117-465: Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V. , commonly known as Schalke 04 ( German: [ˌʃalkə nʊl ˈfiːɐ̯] ), and abbreviated as S04 ( German: [ˈɛs nʊl fiːɐ̯] ), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen , North Rhine-Westphalia . It is best known for its football team, which plays in the 2. Bundesliga , the second tier of
234-501: A "partnership agreement"; both clubs intended to work closely on improving football-related issues. On 13 April 2008, the club announced the dismissal of manager Mirko Slomka after a heavy defeat at the hands of Werder Bremen and elimination from the Champions League. Former players Mike Büskens and Youri Mulder were put in charge of the first team on an interim basis. For the 2008–09 Bundesliga season , Schalke signed
351-467: A ' shamateur ' basis using side jobs, either real or fabricated, to facilitate payment. The FA espoused the ideal of amateurism promoted by the likes of Corinthian F.C. from whom the phrase "Corinthian Spirit" came into being. The differences between the amateur idealists from southern England and the increasingly professionalised teams from northern industrial towns came to a head in 1884. After Preston North End won an FA Cup match against Upton Park ,
468-524: A 1–6 loss against RB Leipzig on match day 17, the club noticeably improved, especially in the defense. Between match days 18 and 21, Schalke played 0–0 four times in a row, a new Bundesliga record. The following two matches were won, and on 4 March 2023, Schalke left the last place in the table for the first time since October 2022. On 19 February 2023, four people were seriously injured when a group of about 100 people, assumed to be supporters of Schalke's rivals Rot-Weiss Essen and Borussia Dortmund , attacked
585-424: A 20–0 win against SpVgg Herten , but that spoke more to the weakened condition of German football than to the ability of the team. Schalke's play fell off, and they only finished sixth in the new Oberliga West in 1947. Within two years, they slipped to 12th place. It would take Schalke until the mid-1950s to recover their form. They finished third in a tight three-way race for the 1954 Oberliga West title, decided on
702-458: A 3–3 draw in the 93rd minute, with Dodi Lukebakio scored all three of Fortuna's goals. However, Fortuna failed to play well against clubs lower in the table, losing to Augsburg, Nürnberg and Mainz, and only managing a draw against Stuttgart. Fortuna Düsseldorf entered the mid-winter break in 14th place in the table, concoluding the first half of the season with three successive wins against Freiburg, Dortmund and Hannover. Fortuna Düsseldorf enjoyed
819-527: A better second half of the season, with away wins over Augsburg, Hertha Berlin and one of their best performances in recent times, in a 0–4 win at Schalke 04. A 4–1 win at home to Werder Bremen and a 3–1 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach were highlights at home, whilst other home wins over VfB Stuttgart, Nürnberg and a final day defeat of Hannover 96 ensured a 10th-place finish in the Bundesliga. This achieved Fortuna Düsseldorf's highest league finish since
936-703: A common occurrence among Lancashire clubs. In 1880, a dispute began between the FA and Bolton Wanderers (founded in 1874), who had unofficially offered professional terms to Scottish players. Scottish players who played in England professionally were known as the Scotch Professors . The subject remained a heated one through the 1880s, directly or indirectly involving many other clubs besides Bolton. Their neighbours, Blackburn Rovers (founded in 1875) and Darwen (founded in 1870) had also signed Scottish players on
1053-490: A competitive rivalry with the Bavarians. Although Düsseldorf has not mounted a serious challenge for the Bundesliga championship since the early 1970s, matches between Fortuna and FC Bayern have been fiercely contested. In a 1975 match, Bayern led at halftime 4–2, but Fortuna came back to win 6–#5. On 9 December 1978, Fortuna defeated FC Bayern 7–1, an outcome which, to this day, remains FC Bayern's worst-ever away loss. During
1170-483: A district level Bezirksliga title in 1927, sent its first representative to the Germany national team in 1928 ( Ernst Albrecht ), and took a second Bezirksliga title in 1929. The team continued to perform well into the 1930s, winning its third and fourth district titles en route to a Western German football championship in 1931 and its greatest success, a German football championship in 1933 against Schalke 04 , which
1287-444: A former Schalke player, as assistant coach. Baum, who had taken over from Wagner at a winless streak of 18 games, was unable to win a single Bundesliga game between the 3rd and 12th match days, and was dismissed ahead of the 13th match day against Arminia Bielefeld. Huub Stevens once again returned as head coach, beginning his fourth tenure. Baum's tenure had brought the winless streak up from 18 to 28 Bundesliga games, bringing Schalke to
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#17327720229311404-548: A goal in the fourth minute of injury time by Bayern Munich away to Hamburger SV to snatch the title from Die Königsblauen . Schalke finished in second place in 2005, a result that led to Schalke making its second appearance in the UEFA Champions League . There, Schalke finished in third place during the group stage and continuing into the UEFA Cup , where they were eliminated by the eventual winners Sevilla in
1521-415: A group of Schalke supporters with baseball bats and screwdrivers. The incident sparked fears over the upcoming derby against Dortmund. This came less than three weeks after the police had uncovered a possible plot by radical Dortmund supporters, who had tried to hide razor blades behind stickers in the stadium ahead of Dortmund's match against Mainz . In 2014, the police had warned of a similar danger ahead of
1638-557: A group with Chelsea , Sporting CP and Maribor . Later on, they played against the reigning champion Real Madrid again in the round of 16, where they lost the first leg at home 0–2, but they won 4–3 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium . After finishing sixth in the 2014–15 season , the club announced the resignation of head coach Roberto Di Matteo on 26 May 2015. Schalke 04 then played in the Europa League, in
1755-459: A heated rivalry, but direct matches have been rare in recent years. Fortuna also has inter-city rivalries with Düsseldorf SC99 and TuRU Düsseldorf, yet these have also lost their intensity. During the post-war years, no other club within the Düsseldorf city limits has ever played in a higher division than Fortuna. Because of the dominance of FC Bayern München in recent decades, Fortuna also has
