The bosses of FC Schalke 04 had fired head coach Thomas Reis without having an alternative in hand. Now Karel Geraerts is supposed to turn things around at S04. For ex-national player Mario Basler, it was a risky decision by the Royal Blues, although he found several arguments for the commitment.
Former national player Mario Basler can definitely see something of the decision to rely on Karel Geraerts. “The new coach did a good job in Belgium. You have to say that,” he said in the “Basler ballert” podcast.
However, the shot could quickly backfire for Royal Blue, said the 54-year-old: “But the Bundesliga or 2nd league in Germany is something completely different. The question is how well he knows the Bundesliga, how well he knows it the second league in particular? It’s always hard for me to imagine that someone who trained in Belgium knows 100 percent what’s happening in the second league and which teams are coming up to him.”
And so such a coaching decision is definitely “carrying risk”. The Belgian Geraerts was described as an “absolute dream solution” by Schalke sports director Peter Knäbel and sports director André Hechelmann at the official presentation on Monday.
The 41-year-old was previously only known to football connoisseurs; until the end of the season in June, he had quite successfully looked after the Belgian first division club Union Saint-Gilloise on the sidelines. However, a contract extension ultimately failed due to different ideas, which now gave the Schalke bosses a favorable opportunity.
Mario Basler doubts the quality of Schalke’s players
Meanwhile, Basler welcomed the fact that a coach from abroad was chosen: “I think it might not be such a bad thing to bring in a complete outsider who hasn’t already coached 15 clubs in the Bundesliga or the second division “Just do something completely new. I think that’s okay.”
You don’t have to “always run the same hamster wheel,” said the former Bundesliga professional and 30-time German national player.
Despite the possible optimism that could come from Geraerts’ commitment to Schalke, the situation at Schalke is “very bitter,” Basler said in the podcast: “You’re actually at a loss for words.”
The fact that Gelsenkirchen has to look more towards the relegation zone than towards promotion is entirely up to the team. “You can send any coach there, whoever you want. The team just can’t do it. That’s not enough.”