from relegation.
Gross has never really had much success outside of Switzerland and hasn’t managed in Europe for almost a decade, so there are questions as to whether he is the right man for the job. Gross has managed in German before with Stuttgart, where he guided the club to the Europa League.
However, he was sacked within a year following a run of six defeats in games that left Stuttgart bottom of the table. During his short spell in Germany, Gross achieved a win ratio of 55.56% and Schalke fans will be hoping he can do a similar short-term job at their club.
Schalke have one of the best stadiums in the country. The Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen holds over 62,000 spectators and the club is one of the most successful in German football.
Schalke have won 15 trophies, including seven league titles, five German Cups, one League Cup, one Super Cup and the Europa League. Only Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich have won more trophies than Schalke.
The club has come close to winning an eighth top division title on numerous occasions during the 2000s, finishing as runners-up in 2001, 2005, 2007, 2010 and even as recently as 2018.
Schalke are also renowned for producing top quality players with the likes of Manuel Neuer, Joel Matip, Julian Draxler, Mesut Ozil, Iikay Gundogan, Leroy Sane, and Weston McKennie all developing through the youth ranks.
All those players have come and gone, and the current squad are letting down the reputation of this famous club. With 16 games of the 2020/21 campaign gone, Schalke sit bottom of the Bundesliga table with a terrible goal difference of -29. No team has conceded more goals than Schalke this season (42) and only newly-promoted Bielefeld have scored fewer goals.
Striker Mark Uth has disappointed with just 2-goals in 12 starts, but teenage American forward Matthew Hoppe is one of the rare shining lights in the side. Hoppe has scored 4-goals in six appearances in the Bundesliga this season and, please excuse the pun, the club’s hope might rest on his young shoulders.
Big clubs with history of their own such as Stuttgart, Hamburg and Cologne has all suffered relegation from the Bundesliga in recent seasons. It looks like Schalke will be the next famous side to drop out of the top-flight unless their performances change drastically under Christian Gross.
Some famous clubs have struggled to return to the Bundesliga after suffering relegation and there are now a few famous sides plying their trade in Germany’s third tier, lets hope Schalke don’t end up like that.
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