analysis
A lot has broken on Schalke in recent years – but above all mutual trust has disappeared. The new sports director Frank Baumann has the extremely difficult task of creating a fertile working atmosphere again.
Frank Baumann had avoided large announcements, sporting destinations or other phrases common in football. The new sports director of FC Schalke 04 brought a message on his first official working day on Sunday (1.6.2025).
It hooks at so many corners and ends that Baumann needs a large period of time to identify all problems and make possible changes. “It’s about a clear distribution of roles within the club”said Baumann.
In fact, the traditional Ruhr area club with one foot is already above the abyss. In the past two years, existential relegation battle in the 2nd Bundesliga has been on the program. In the past season, the S04 took the worst placement in recent history with table place 14 and only prevented the total crash.
Distrust and Misunderstandings
Far too much has gone wrong in recent years. Above all, the personnel selection of trainers and those responsible for sports, who were approved on the supervisory board under the chairman Axel Hefer, have never met expectations.
For a long time there was a mix of mutual distrust, misunderstandings and speechlessness between the different actors such as ex-sports director Marc Wilmots, squad planner Ben Manga and also coach Karel Geraerts as well as his successor Kees van Wonderen. So no fruitful work could be created.
Step in sports competence
Board spokesman Matthias Tillmann, who was also responsible for marketing, was never able to coordinate the different egoisms and lead them in a common direction. In public, the Schalke management staff did not form a unit, but rather gave the impression that each individual pursued their very own agenda. A leadership weakness from both Tillmann and Hefer, who have brought the club into a difficult situation.
With the enthronement of Baumann as a sports director, a step is now, at least when it comes to sports skills. Because Hefer admitted a mistake again. That Schalke 04 at the board level almost completely waived football skills “not right” Been – and let the club turn like a ship back and forth on the high seas.
New squad – once again
According to Baumann’s analysis, the club needs “Clear structures and hierarchies” And he has “Feel a will that you want to change something”. Freely translated: Stringence was missing in almost all important fields.
The consequence: Clear tasks and skills are distributed in the committees. And from a sporting point of view: there will be a big change within the squad – again. 35 players are currently under contract. “We will give the squad a new face”so Baumann.
However, economic ability to act is still severely restricted, also because Schalke has to reduce its negative equity ratio (98 million euros) every year by five percent to prevent a deduction. In addition, Schalke has to spend around 16 million euros a year on interest and repayment.
Tote brought to life
Miron Muslic is the new man of choice, who should lead Schalke 04 into more successful times and out of the crisis. The Austrian coach, which is largely unknown in Germany “At his stations in Bruges and in Plymouth, it was possible to bring dead teams back to life”so Baumann.
With little means, the 42-year-old must be able to lead the Schalke tanker again in quieter waters. They now hope for this effect in Gelsenkirchen. “The coach is the most important position in sports, but he must not be the most powerful,” said Baumann. In other words. The new boss is and remains Baumann.
Large vacuum
These days around the Berger Feld are primarily about trust. This soft but particularly important factor in recent years, after all the Schalke personnel, has gradually evaporated. There was a huge vacuum that Baumann should now fill out and fill with life.
Only a small number of clubs would have been considered, for which he would have taken this great responsibility again after 26 years in Bremen, the 49-year-old said after the cameras were over. And he knew very well what he got involved with.