Smolders becomes assistant coach to Geraerts
One day after the introduction of new coach Karel Geraerts, Schalke 04 announced another personnel change. As the Royal Blues announced on Tuesday, Matthias Tillmann will be appointed chairman and spokesman of the board with effect from January 1, 2024. “From this point on, the 39-year-old will have overall strategic responsibility within the committee and for the departments of sales, marketing, communications, digital, fans & sustainability as well as events & security,” said the second division club about Tillmann’s future area of responsibility.
“We are very happy that we were able to win Matthias Tillmann for FC Schalke 04. This was done as part of a search process, which we completed quickly with external support and with a very good result for Schalke 04,” explained Axel Hefer, Chairman of the S04 Supervisory Board. “The candidates were evaluated by the search committee based on the following five key criteria: management experience in large, modern companies, communication skills, experience in sports sponsorship, a connection to football and our club as well as leadership and implementation skills. Matthias completely convinced us in all areas.”
Tillmann, a member of Schalke since 1995, most recently worked as a board member at “Trivago”, where he also worked together with Hefer. “I would like to thank the supervisory board for the trust they have placed in me. FC Schalke 04 is in a very challenging time in which key decisions – both sporting and economic – have to be made and made. That’s why I set myself an agenda for the first 90 days.” This includes the three areas of sport, sponsorship and cooperation in the office. “Sport is our core business, where we have to make important decisions and also question existing things. I’m really looking forward to the analysis and impulses from our new head coach Karel Geraerts. It is clear that after a phase of stabilization, we have to look forward in order to lead Schalke 04 back into the Bundesliga in the medium term. Because that remains our goal.”
The Schalke bench since Breitenreiter: Only Büskens came close to the points average
Know each other from Union SG: Smolders is Geraerts’ assistant coach again
The Gelsenkirchen team also announced that his former assistant coach Tim Smolders, with whom he worked at Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, will now be assisting Geraerts. “We are pleased that Tim will now be part of the coaching team. The fact that he and Karel are well-coordinated is a big advantage. “In addition, as a former professional and youth coordinator in Bruges, Tim has a valuable wealth of experience that fits Schalke very well,” said sports director André Hechelmann.
The 43-year-old has played 285 games in the Jupiler Pro League as a professional for FC Brugge, among others. He also took his first steps into coaching at the same club after previously being an assistant at Belgium’s U19 team. In 2022 he moved to Union SG, where he supported Geraerts and Alexander Blessin until recently.
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