Schalke 04 – DW – 05/15/2005
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Schalke 04

Founded: 1904 Colours: Blue and white City: Gelsenkirchen/The Ruhr Valley Ground: Arena AufSchalke Nickname: Die Knappen

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Schalke 04's 2004/05 squadImage: dpa

Most famous players:
Ernst Kuzorra, Fritz Szepan, Stan Libuda, Norbert Nigbur, Klaus Fischer, Klaus Fichtel, Rolf Rüssman, Erwin Kremers, Marc Wilmots, Jens Lehmann, Ailton, Gerald Asamoah.

Schalke 04 is one of Germany`s most popular clubs. The club is from Gelsenkirchen, a mining town in the Ruhr Valley and can look back on a proud history. On 4 May 1904, a group of 14 and 15-year-old boys founded a football club they called Westfalia Schalke.

Schalke's rise to becoming Germany's most popular team began early in the 20 th century. The so-called "Schalker Kreisel" - the style of football played by the team - became its trademark. The side centred on its star player Ernst Kuzorra. Kuzorra and his brother-in-law Fritz Szepan, became the leading personalities on and off the field. Schalke always had strong links to the local mining. Hence the nickname "blue-and white Knappen" (Knappe being the German term for a young miner).

Schalke started to become the dominating side in Germany reaching the German Championship final nine times between 1933 and 1942. The "Schalke legend" had been born, a legend that has kept its attraction for many later generations and is the reason for the massive support Schalke has in
Germany.

After World War II, the clubs were struggling and when the Bundesliga came into being in 1963 Schalke were naturally among the 16 founder members. However, in the first ten years they largely had to fight against relegation. The end of the 1960s saw a new, promising young team built around the legendary right-winger Reinhard Libuda, who was known to everyone simply as "Stan" due to his dribbling abilities which were reminiscent of Stanley Matthews.

Arena 'AufSchalke' in Gelsenkirchen
The Arena AufSchalke is the most modern stadium in Germany. Its most striking feature is its retractable roofImage: AP

In 1972 Schalke finished second in the Bundesliga and won the German Cup for only the second time. But there were tough times ahead for Schalke after their involvement in a match-fixing scandal. Several leading players were suspended and the team eventually broke up. The sporting decline began. However, in spite of failing to win any trophies Schalke remained one of Germany's most popular clubs.

In 1996 the club managed to qualify for Europe for the first time in 19 years. Sensationally, they went all the way to win the UEFA Cup after victories over Roda Kerkrade, Trabzonspor, Club Bruges, Valencia, and Tenerife. In the final Schalke overcame Inter Milan fashion in a dramatic
penalty shoot-out in the San Siro on 21 May
1997.

The club now proudly plays its home matches in the state-of-the-art Arena AufSchalke. The capacity of the stadium is over 60,000 fans. The pitch can be rolled in from outside the stadium and the roof is retractable, making the Arena one of the most modern stadiums in Europe. The Champions League Final 2004 between Porto and Monaco was played at this venue.

Slowly but surely Schalke are becoming serious title contenders once more. They almost won the Bundesliga Championship in 2001. In a highly dramatic ending to the season a hotly disputed indirect free-kick in the 94th minute led to Bayern Munich's equaliser against Hamburg and denied Schalke their eighth German championship title. The whole of Germany commiserated with the crying Schalke fans who had thought the title was theirs at last. That day has made the club all the more determined to get back to the top.

Current Schalke Squad

Heimeroth, Christofer (13) Bordon, Marcelo Jose (5) Altintop, Hamit (6) Asamoah, Gerald (14) Rost, Frank (1) Bungert, Niko (32) Azaouagh, Mimoun (33) Delura, Michael (7) Ünlü, Volkan (29) Hoogland, Tim (27) Baumjohann, Alexander (21)Goncalves da Silva, Ailton (9) Kläsener, Thomas (4) Hesse, Kai (25) Hanke, Mike (26) Krstajic, Mladen (20) Kmetsch, Sven (31) Sand, Ebbe (11) Lamotte, Fabian (23) Kobiashvili, Levan (3)Pander, Christian (24) Lincoln, (10) Petereit, Christian (30) Oude Kamphuis, Niels (18) Rodriguez, Dario (16) Poulsen, Christian (2) Talarek, Simon (28) Varela, Gustavo (19) van Hoogdalem, Marco (12) Vermant, Sven (17)Waldoch, Tomasz (15)

Coach: Ralf Rangnick

Alex Sisto