“Best time in my career”
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Kenan Karaman wrote himself into FC Schalke 04’s history books with his goal in the 1-0 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf, which meant their return to the Bundesliga. The 32-year-old captain spoke in an interview with “WAZ” about the special moment and his difficult early days in Gelsenkirchen. He also has a “dream scenario” for the end of his career.
“I’m currently experiencing the best time of my career at Schalke. The appreciation I feel from the fans and those in charge is huge. A love has developed – which is mutual,” said Karaman. “There is nothing greater for me as a footballer than feeling this love from the Schalke fans. Of course I know how fast-moving football is, but at the moment I’m enjoying it. You can’t buy the feeling of 60,000 people screaming your name – it’s addictive. These are moments that I will carry in my heart for the rest of my life.”
With 14 goals and five assists, Karaman is the top scorer for the Schalke promotion team and is eighth among the second division professionals with the most goals. The captain is the guarantee for Schalke’s promotion, which was already being whispered about in the dressing room over the winter. “We were autumn champions and a solid team – of course we wanted to follow the path to the end at that point. In general, promotion was not an issue in the meetings; it was discussed more in small circles.”
In the end, the Bundesliga return at the beginning of May, two match days before the end, was perfect. In front of their home crowd, the Royal Blues won 1-0 against later relegated Fortuna Düsseldorf. Captain Karaman scored the golden goal in the 15th minute. “I have never felt such emotions in my footballing life. It was the first time that I cried after a goal. With this goal, so much of the burden was lifted from me – all the crap that we had been through here in the previous three years. I experienced all of these low points,” explained the 31-time Turkish international. “The fact that I am the one who shoots Schalke back into the Bundesliga has closed the circle for me.”
Karaman on the 2024/25 season: “No more humiliation is possible”
It didn’t look like Schalke would be promoted at the start of the season, even though they had the fourth-highest squad value at 34 million euros at the beginning of August. The traditional club finished the previous year in 14th place and was in a relegation battle for a long time. On the last matchday, the team lost 1-2 to SV Elversberg in their own stadium – a moment that would shape Karaman. “The fans turned their backs on us, mocked us – there’s no more humiliation. The disappointment was incredibly great. No game has bothered me for as long as this one, and I’m very happy that we all got out of this hole.”
Schalke’s squad value has increased by 36 percent to 46.2 million euros since the beginning of August and is expected to rise again in the market value update for the 2nd Bundesliga on June 1st. In the Bundesliga, after relegation from 1. FC Heidenheim and FC St. Pauli, the Royal Blues, along with Elversberg, are the underdogs – if you exclude the promoted teams, Union Berlin has the lowest squad value at 124 million euros. Nevertheless, Karaman is optimistic that Schalke will have a better season than 2022/23. “We have a lot of quality in the squad for the Bundesliga. It is also important that we as a team have a clear plan – and Miron will also have that for the Bundesliga. If we fill this plan with conviction, we can also survive in the Bundesliga. Nevertheless, it is clear that we need reinforcements.”
Karaman’s difficult first year – “dream scenario” end of career at Schalke
In the summer of 2022, Karaman moved from Besiktas to Schalke, which had just achieved promotion to the Bundesliga, on a free transfer. It was a difficult first year for the Stuttgart native, as Schalke were immediately relegated. “It took me time to get to Schalke – both on and off the pitch. Ultimately, I focused on my daily work and quickly understood how to use the incredible power of Schalke 04,” he explained. In 22 Bundesliga games he scored one goal and provided two assists. He scored the goal in the 2-2 draw in the Revierderby against Borussia Dortmund. “My personal turning point was my equalizing goal to make it 2-2 in the derby against BVB – after that things went up for me.”
At 32 years old, Karaman is in the autumn of his career, but is not yet thinking about quitting and cites Edin Dzeko as a role model. But one thing is clear to him: “My dream scenario is to end my career at Schalke. I can also well imagine staying in the Ruhr area after my career. My family feels very comfortable here.”