1872-709: A majority of their team being made up of Scottish players. In the first season, they went undefeated both in the league and the FA Cup , which led to them being known as " the Invincibles ". The Scottish Football League launched on an amateur basis in 1890 but the nation's most famous club and founders of both the passing and international game, Queen's Park , initially refused to participate as they predicted that professionalism would follow. This suspicion proved correct, with bans issued to clubs for making payments or playing against others who had, and clear indicators that
1989-419: A multimillion-euro spending spree, allowing Schalke to acquire internationally known forwards Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Raúl . Magath's tenure at the club was initially successful, seeing the side score a lot of goals in the first few months of the season, though defensive frailties and Magath's questionable squad selection had made him unpopular with Schalke supporters by December 2010. On 16 March 2011, Magath
2106-466: A native of Neuss – took over as coach of Fortuna Düsseldorf. In his first game as coach, Funkel led the club to a 4–3 win against 1. FC Kaiserslautern, ending a month-long winless streak. Funkel's start as coach marked the beginning of a period of increased stability and success for Fortuna. At the start of the 2017–18 season, two of Fortuna's strongest performers from the previous year, goalkeeper Michael Rensing and forward Ihlas Bebou, were both lost from
2223-497: A new head coach, Fred Rutten , previously of Twente . Rutten signed a contract running until June 2010. In March 2009, Rutten was sacked, and, once more, Mike Büskens, Youri Mulder and Oliver Reck took over the helm. On 1 July 2009, Felix Magath , who had led VfL Wolfsburg to the top of the table in the Bundesliga, became head coach and general manager of the Königsblauen . The appointment of Magath as manager coincided with
2340-472: A period of generally disappointing performance. Fortuna spent the years between 2013 and 2017 in the middle of the table, often battling against relegation and rarely challenging for promotion back to the Bundesliga. During these years, the club went through a series of coaching changes, with Oliver Reck, Frank Kramer, and former player Mike Buskens among others leading the club at various points. Success however remained elusive. In March 2016, Friedhelm Funkel –
2457-727: A rival British Football Association if the FA did not permit professionalism. 18 months later the FA relented, and in July 1885 professionalism was formally legalised in England. Though English clubs employed professionals, the Scottish Football Association continued to forbid the practice, withdrawing their clubs from the FA Cup in protest against the development, temporarily in 1885 then permanently in 1887. Consequently, many Scottish players migrated southward (although it also meant they were forbidden from playing for
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#17327720229312574-601: A semi-final appearance in the 1932 German championship , losing 1–2 to Eintracht Frankfurt . The year after , the club reached the final, where Fortuna Düsseldorf proved the better side, winning 3–0. With the re-organisation of German football in 1933 under Nazi Germany , Schalke were placed in the Gauliga Westfalen , 1 of 16 top-flight divisions established to replace the innumerable regional and local leagues, all claiming top status. This league saw Schalke's most successful decade in their history: from 1933 to 1942,
2691-499: A sensational 2–1 away win at recent European Cup Winners' Cup winners Borussia Dortmund on its Bundesliga debut, Fortuna was immediately relegated, though only to return in 1971 for a stay that lasted 16 seasons and included two third-place league finishes (in 1972–73 and 1973–74 ). On 9 December 1978, Fortuna recorded a 7–1 victory against Bayern Munich, to date the highest away defeat for Bayern in its entire Bundesliga history. In addition, Fortuna continued its prosperous play in
2808-650: A sign of the club's dominance. Schalke's first national title came in 1934 with a 2–1 victory over favourites 1. FC Nürnberg . The next year , they successfully defended their title against VfB Stuttgart with a 6–4 win. The club missed the 1936 final, but would make appearances in the championship match in each of the next six years, coming away victorious in 1937 , 1939 , 1940 and 1942 . Three of those national finals were against Austrian teams – Admira Wien , Rapid Wien and First Vienna – which played in Germany's Gauliga Ostmark after Austria's incorporation into
2925-483: A single league match. The club's dominance throughout this period led them to be held up for propaganda purposes by the Nazi regime as an example of "new Germany". With Germany in chaos towards the end of World War II , Schalke played just two matches in 1945. They resumed regular play following the war and, for a few years, continued to compete as a strong side. They set a record in a national championship round match with
3042-437: A top-two finish in the 2. Bundesliga . Fans invaded the pitch in celebration. One week later Schalke won the 2. Bundesliga in dramatic fashion after a 88th-minute winner by Simon Terodde defeating 1. FC Nürnberg 2–1. At the end of the 2021–22 season , Büskens moved back to the position of assistant coach . On 7 June 2022, Schalke appointed Frank Kramer as head coach. As a result of the club's financial problems, most of
3159-437: A win between 25 January and 27 June 2020. Despite this losing streak, Wagner remained as manager, with Clemens Tönnies stepping down from his role as the chairman of Schalke's supervisory board after 19 years in service instead. Schalke started with significant difficulties into the 2020–21 season . After 8–0 and 4–0 losses away at the hands of Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig and a 1–3 loss at home against Werder Bremen, Schalke
3276-592: Is a German football club based in Düsseldorf , North Rhine-Westphalia , that competes in the 2. Bundesliga . Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league in 1913 and was a fixture in the top flight from the early 1920s up to the creation of the Bundesliga in 1963. Fortuna captured one German championship in 1933 and two German cup DFB-Pokal wins in 1979 and 1980. Their greatest feat in European competition
