Peter Neururer was in the stadium as a TV expert during FC Schalke 04’s 3:5 (0:3) defeat at Fortuna Düsseldorf. The 68-year-old was very surprised that S04 coach Karel Geraerts did not rely on captain Simon Terodde at all in the Saturday evening game of the 2nd Bundesliga.
After 65 minutes everything seemed clear for Peter Neururer in the second division game between Fortuna Düsseldorf and FC Schalke 04. “When the score was 4-1, the game was actually over,” said the 68-year-old cult coach in his video column on “Wettfreunde”.
Schalke’s double strike in the 74th and 75th minutes fundamentally changed the dramaturgy of the game. “Suddenly you had something to lose, suddenly you got nervous, your legs became heavy,” said Neururer, describing his impressions: “And Schalke pushed and pushed for the equalizer – strangely enough, without bringing on Simon Terodde.”
Why wasn’t Terodde in Schalke’s starting lineup?
The fact that the captain and striker of the Royal Blues “wasn’t part of the starting line-up for whatever reason” deeply surprised the coaching icon who lives in Gelsenkirchen. Neururer did not interpret the fact that the 35-year-old goal guarantor remained outside even in the district club’s strongest pressure phase as a good sign: “He didn’t play, and that was a resounding slap in the face for the player.”
Neururer went on to say that Schalke 04 now has a red flag. With 13 points, the Bundesliga relegated team is only in relegation place 16 after 14 match days. S04 is currently 13 points away from the promotion places that the club was aiming for before the current season.
“Next Saturday at home against Osnabrück we have to win,” Neururer made it clear: “Otherwise you have to think about what to do next with this club.” VfL Osnabrück is currently bottom of the second division with seven points. On Monday, Lower Saxony introduced Uwe Koschinat as the successor to the dismissed Tobias Schweinsteiger.