Getty Schalke
FC Schalke head into the new Bundesliga campaign aiming to get back on track after a disastrous slump last season that saw the team slip from fifth place in the table to a final finish of 12th.
Coach David Wagner will continue despite their poor form in 2020 that saw his team fail to win a single game in their last 16 matches. The Schalke boss will also have to cope without American wonderkid Weston McKennie who has sealed a move to Juventus.
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Starting with the 2020-21 season, anyone in the US can watch every FC Schalke game live on ESPN+:
ESPN+ will have live coverage of every Bundesliga match in 20-21, as well as DFL Supercup, Bundesliga 2, Serie A, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, MLS and other live sports. It also includes every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) all for $5.99 per month.
Or, if you also want Disney+ and Hulu, you can get all three for $12.99 per month, which works out to about 31 percent savings:
Get the ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu Bundle
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch every FC Schalke match live on the ESPN app on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via ESPN.com.
Schalke 2020-21 Preview
Cash-strapped Schalke have had a difficult summer due to their continued financial problems. The coronavirus pandemic has piled more pressure on a club that already has reported debts approaching €200m ($225 million).
Marketing chief Alexander Jobst and director of sport Jochen Schneider held a press conference in July to apologize to supporters for “the mistakes we have made,” including not offering refunds to season-ticket holders for games played behind closed doors.
The club also confirmed there will be no big-spending for the time being, but there is confidence that Wagner can succeed in Gelsenkirchen. The former Huddersfield Town boss enjoyed a strong start to his career at Schalke, and Schneider seems confident he remains the right man for the job.
“Unfortunately, there were too many injuries for the width, depth and balance of our squad. As long as David Wagner had the majority of the squad at his disposal, we played attractive and successful football.”
Schalke are one of Germany’s biggest clubs but have not qualified for European football in three of the last four seasons. Wagner must now attempt to put together a squad capable of challenging for European qualification on a minimal budget.
Transfer Ins and Outs
There has still been plenty of movement in and out of Schalke. Goalkeeper Alexander Nübel has left for Bayern Munich, while loanees Jonjoe Kenny, Juan Miranda, Jean-Clair Todibo, Michael Gregoritsch, and Jonas Carls have all returned to their parent clubs. Daniel Caligiuri has also departed on a free to Augsburg.
Yet Schalke have been able to make some signings, including striker Vedad Ibisevic who has arrived from Hertha Berlin. The 36-year-old is an experienced Bosnia and Herzegovina international and is no stranger to scoring goals in the Bundesliga.
Aachen: 6 goals
Hoffenheim: 54 goals
Stuttgart: 47 goals
Hertha Berlin: 56 goals
Vedad Ibisevic’s goalscoring adventure around Germany will continue auf Schalke 🇧🇦⚒️
Wagner has backed the veteran to be a hit at the Veltins-Arena in 2020-21, highlighting his desire to play for the Royal Blues after a four-year spell with Hertha Berlin.
“He has a great attitude and you could see that as soon as he signed. Vedo had other options, including some which would have clearly been more lucrative, but he wanted to play for Schalke and he wants to help the club. We’re happy that Vedo is part of our team. He poses a real goalscoring threat and has lots of experience; he’s always been an important part of his clubs both on and off the pitch in the past.”
Schalke have also landed Portugal international striker Goncalo Paciencia on a season-long loan from Eintracht Frankfurt. The 26-year-old scored 10 goals in all competitions last season despite injury problems in the second half of the campaign.
Wagner has also been able to welcome back players such as Nabil Bentaleb, Sebastian Rudy, and Mark Uth from loans and will be hoping they can play key roles for the club next season.
Uth in particular is one to watch for Schalke next season. The 29-year-old spent the second half of last season at Koln but will be a handy player for the Royal Blues if Wagner can rediscover his best form. The striker’s been on target in pre-season for Schalke, including this creative effort in the 3-0 win over Bochum.
Schalke’s signings should add some much-needed attacking firepower to a squad that scored just 38 times in 34 league games in 2019-20, only relegated sides Dusseldorf and Paderborn scored less.
Manager: David Wagner
Wagner is a popular figure at Schalke as he was part of the team that won the UEFA Cup in 1997 as a player. Yet he’s likely to come under pressure if his team starts 2020-21 the way they finished last season.
The 48-year-old has already spoken about the difficulties he’s facing in Gelsenkirchen ahead of the new campaign but appears to be relishing the challenge.
It’s not easy in the transfer market this year due to the current circumstances. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, we, like many other clubs, are in a totally different position. We all need to get used to that and deal with the situation. That’s why I’m not driving myself crazy about it. I’m concentrating on working with the boys that we have here in the squad. I’m really looking forward to the task ahead.
There’s no doubt Wagner has his work cut out this season with Schalke and, ahead of the new season, fans can be forgiven for wondering whether the coach will be able to find a way back into Europe or will spend the season battling at the wrong end of the table.