3393-645: Is among a group of four teams which have made frequent appearances in the DFB-Pokal final only to come away empty-handed. Like 1. FC Kaiserslautern , Fortuna has just two wins against five losses. 1. FC Köln has four wins and six losses in the Cup final, while Schalke 04 has been frustrated most often, with five wins and seven losses. Four of the Düsseldorfer's losses were by a single goal and two of those were in extra time. The club's best turn in European competition
3510-428: Is the world's most popular sport and is worth US$ 600 billion worldwide. By the end of the 20th century it was played by over 250 million players in over 200 countries. Around the world, the sport is played at a professional level by professional footballers, and millions of people regularly go to football stadiums to follow their favourite football teams , while billions more watch the sport on television or on
3627-411: The 1954 World Cup ; Erich Juskowiak (30 caps and World Cup player in 1958 ); and later national team coach Jupp Derwall all represented Fortuna. Fortuna's performance was not good enough to earn them a place among the original 16 teams chosen for the newly founded Bundesliga in 1963, but the club played its way into the premier division three years later for a cameo appearance in 1966–67 . Despite
FC Schalke 04 - Misplaced Pages Continue
3744-402: The 2. Bundesliga , where it finished fourth in its comeback season, 2009–10 . In this season, Fortuna was the only side unbeaten in home-matches in the three top German (nationwide) leagues. After a promising 2009–10 season, the 2010–11 season began poorly for Fortuna. After the first six games of the season, the club was in last place, having lost every match. During these first six matches,
3861-408: The 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons, and were eliminated by Shakhtar Donetsk and Ajax respectively. Starting with the 2017–18 season , Domenico Tedesco took over the managerial spot for Schalke 04. At the end of the season, he led the team to finish as runners-up to Bayern Munich. On 29 July 2018, the team's captain, Benedikt Höwedes , decided to leave after more than ten years at the club. In
3978-540: The 2018–19 UEFA Champions League , Schalke 04 lost 2–10 on aggregate to Manchester City in the round of 16. Two days later, on 14 March 2019, Tedesco was sacked. Huub Stevens and Mike Büskens took over as caretaker managers . On 9 May 2019, David Wagner was appointed as head coach of Schalke 04 on a three-year contract until 30 June 2022. Schalke was hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic , and in April 2020
4095-548: The Communist bloc , athletes were presented as amateurs, even if they were de facto professional. Football clubs were no exception, and they were mostly linked to trade unions or government offices, with players being written down as workers of those particular industries. With the collapse of the Soviet Union , clubs and players officially gained professional status. By 2023, the top 3 highest-paid football players in
4212-458: The German football league system , following relegation from the Bundesliga in 2022–23 . Other activities offered by the club include athletics , basketball , handball , table tennis , winter sports and eSports . The "04" in the club's name derives from its formation in 1904. Schalke have been one of the most popular professional football teams in Germany, even though the club's heyday
4329-554: The Oberliga West (I) in the years between 1947 and the creation of the Bundesliga , West Germany 's professional football league, in 1963. It played as a lower-to-mid-table side, though it also made three appearances in the DFB-Pokal final in – 1957, 1958 and 1962 – but did not the prize, losing each of those matches to Bayern Munich , VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Nürnberg. It was also during this era that Toni Turek , goalkeeper for West Germany's "Miracle of Bern" side at
4446-467: The Schalke Kreisliga . It was around this time that Schalke picked up the nickname Die Knappen , from an old German word for "miners" because the team drew so many of its players and supporters from the coal miners of Gelsenkirchen. In 1924, the football team parted ways with the gymnasts again, this time taking the club chairman along with them. They took the name FC Schalke 04 and adopted
4563-548: The Scotland national team ). At first the FA put residential restrictions in place to prevent this trend, but these were abandoned by 1889. In the inaugural season of the Football League (1888–89), champions Preston North End fielded ten Scottish professionals. One of the teams to benefit from the move of Scottish players to England was Sunderland , located close to the border. The club went professional in 1885, and
4680-521: The West Germany national team at the time. Even though the penalties were later commuted to bans ranging from six months to two years, the scandal had a profound effect on what might have possibly become one of the dominant German teams of the 1970s. In 1973, the club moved to the Parkstadion , newly built for the 1974 FIFA World Cup and having a capacity of 70,000 spectators. In the wake of
4797-472: The national side earning 240 caps between them. With the exception of Erich Juskowiak, all players debuted as Fortuna players: Fortuna's fiercest rivalry is with 1. FC Köln, which stems from the geographic proximity of Düsseldorf and Cologne as well as the historic rivalry between the two cities. However, in recent seasons, the clubs have rarely played in the same division, meaning that head-to-head encounters have become rarer. The 2013–14 season marked
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4914-485: The "ultra" curve of the stadium are well known for their elaborate choreographed displays and enthusiastic support for their club, which occasionally includes the lighting of "Bengalos" or fireworks in the stands. Members of the band Die Toten Hosen , including lead singer Campino, are often present at Fortuna matches at home and on the road, and when Fortuna celebrated its recent 2. Division championship in front of thousands of fans at Düsseldorf's city hall on 14 May 2018,
5031-554: The "wild associations" of early German football. In 1912, after years of failed attempts to join the official league, they merged with the gymnastic club Schalker Turnverein 1877 in order to facilitate their entry. This arrangement held up until 1915, when SV Westfalia Schalke was re-established as an independent club. The separation proved short-lived and the two came together again in 1919 as Turn- und Sportverein Schalke 1877 . The new club won its first honours in 1923 as champions of
