Karaman makes advancement clear
©IMAGO
Schalke 04 returns to the Bundesliga. With a 1-0 home win against Fortuna Düsseldorf on Saturday evening, the Royal Blues secured promotion after three years in the second division. Kenan Karaman put Gelsenkirchen on the road to victory with his opening goal in the 15th minute. With two match days remaining, the Knappen now have the opportunity to have one of the best seasons by a team in the history of the second division.
After 32 rounds of the championship, Schalke now has 67 points. This has only been surpassed nine times in the history of the single-track 2nd Bundesliga – for example by the Schalke team in 1990/91. If coach Miron Muslic’s S04 wins its last two games, the 73 points achieved would be the fifth highest value in history, which was exceeded twice by Hertha BSC and Hannover 96. The Berliners hold the record from the 2012/13 season with 76 points. In Schalke’s record second division season, 90/91, the Royal Blues (converted to the 3-point rule) scored 72 points (among the best second division seasons ever). In the current season, Nuremberg and Braunschweig are the remaining opponents.
This resurgence is very special, emphasized sports director Youri Mulder to the broadcaster NITRO in the final minutes from his seat in the stadium. “You can see that all day long. It’s not just that we’re up there, it’s also the way we play. We’re having a great season.”
Captain Karaman’s 14th goal of the season (15th minute) paved the way for the Revierclub to their 20th win of the season in the sold-out arena with 61,587 spectators. Even star striker Edin Dzeko got his stage again on what was, from a blue and white perspective, a perfect evening. The 40-year-old, who recently injured his shoulder, was back in the squad for the first time since mid-March and came on as a substitute against Düsseldorf in the 68th minute. This time he didn’t score a goal. But his quota, six goals in nine games, is one of the guarantees for promotion.
Only one defeat this year
Schalke’s Bundesliga comeback after 1071 days is well deserved. Since the 13th matchday, the Knappen have been at the top of the table – except for the 22nd matchday, when Paderborn was at the top for a week. They have only lost one of 15 competitive games so far this year and could ultimately crown their promotion with the second division championship.
They also managed to do this in 2022, but the following year the club was relegated again and then fought against falling into the 3rd division for two years. This season, however, things are different; the turning point came with coach Muslic, who was hired in the summer. The 43-year-old 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 coaching and smart squad decisions – which was crowned with promotion after just one year.
