FC Schalke 04 is currently in free fall in the 2nd division after being relegated from the Bundesliga. In the most recent defeat in Karlsruhe, the S04 fans sent a clear signal to the team. Fan expert Susanne Hein-Reipen believes that this was not the fans’ only reaction to the team’s acute phase of weakness.
Before the important home game against Hannover 96 on Saturday (1 p.m in the live ticker), the well-known Schalke blogger and fan insider Susanne Hein-Reipen speaks exclusively sport.de-Interview about the lack of support in the Royal Blues’ defeat at Karlsruher SC (0:3) on the last matchday, puts club legend Huub Stevens’ recent ultra-criticism in a different light, and also comments on the calls for a comeback Former supervisory board boss Clemens Tönnies.
Ms. Hein-Reipen, you have been accompanying FC Schalke 04 for 40 years and are always close. Is this probably the worst season right now?
No, you can’t say that. There were situations at least as bad at the end of the 80s. But of course my mood is in the basement at the moment. I was a bit skeptical at the beginning of the season when our club management announced direct promotion as a goal and aggressively talked about being back in the top six of the Bundesliga within a few years. It was already clear to me that this would fall on our feet. If you make big statements like that when you’ve just been relegated, it usually doesn’t work. If promotion could be planned so easily, then HSV would be first class again long ago. However, in my worst dreams I would never have imagined that Schalke would go so far down.
There were clear reactions from Schalke fans even during the defeat at KSC (0:3). How did you perceive the whole thing?
The Ultras, who largely set the tone away from home, had distributed blue and white flags among the fans before the game, and a banner with ‘Nordkurve’ lettering was placed in front of the visitors’ block. So a clear statement: Big, fat Schalke block, there was a really big group at the start, certainly more than 5,000 fans.
In the first half hour there was great support both visually and acoustically, just like Schalke is known for. After the KSC’s 0-2 defeat (37th minute/ed.), where you didn’t have the feeling at all that anyone was really defending themselves or even moving forward, where everything on the pitch was bloodless, the Ultras rolled up their large waving flags first. Shortly before the break the small flags were asked back. Nobody left, but it was as quiet as a mouse. Nobody else in the block did anything because the game was just so bad. You could understand every word that was sung at KSC.
After the 0:3 (75th) the fence flags were taken down. I can’t say whether anyone went out. In any case, everyone was back at the final whistle and gave the team a good lecture in front of the block.
What exactly was discussed there at the fence between the fans and the team?
Unfortunately, you couldn’t understand everything because the KSC members celebrated quite loudly. But it was said, among other things, that the players were obliged to give everything for the club; so much depends on it for the fans and also for the employees. ‘Work your asses off, you have to at least show commitment’, that was the direction.
That even sounds comparatively civilized given the situation…
What I could understand was neither insulting nor threatening, but rather an appeal to honor.
“There is a reversal of blame at Schalke 04”
In a recent interview with “ran.de” Huub Stevens said that the Schalke Ultras had too much power at the moment. what does he mean with that?
This is a popular narrative right now. To explain: Our supervisory board currently tends to be ultra-close, that’s true. The Tönnies faction, which still exists, makes this out of this: ‘Our supervisory board is subservient to the Ultras, Ultras are stupid, etc.’, put somewhat casually. As far as I know, our chairman of the supervisory board, Axel Hefer, is certainly ultra-affine, but he is not a member of them.
At the moment there is more of a reversal of guilt. There is a fairly simple faction that says that under Tönnies they always played European and as soon as he left, the shit started. Which completely ignores the fact that the entire decline, both sporting and financial, already began under Tönnies. The new people in charge have inherited a huge pile of broken pieces. The general meeting in the summer produced a clear election result for Axel Hefer and Co., and now that things are going badly, things are going wrong. Fueled by interviews from Tönnies loyalists.
Asked bluntly: Would everything suddenly get better if Tönnies celebrated his Schalke comeback straight away?
Definitely no. He couldn’t handle money or monitor it properly when Schalke was still in a much better income situation, when we still had Champions League income or the fat sponsorship contract with Gazprom. Even then, we lived beyond our means. Right now the revenue has plummeted so much that I’m convinced it would be an absolute disaster.
Do too many people still wear rose-colored Tönnies glasses?
You can’t get it out of a lot of people that Tönnies would supposedly bring so much money with him. Instead, he never actually gave Schalke anything. He gave out a loan twice, on which he earned good interest. Definitely in a situation where the lenders were no longer lining up. That’s right. But he never gave Schalke anything. The legend that he made so much money cannot be eradicated. He even said that himself once at a general meeting.
Back to the fans: What actions and reactions do you expect in view of the upcoming home game against Hannover 96?
Something will definitely come. I could even imagine that we will see a training visit from the ultras this week – with a corresponding announcement. I believe that 95 percent of the focus will be on the team and not on the new coach or the supervisory board. I also expect a strong reaction from the Ultras in the stadium itself.
How worried are you about going to the third league?
I believe that we will still turn the corner. So I’m not panicking yet. However, if that becomes more concrete as we get further down there as the season progresses, then my fear will only grow. Because I don’t think we can manage the third league financially. Even a possible spin-off, which is pushed through the village every year and would provide fresh funds, doesn’t happen overnight. You need a good model and sensible investors. But it’s not a panacea.
The interview was conducted by Chris Rohdenburg