5148-455: The 1985–86 season, Fortuna was the only team to win both of its games against the eventual champions from Munich, winning 4–0 and 3–2. The band Die Toten Hosen , many of whose members are enthusiastic fans of Fortuna Düsseldorf, have celebrated the team's success against FC Bayern in their song "Bayern", which appears on their album Immortal . The last Bundesliga game was a draw after Munich had led 3–1. Fortuna scored two goals to make it 3–3 in
5265-823: The 1989–90 Bundesliga season, where they finished 9th. For the 2017–18 season, online sports betting website Tipbet renewed its agreement as Premium Partners of Fortuna. The deal involves marketing campaigns to raise brand awareness, while regular promotions are organised. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. The club's honours are as follows: The last five seasons are shown. Twenty-five Fortuna players have made appearances with
5382-413: The 1990s and early 2000, the club underwent a transformation into a modern, commercial sports organization and established itself as one of the dominant teams of the Bundesliga. Schalke won consecutive DFB-Pokals in 2000–01 and 2001–02 , and earned second-place finishes in the Bundesliga in 2000–01 , 2004–05 and 2006–07 . The 2000–01 season finish was heartbreaking for Schalke's supporters as it took
5499-566: The Breslau Eleven that beat Denmark 8–0 in Breslau in 1937 and went on to win 10 of 11 games played during that year; Stanislaus Kobierski , who earned 26 caps and scored Germany's first ever FIFA World Cup goal; Ernst Albrecht ; and Jakob Bender . After World War II , Allied occupation authorities ordered the dissolution of all sports organizations in Germany. Fortuna was re-formed in 1945 and then played most of their football in
5616-401: The Bundesliga to a fourth-tier league (time period of downfall: 1997–2002) and promoted again to the Bundesliga afterwards (time period of ascent: 2004–2012). Fortuna started the 2012–13 Bundesliga season strongly, ranking fifth after five games and concerns about relegation seemed to have been put to rest. However, Fortuna's 1–0 home win over Greuther Fürth on 16 February would prove to be
5733-562: The Bundesliga), Dieter Herzog , Reiner Geye , Wolfgang Seel and Rudi Bommer who joined the team as nearly unknown players and ended as internationals. Between 1960 and 1967, Peter Meyer scored 119 goals in 174 games. Since its relegation in 1987, Fortuna has bounced back and forth between leagues, spending five more seasons in the Bundesliga in 1989–92 (after winning the 1988-89 2nd Bundesliga championship) and 1995–97 and slipping as low as Oberliga Nordrhein (IV) in 2002–04. In 2001,
5850-411: The Bundesliga. In the final game of the season, with promotion already secured, Fortuna defeated 1. FC Nürnberg 3–2 with a last-minute goal thereby securing first place and the 2. Bundesliga Championship, their second title after 1988–89. For coach Friedhelm Funkel, this marks the sixth time he had led a club to promotion—a German record. Fortuna Düsseldorf's return to first-division football in 2018–19
5967-828: The Bundesliga. Both Essen and Wuppertal have since dropped to lower leagues. Bayer Leverkusen, on the other hand, has emerged as a powerful force in the Bundesliga. Leverkusen's financial support from the Bayer chemical conglomerate has led to many Düsseldorf fans criticizing the club as "plastic" and inauthentic, without any real tradition. During the seasons when they both played in the Second Division, Fortuna's matches against MSV Duisburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach were hotly contested and were often referred to as "Lower Rhein Derbys". Fortuna Düsseldorf and Rot-Weiss Essen have played one another 59 times, and many fans still regard this as
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#17327720229316084-470: The DFB-Pokal, making another three appearances. After losing in its fifth appearance in the final in 1978 against local rivals 1. FC Köln (0–2), the club finally broke through and came away as champions in 1979 , prevailing 1–0 against Hertha BSC , then repeating as champions 1980 with 2–1 victory against 1. FC Köln. During this period, the club established a record for consecutive DFB-Pokal match victories, with 18-straight between 1978 and 1981. Fortuna
6201-538: The Londoners protested, seeking the result to be overturned due to the presence of paid players in the Preston ranks. This sparked a series of events which threatened to split the FA. Preston withdrew from the competition, and fellow Lancashire clubs Burnley and Great Lever followed suit. The protest gathered momentum to the point where more than 30 clubs, predominantly from the north, announced that they would set up
6318-704: The Reich through the 1938 Anschluss . Die Königsblauen also made frequent appearances in the final of the Tschammerpokal, but had less success there. They lost the inaugural Tschammerpokal 0–2 to 1. FC Nürnberg in 1935. They also made failed appearances in the 1936 , 1941 , and 1942 finals with their only victory coming in 1937 against Fortuna Düsseldorf. Over a dozen seasons, from 1933 to 1945, Schalke won 162 of 189 Gauliga matches, drawing 21 and losing only 6. Within this period, they scored 924 goals and conceded just 145. From 1935 to 1939, they did not lose
6435-590: The SFA allowed ' Anglos ' to play for the national team, prompted by poor results in the British Home Championship . Queen's Park remained outside the league until 1900, and remained committed to the amateur principles even after entering into competition with professional clubs. They never claimed another major trophy, but remained an amateur club until January 2020. In the Soviet Union and
6552-473: The amateur ethos. In fact, the entire Sunderland lineup in the 1895 World Championship was made up of Scottish players. On 5 April 1890, the Football League 's founder, William McGregor , labelled Sunderland as "the team of all talents" stating that they had "a talented man in every position". Preston North End, the first English team to win the Championship and Cup " double " in 1889 , did so with
6669-444: The appointment of Huub Stevens on 27 September 2011. Stevens' contract was to run until 30 June 2013. Despite having legendary status among Schalke supporters, Stevens's return to Schalke was met with some scepticism, as fans feared that Stevens, who coached Schalke to the 1997 UEFA Cup win with a rigidly defensive system, could abandon Rangnick's system of attacking play in favour of returning to his 1997 defensive antics. The doubts of
6786-516: The band appeared with them. The band is also highly regarded by the club for serving as sponsors during the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons, when the club had been relegated to the Regional League and faced financial difficulty. Since 1 June 2015, Fortuna Düsseldorf has its futsal department. Since then, the Futsal department has developed into one of the strongest in Germany. They took part in
