Schalke 04

FC Schalke 04 was founded on May 4, 1904. Initially it was known under Westphalia Schalke name and played in red and yellow kits. Football association of West Germany didn’t acknowledge the team still the club had 16 members by the end of the first year of its existence. In February 1912 Westphalia Schalke merged with Schalker Turnverein 1877 to be included into West Germany sport union under Gerhardt Klopp management. Local miners were the main supporters of the club and one of the mines sponsored the club to construct a pitch. That is how Schalke were nicknamed ‘the miners’.

On May 1923 the team won a group stage of the local district league. In January 1924 the club left the sport union and got its modern name Schalke 04. The team began playing in white and blue kits and became also known as ‘cobaltic’.
Later the team was playing the leading role in North Rhine-Westphalia region. Schalke style has always been distinguished by short pass and dynamic performance and is often referred to as a ‘whirligig’. In 1928 the club was renamed into Gelsenkirchen Schalke 04 and won the championship of West Germany straight away.

In 1934 the club became a German champion for the first time after defeating Nurnberg in the final. They defended the title the following year. But in 1936 they didn’t reach the final. In 1937, 1939, 1940 and 1942 Schalke made their way through the finals but couldn’t get the trophy.

In 1947 and 1972 the club clinched the German Cup. In 1997 the club participated in the UEFA Cup and reached the final where it defeated Internazionale Milan to claim their first success on the continent. That success inspired the team for a better performance at home. In 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2010 Schalke were runners-up in Bundesliga. In 2001 the team had a fabulous opportunity to get gold medals of Bundesliga but their hopes faded with just four minutes to play in the game against Bayern Munich. In 2006 Schalke played in the Champions League but finished third in the group stage and went directly to the UEFA Cup where it was beaten by Sevilla in semi-final.