Fans bring traffic to a standstill
©IMAGO
It was a storm of emotions: FC Schalke 04’s return to the Bundesliga sparked a big party on Saturday evening. The players strolled into the VIP area wearing sunglasses, promotion shirts and flip-flops, after they had celebrated their promotion on the pitch after the 1-0 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf and not only spilled beer.
“I’ve already shed a few tears, it’s a lifelong dream. It’s going to be a great night,” said midfielder Ron Schallenberg (27). And captain Kenan Karaman (32), who scored the goal for promotion, said in a tear-choked voice: “Schalke belongs in the first division, we will stay there now.”
The cheering in the arena, which was sold out with 61,587 spectators, only got louder when the contract extension with coach Miron Muslic until 2028, which had been agreed upon in the event of promotion, was officially announced on the video cube. The 43-year-old has played a key role in Schalke’s upswing.
A heavyweight in the Bundesliga for many years, the heavily indebted club fought against falling into the third division in the last two seasons. “We really have had two shitty years,” Karaman said. The relief about the climb was all the greater.
“We have been waiting for this moment for a long time,” Karaman continued. “I’m incredibly grateful, incredibly proud. I really wear this jersey with passion and pride.” It wasn’t long after the final whistle that the shocked professionals received emotional support from their families on the pitch. Tears flowed, people laughed and jumped along with the fans. “I will never forget the day,” said goalkeeper Loris Karius (32), who was an important support and kept the scoreline twelve times this season.
Muslic with an emotional speech to the Schalke fans
“That makes my heart open. We know how heavy the backpack was,” said Muslic at the press conference, where his players gave him the obligatory beer shower amid chants of “No more 2nd league.” Even before his extension was announced, the 43-year-old addressed the fans on the pitch via the stadium microphone in an emotional speech.
“Standing in front of the north curve are the boys who gave everything for the coat of arms every day, who sacrificed everything so that we could have this moment together,” Muslic called for extra applause for his protégés and then remembered his “first Schalke day here in front of over 80,000 people” in the middle of pre-season preparation. “I was asked on stage what this was doing to us because the opening program against Hertha, Lautern, Bochum and Dresden was tough,” Muslic remembered. His answer at the time: “We have to change the mindset – playing against Schalke is tough!” It should stay that way in the upper house too. “We’ll carry on, together. Thank you so much,” Muslic concluded his speech.
“This man has managed to give Schalke an identity again. He should be celebrated,” said defender Timo Becker (29). Muslic turned a team in crisis into a top team in just one season. Schalke’s sports director Frank Baumann discovered the initially unknown coach. Only signed up a year ago, the former long-time sports director of Werder Bremen set the course for Schalke’s sporting upswing with his choice of coach and smart squad decisions – which has now been crowned.
There was also a party atmosphere outside the arena, where tens of thousands of fans celebrated. There were so many and it was so exuberant that traffic in Gelsenkirchen came to a standstill and the trams stopped running. The mood was good and very relaxed, the police said.