6903-426: The brink of breaking the all-time record of 31 winless games, set by SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin in the 1965–66 season . Stevens did not change Schalke's fortunes in his first game, losing the home game against Arminia Bielefeld, themselves in 16th place and thus threatened by relegation, with a 0–1 scoreline. On 27 December 2020, Schalke 04 announced that they signed a contract with Swiss manager Christian Gross to be
7020-403: The case until the 1880s, when working-class teams began to vie for supremacy. Blackburn Olympic , a team composed mainly of factory workers, won the 1883 FA Cup Final . They were the first working-class team to win the competition since its inception in 1870. Though professionalism was not permitted, Olympic arranged jobs for their players, and supplemented their income with additional payments,
7137-595: The club began playing in Gauliga Niederrhein , 1 of 16 top-flight divisions formed in the re-organization of German football under the Third Reich . Düsseldorf dominated the division through the 1930s as five-time champions between 1936 and 1940, and made losing appearances in the national championship final in 1936 (1–2 to 1. FC Nürnberg ) and the final of the Tschammerpokal, the predecessor of today's DFB-Pokal , in 1937 (1–2 against Schalke 04). The club
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#17327720229317254-467: The club escaped relegation to tier IV only because two other clubs were denied licenses to play in tier III for financial reasons. Fortuna had its own money problems at the time but have since managed to arrange its finances more or less back into order. Between 2001 and 2003, the club was sponsored by German punk rock band Die Toten Hosen . In 2008–09 , Fortuna competed in the newly established 3. Liga , finishing second and gaining automatic promotion to
7371-568: The club recruited a number of Scotsmen the same year, their first internationally capped players. Founder James Allan left Sunderland in 1888 because of his dislike for the "professionalism" that had been creeping into the club, and subsequently formed Sunderland Albion . The wealthy mine owner Samuel Tyzack funded the professional advancement of the club, often pretending to be a priest while scouting for players in Scotland, as Sunderland's recruitment policy enraged many Scottish fans who supported
7488-475: The club said that it was threatened by bankruptcy. Against the backdrop of a worsened financial situation caused by a high level of debt and a decrease in revenue related to restrictions put in place to combat the COVID-19 pandemic , the club decided to introduce a player salary cap of €2.5 million per year. In the second half of the 2019–20 season , Schalke set a new club record of 16 league games without
7605-427: The club scored only two goals – one of which was an own-goal by the other side. Despite this discouraging start, Fortuna bounced back and finished the season in seventh place. 2011–12 began very differently: after the first half of the season, Fortuna was in first place in the table with a remarkable record of 12 wins, 5 draws and 0 losses. The "Herbstmeister" title gave the team and the fans hope that this could be
7722-432: The club with Rensing suffering two broken ribs and Bebou transferring to Bundesliga side Hannover 96. A further setback was that Funkel's assistant Peter Hermann asked to be released from his contaract with Fortuna in order to reojoin his mentor Jupp Heynckes upon his return to Bayern. With these three losses, it appeared that the 2017–18 season could be difficult for Fortuna. However, the club started extremely strongly: on
7839-611: The club would appear in 14 of 18 national finals (ten in the German championship and eight in the Tschammerpokal , the predecessor of today's DFB-Pokal ) and win their league in every one of its eleven seasons. The club never lost a home match in the Gauliga Westfalen in all these 11 seasons and only lost six away matches, while remaining unbeaten in the 1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1940–41 and 1942–43 seasons,
7956-526: The club's final victory of the season. The season concluded with Fortuna playing in Hannover 96 , a match Fortuna lost 0–3. This defeat, combined with an Augsburg win over Greuther Fürth and a bizarre and unlikely victory by Hoffenheim over second-place Borussia Dortmund, resulted in Fortuna dropping two places. Fortuna finished 17th and were again reglegated to the 2. Bundesliga. Fortuna's relegation
8073-405: The club's financial situation. Grammozis was sacked as head coach on 6 March 2022, as promotion back to the Bundesliga appeared uncertain. He was replaced by Mike Büskens as caretaker manager until the end of the season. Schalke recovered under Büskens, winning eight of the remaining nine matches. The club secured promotion on 7 May 2022, following a 3–2 victory over FC St. Pauli that guaranteed
8190-536: The derby, after razor blades were found in the stadium hidden behind anti-Schalke stickers. On 11 March 2023, in the 100th derby between the two clubs, Schalke played 2–2 against Borussia Dortmund, who were in second place at the time. This ended Dortmund's streak of eight wins in a row. The police called the match "extremely peaceful", which they attributed to the successful police operation. Media reports noted that several people had been injured by illegal pyrotechnics, with one woman suffering an eye injury. At least one man
8307-653: The double . Since 2001, Schalke's stadium has been the Veltins-Arena . Schalke hold a long-standing rivalry with Ruhr neighbors Borussia Dortmund , known as the Revierderby . The club was founded on 4 May 1904 as Westfalia Schalke by a group of high school students and first wore the colours red and yellow. The team was unable to gain admittance to the Westdeutscher Spielverband (Western German Football Association) and played in one of
8424-445: The end of the 2013–14 season, the club finished in third place in the Bundesliga table to qualify for their third-straight UEFA Champions League appearance, a feat Schalke had never before achieved. On 7 October 2014, after a 1–2 defeat to 1899 Hoffenheim and after amassing just eight points from seven matches, Keller was sacked and succeeded by Roberto Di Matteo . In the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League , Schalke 04 finished second in
