Shortly before the end of the change period, FC Schalke 04 presented a new central defender in Sepp van den Berg. On Saturday, the young Dutchman was in the starting eleven at VfB Stuttgart (1-1) for the Royal Blues – and made a serious mistake. S04 sports director Rouven Schröder then protected Liverpool FC’s talent.
“What matters is what he learns from it. After the game he was incredibly pissed off,” said Schröder about van den Berg’s individual mistake before the Stuttgart goal at “sky“. “That didn’t surprise me, because in the conversations you noticed how ambitious he is.”
One thing is clear: turbulent days lie behind van den Berg. Only last Tuesday, the Dutch U21 international decided to switch from Liverpool to Schalke. The 20-year-old is now on loan for the Bundesliga promoted for a year.
Starting eleven debut after a few days at FC Schalke 04
His debut in the German Oberhaus followed promptly on Saturday. Head coach Frank Kramer immediately entrusted the newcomer with a place in the starting XI.
But the youngster failed to accept the ball on his debut. VfB striker Silas took full advantage of the mistake and played the crucial pass to Chris Führich, who fired to put Stuttgart ahead.
Simon Terodde was able to equalize for Schalke a little later. However, the Royal Blues still have to wait for their first win of the new season.
FC Schalke 04: Mistakes as a central defender have “high consequences”
Schröder doesn’t like the fact that van den Berg is now being denied the necessary level for the Bundesliga after just a few impressions from Saturday.
“He is a U21 national player in the Netherlands, trained with the stars in Liverpool and played over 30 games from the start at Preston North End in the second English division,” Schröder listed van den Berg’s previous CV.
If you make a mistake as a central defender, “it has a high consequence. We have to stop saying after a game: He’s not suitable for the Bundesliga,” said the Schalke sports director.
Support for S04 coach Frank Kramer
After the third draw in five games, the miners are only in 15th place. Schröder did not want to criticize Kramer after the very mixed start to the season.
“I’m absolutely satisfied with Frank Kramer. He’s an absolute win for us,” said Schröder, who had already worked with the current S04 coach at Greuther Fürth. “At a club with a long tradition, people always expect to hire the biggest coach possible. But we wanted a coach who gets down to business and works. I don’t need the biggest name for that.”
Before the season, Schalke had given Kramer a contract until 2024. “We didn’t give it to him for nothing,” said Schröder.