8541-552: The end of the club in its current form by the end of the season. If relegated from the 2. Bundesliga, Schalke would not get a license for the 3. Liga , and would have to play in the Regionalliga West , the fourth division of German football. In that scenario, the current squad and staff would have to leave the club on a free transfer. The club formally requested a license for the 3. Liga on 15 March 2024. Professionalism in association football Association football
8658-406: The entire season. It also led to performance related discussions about head coach Jens Keller. Partially, Schalke fielded up to ten young players with potential who played in the Schalke youth system throughout the season. Among the most promising young player discoveries of the 2013–14 season were Max Meyer and Leon Goretzka . The young Schalke squad won 11 out of 17 matches, totaling 36 points. At
8775-501: The expansion of the league to 18 teams. A number of finishes at the lower end of the league table followed, before a marked improvement in 1971–72 , culminating in a second-place finish to Bayern Munich and after having led the league for much of the season. In the same season, Schalke won the DFB-Pokal for the second time in its history. Despite their improved results, the seeds of a major reversal had already been sown. A number of
8892-485: The first goal until their fourth match as head coach for Schalke). Against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Schalke conceded its fifth own goal of the season, yet another negative record. Relegation to the 2. Bundesliga was confirmed on 20 April 2021, as Schalke 04 lost 1–0 to Arminia Bielefeld , which led to riots by Schalke supporters. On 28 February 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine , Schalke cancelled their contract with main sponsor Gazprom , further straining
9009-434: The first player in German football history to be promoted three times with the same club, from the then fourth-tier Oberliga to the Bundesliga. For striker Sascha Rösler , it marked the fourth time in his career that he was promoted from the Second Division into the Bundesliga. Coming with the recent promotion, the club achieved a new record in German football history, becoming the only German club that has been relegated from
9126-513: The following year were sanctioned for exceeding salary levels set by the league and, in an era that considered professionalism in sport to be anathema, found themselves banned from play for nearly half a year. However, the ban had little impact on the team's popularity: in their first match after the ban against Fortuna Düsseldorf , in June 1931, the team drew 70,000 spectators to its home ground. The club's fortunes begun to rise from 1931 and they made
9243-510: The fourth day of the season, Fortuna had climbed to first place in the table, with a draw and three wins. For the remainder of the year, they would not drop below third place, benefitting from particularly strong play by Rensing's replacement in goal, Raphael Wolf, newly acquired Belgian forward Benito Raman, striker Rouwen Hennings, and midfielder Florian Neuhaus. A late-season slump saw Fortuna lose three games in succession in early April, but Fortuna won their next two matches, securing promotion to
9360-472: The glass windows shows Aloysius Gonzaga with a football and the dress and colours of Schalke. Schalke continued to play well, having several top four finishes in the years leading up to the 1963 formation of the Bundesliga , West Germany's new federal, professional league. Those results earned them selection as 1 of 16 clubs admitted to the top-flight league. Their first years in the Bundesliga were difficult. In 1964–65 , they escaped relegation only through
9477-475: The head coach of the club until the end of the season, making him the fourth head coach for Schalke 04 during the 2020–21 season . Under Gross, Schalke's negative streak continued with a 3–0 loss to Hertha BSC , marking the 30th consecutive winless game, a losing streak of 358 days. On 9 January 2021 Schalke finally recorded a victory over 1899 Hoffenheim , which meant they avoided matching Tasmania Berlin's record. It remained Schalke's only victory under Gross, who
9594-441: The home side 2–1 to secure their first league Revierderby win since February 2010 while securing a Champions League place by finishing in fourth place. In the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League group stage , Schalke's opponents were FCSB , FC Basel and Chelsea . Schalke ultimately finished the group stage in second place, behind Chelsea, and was eliminated in the round of 16 by Real Madrid CF . The most prominent Schalke addition
9711-491: The internet. Football has the highest global television audience in sport. The sport had amateur origins and evolved into the modern professional competition. Association football was first codified in 1863, with the formation of the Football Association (FA) in England. At this time the sport was played mainly by public schools , or teams with public school roots, and amateurism was the norm. This remained
9828-472: The last 10 minutes. The club has a particular strong affiliation with English Premier League side Ipswich Town , with their supporters making annual visits to see them at their home ground, Portman Road , since 2006. Ipswich fans have also done the same, with some coming to cheer Düsseldorf on at the Merkur Spiel-Arena. Fortuna Düsseldorf enjoys a strong a spirited fan base, and supporters in
9945-464: The last day of the season. The following year, they appeared in the DFB-Pokal final, where they lost 2–3 to Karlsruher SC . The club's next, and to date last, German championship came in 1958 with a 3–0 victory over Hamburger SV . The strong fanbase of the club is as well documented in a local church, St. Joseph, in Gelsenkirchen. It was renovated shortly after the 1958 victory, where one of
10062-418: The last time the two clubs met in competitive matches when both played in the Second Division. For the 2018–19 season, Fortuna was promoted to the 1. Bundesliga precisely as 1. FC Köln was demoted from the Bundesliga to the Second Division, again avoiding the "Rheinland Derby". Fortuna's other historic rivals are Rot-Weiss Essen, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, and Wuppertaler SV. During the 1970s, all four clubs played in
10179-542: The likes of newly-formed Celtic 's accumulation of some of the best talent in the country involved unofficial financial incentives. Faced with this, the Scottish FA lifted its ban on professionalism in 1893, whereupon 560 players were registered as professionals; however, despite the distinction of status between the home players and the England-based players having been removed, it was another three years before
10296-478: The now familiar blue and white kit from which their second nickname would derive, Die Königsblauen (English: The Royal Blues ). The following year, the club became the dominant local side, based on a style of play that used short, sharp, man-to-man passing to move the ball. This system would later become famous as the Schalker Kreisel (English: spinning top; gyroscope ). In 1927, it carried them into
10413-597: The players who were essential for the success in the previous season, like Ko Itakura , could not be kept, and Schalke struggled to be competitive at the beginning of the 2022–23 season . Following a series of losses, including a 1–5 against Hoffenheim , Kramer was relieved of his duties on 19 October 2022. At the time, Schalke was 17th in the Bundesliga after ten matchdays. Matthias Kreutzer took over as caretaker manager. A week after Kramer's dismissal, on 26 October 2022, sporting director Rouven Schröder also announced his instant resignation. On 27 October 2022, Thomas Reis
10530-448: The quarter-finals, losing both home and away matches 0–1. On 9 October 2006, Russian oil company Gazprom became the club's new sponsor. The company stated it expected to invest as much as €125 million in the club over a five-and-a-half-year period. Gazprom's sponsorship has been seen by some analysts as a politically motivated attempt to buy friendship in Germany. Within this sponsorship, Schalke 04 and Zenit Saint Petersburg signed
10647-559: The relegation was played on 10 May 2012 in Berlin , with Fortuna winning 2–1. Fortuna drew the deciding game which was played on 15 May in Düsseldorf. Hertha fans, however, threw firecrackers at the field and the players, and one minute before the match ended, overexcited Fortuna fans stormed the field. The promotion to the Bundesliga represented an extraordinary personal achievement for team captain Andreas Lambertz , as he became
10764-425: The scandal, the club's performance was uneven. They managed another second-place result in 1976–77 , finishing just one point behind champions Borussia Mönchengladbach . In the early 1980s, Die Knappen ran into trouble and were relegated to the second division of the Bundesliga for the 1981–82 season and, after promotion, again in 1983–84. They returned to the top flight in 1984 but were relegated once more to
10881-399: The second leg. However, Schalke 04 managed to win the 2010–11 DFB-Pokal after thrashing MSV Duisburg 5–0. On 1 June 2011, Schalke's captain, Manuel Neuer , made his move to Bayern Munich. On 22 September 2011, Ralf Rangnick announced his immediate resignation as head coach of Schalke 04 due to long-term exhaustion . Assistant coach Seppo Eichkorn coached the team as interim manager until
10998-479: The second tier in 1988. They returned to the Bundesliga in the 1991–92 season and stayed in the top flight until 2021. The club earned their first honours since the DFB-Pokal win of 1972 with a victory in the final of the 1996–97 UEFA Cup over Inter Milan on penalties. Coached by the Dutch coach Huub Stevens , the 1997 Schalke squad earned the nickname "Euro Fighters", which is still in use among fans. Stevens, who
11115-471: The semi-finals. In 2005–06 , Schalke finished in fourth place in the Bundesliga and a year later they again finished as runners-up for the third time in seven seasons. In the 2007–08 season , Schalke progressed past the Champions League group stage for the first time and advanced to the quarter-finals after defeating Porto on penalties in the round of 16. They were eliminated by Barcelona in
11232-514: The supporters proved unfounded. Although Schalke played a somewhat inconsistent season, they reached third place in the Bundesliga and therefore direct qualification for the UEFA Champions League. Schalke had an excellent start to the 2012–13 Bundesliga season , and worked their way to second place in the league by November, just behind Bayern Munich. On 20 October, Schalke traveled to Borussia Dortmund for matchday 8, and defeated
11349-411: The team's players and officials were accused of accepting bribes as part of the widespread Bundesliga scandal of 1971 . Investigation showed that Schalke had deliberately played to lose their 17 May, 28th-round match against Arminia Bielefeld , 0–1. As a result, several Schalke players were banned for life, including three – Klaus Fischer , "Stan" Libuda and Klaus Fichtel – who regularly played for
11466-508: The top-flight Gauliga Ruhr , onto the league championship, and then into the opening rounds of the national finals. Following the club's initial success, it quickly gained in popularity, especially among the working class. In 1928, the club built a new stadium, the Glückauf-Kampfbahn, and acknowledged the city's support by renaming themselves FC Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 . They won their first West German championship in 1929, but
11583-712: The world ( Neymar Jr. from Al Hilal who was earning £240 million per year; Cristiano Ronaldo from Al Nassr who was earning £173 million per year; and Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad who was earning £172 million per year) were all playing in the Saudi Pro League earning record-breaking salaries. This table details the year in which professionalism was introduced, country by country. See also Professional sports#Association football Fortuna D%C3%BCsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V. , commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf ( pronounced [fɔʁˈtuːna ˈdʏsl̩dɔʁf] ),
11700-478: The year Fortuna returned to the Bundesliga. The second half of the season was more challenging, as Fortuna was unable to maintain its pace: it suffered four losses and a number of draws, slipping to third place in the final standings. Nonetheless, this was sufficient for them to qualify for the two-game relegation playoff against the third-last place team in the Bundesliga ;– Hertha BSC. The first game of
11817-486: Was reglegated in 1942, but returned to the top flight the following season. In 1944–45, it began play as the combined wartime side Kriegsspielgemeinschaft TSV Fortuna/SC 99 Düsseldorf with partner Düsseldorfer Sport Club 1899, but took part in only two matches as Nazi Germany fell before the advance of Allied armies. The most notable players of that era were Paul Janes , Germany's most capped player from 1942 to 1970 (71 caps), German team captain (1939–1942) and member of
11934-465: Was a Cup Winners Cup final in 1979 where they lost to Barcelona . The earliest roots of the association go back to the establishment of the gymnastics club Turnverein Flingern on 5 May 1895 in the village of Flingern , today one of the eastern quarters of Düsseldorf. Two other sides figure in the club's early history: Düsseldorfer Fußballklub Spielverein, founded in 1908, and FK Alemania 1911, which
12051-461: Was announced as new head coach for Schalke 04. Grammozis started with a scoreless draw against Mainz 05 , but his team was unable to collect any points in the two following matches, which were lost 5–0 against VfL Wolfsburg and 3–0 against Borussia Mönchengladbach . Schalke did not score a goal in the first three matches under Grammozis, a joined negative record for the club (Helmut Schulte in 1992–93 and Markus Weinzierl in 2016–17 also waited for
12168-466: Was appointed as his successor, with a contract until June 2025. Schalke finished the first half of the season in 14th position, three points ahead of the relegation spots. On 3 January 2024, Schalke appointed Marc Wilmots as sporting director , after sacking Peter Knäbel . For Wilmots, who was one of the most prominent former Schalke players, it was his first job as a director. On 31 January, Sky reported that Schalke's financial situation may result in
12285-490: Was founded in 1911 and became Fortuna 1911 the following year. In mid-1912, these two clubs merged to form Düsseldorfer Fußball-Club Fortuna 1911, which played its debut season in the Westdeutschen Spielverband in 1913–14. TV Flingern joined Fortuna to create Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna on 15 November 1919. In the late 1920s, Fortuna won its first honours as a first tier side; it captured
12402-410: Was greeted with great enthusiasm by their supporters. The first half of the season was marked by inconsistent play. Fortuna played remarkably well against top Bundesliga sides, taking a point from Leipzig and defeating Hoffenheim and first-place Borussia Dortmund. Most encouraging was an away draw against the defending champions Bayern Munich, when Fortuna came back after trailing 2–0 and 3–1, to secure
12519-460: Was in the 1979 European Cup Winners' Cup Final , where it finished as runners-up to Barcelona , losing 4–3 in extra time in an exciting finale at Basel . It was the first of four occasions that the Catalan club won the tournament. Fortuna achieved its success mostly with hometown players like the famous Allofs brothers ( Klaus Allofs and Thomas Allofs ) or players like Gerd Zewe (440 games in
12636-399: Was in the 1930s and 1940s. As of 2023, the club has 178,000 members, making it the second-largest football club in Germany and the fourth-largest club in the world in terms of membership. Schalke have won seven German championships , five DFB-Pokals , one DFB Ligapokal , one DFL-Supercup , one UEFA Cup and two UEFA Intertoto Cups . In 1937, Schalke became the first German club to win
12753-416: Was last in the league table after three games, with one goal scored and fifteen conceded. After only two match days, Schalke dismissed David Wagner as head coach on 27 September in the aftermath of the loss against Bremen. At 1.08 average points per game, Wagner was then the lowest-scoring head coach in Schalke's recent history. Three days later, Manuel Baum was nominated as Wagner's successor, with Naldo ,
12870-426: Was named as Schalke's new head coach. The first match under Reis, against SC Freiburg , was lost 0–2, marking Schalke's seventh consecutive loss. After the game, commentators like Huub Stevens praised the team for its better organization, compared to previous matches. Schalke finished the first half of the 2022–23 Bundesliga season in 18th and last position in the table, with just nine points to their name. Following
12987-416: Was on the verge of becoming the era's dominant side in Germany. Fortuna was the first team to win the title without conceding a goal in the final rounds of the tournament. It beat Vorwärts-Rasensport Gleiwitz (9–0), Arminia Hannover (3–0), Eintracht Frankfurt (4–0) and finally Schalke 04 (3–0) en route to becoming the first national champion from the industrial Rhine-Ruhr area. In the following season,
13104-504: Was sacked as head coach after just eleven matches on 28 February 2021, following losses against rival Borussia Dortmund (0–4) and VFB Stuttgart (1–5). Alongside Gross, sporting director Jochen Schneider, team coordinator Sascha Riether, assistant coach Rainer Widmayer and fitness coach Werner Leuthard were also relieved of their duties. At 0.45 average points per game, Gross was the least successful head coach at Schalke since Karl-Heinz Marotzke in 1967. On 2 March 2021, Dimitrios Grammozis
13221-457: Was sacked, and replaced with Ralf Rangnick , who previously, between 2004 and 2005, had a brief spell being in charge of the team. Within just weeks of his appointment, Rangnick masterminded a 5–2 victory over Inter Milan at the San Siro during the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Schalke advanced to the semi-final where they lost 2–0 to Manchester United in the first leg and 4–1 in
13338-451: Was taken to the hospital after an intoxicated supporter of the opposing team had bitten off his earlobe. On the final match-day of the 2022–23 season, Schalke lost 4–2 against RB Leipzig. They finished 17th in the league table, and were relegated again to the 2. Bundesliga. After four defeats in the first seven games of the 2023–24 2. Bundesliga season, head coach Thomas Reis was sacked on 27 September 2023. On 8 October 2023, Karel Geraerts
13455-470: Was the arrival of Kevin-Prince Boateng from Milan . After a disappointing first round of the 2013–14 Bundesliga that saw Schalke in seventh place in the Bundesliga table, as well as an early exit from the 2013–14 DFB-Pokal in the first knockout round, the club played their most successful second half of the season in club history. The season was marked by numerous injuries to key squad players, including Jefferson Farfán and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, for almost
13572-400: Was the result not only of this unlikely series of occurrences on the final day of the season, but also a poor conclusion to the year. Of its final eight matches, it did not win a single one; just one win would have secured its position for the following season's Bundesliga. This poor performance contributed to the dismissal of head coach Norbert Meier . Reglegation to the 2. Bundesliga led to
13689-461: Was widely unknown in Germany at the time, quickly earned himself a cult following among the Schalke supporters. Stevens successfully implemented a system of rigid discipline, especially in the defence. His motto " Die Null muß stehen " (in English , "It has to read nil"), which emphasized his importance on his side not conceding any goals, has found its way into everyday language in Germany. During
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