Fallen giants Schalke are back in the Bundesliga
If you ignore the fact that Bayern (usually) win the Bundesliga title every season, German football is high drama. It’s not uncommon for ‘big’ clubs to tumble down and climb back up the pyramid, Schalke are just the latest but probably won’t be the last.
By Alex Roberts
Schalke’s 1-0 win over Fortuna Dusseldorf, thanks to a goal from winger Kenan Karaman got them over the line. It’s been three years since they last graced the Bundesliga, and even then, back in 2021/22, it was only for a season having been relegated in the previous.
It took them ten points clear of third placed Hannover with just three games left to play. Schalke are also nine points ahead of second-place Paderborn and need just one point from their remaining games to secure the 2. Bundesliga title.
Miron Muslić’s lads have been pragmatic. The football hasn’t been particularly pretty; there is more than one way to play the game. Schalke have been outscored by six rival sides, with the same number of goals as 16th Magdeburg.
Their success has been built on their defence. Just 28 goals conceded, the fewest in the league, averaging 0.9 per 90 minutes, a league high of 13 clean sheets, 19.3 tackles per match, and an xG conceded of 34.4.
Securing promotion from the 2. Bundesliga isn’t easy. Last season was the literal worst in the club’s history for league placement, finishing 14th in the second flight. It was a truly sobering moment for one of Germany’s best supported and biggest clubs.
CEO Matthias Tillmann, who joined the club in 2024, told AFP that Schalke being in the second division is a “mistake”.
“We are not a second division club when it comes to fans, to infrastructure. Obviously, we are there now and there are reasons for that. We’ve made mistakes on the sporting side, capital allocation… The first relegation in 2021, the beginning of Covid, was very tough financially. Then we immediately went down again, which is not good.”
Schalke were financially hamstrung by events that were completely out of their control. Alongside COVID, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine saw their lucrative and long-term sponsorship with energy giants Gazprom was torn up.
The reality is, Schalke hadn’t looked like getting promoted any time soon before this season. They were due some good news, and Schalke’s season is full of tasty, tasty narrative for us to sink out teeth into, like a medieval lord slobbering over a turkey leg.
Edin Džeko joined from Fiorentina in January. Even at the ripe old age of 40, he proved why he’s arguably the most underrated striker of his generation, with six goals and three assists in his nine games.
His involvement has been key in helping Schalke navigate a tricky run of fixtures. Džeko scored on his debut, pulling a goal back when they were 2-0 down to Kaiserslautern in the 87th minute, allowing Karaman to snatch a late equaliser a few later.
Džeko’s brace against Dynamo Dresden ensured they got a point in a 2-2 draw, he provided two assists in the 2-1 away win over Holsten Kiel and then scored the winner in the 1-0 victory over Arminia Bielefeld. It’s impossible to say if Schalke would have gone up without Džeko but having him certainly improved their chances.
His numbers are indicative of what you’d probably expect from a 40-year-old striker. Džeko doesn’t dribble too much with eight successful, he’s not that involved in build-up with 277 touches, and his defensive contributions are nominal (12). He shows up when and where Schalke need him.
Turkish winger Karaman may well be Schalke’s player of the season, though. The 32-year-old has been one of the only good things at the club since they were relegated, with 58 goal contributions in his 94 2. Bundesliga games.
The man who scored the goal that sent them up, a statue outside of the VELTINS-Arena may be a step too far, but he deserves a box for life or something similar. At the very least, he shouldn’t have to pay for a meal again.
Perhaps the best story to come out of Schalke, beside their promotion, is Loris Karius’ redemption arc. The ‘keeper’s performance in Liverpool Champions League final defeat back in 2018 has been hard for him to forget, even if he was concussed.
That game, an unsuccessful loan at Union Berlin, and then an even worse one with Newcastle, Karius would have had every right to turn his back on football. Karius joined Schalke in January 2025 after over six months without a club.
After keeping a clean sheet on his debut, a 1-0 win over Preussen Münster Karius started the following three games as Schalke picked up seven points from a possible 12. Unfortunately, a calf injury against Greuther Furth would then rule him out for the rests of the season.
This season, he’s well and truly picked up where he left off. He’s kept the most clean sheets (12), and has the second highest save percentage (73.0%), just 0.1% off Darmstadt’s Marcel Schuhen.
Schalke’s record scorer Klaus Fischer even went as far as suggesting Karius should get a spot at this summer’s World Cup saying in January: “Schalke have the best goalkeeper not only in the second division, but in all of Germany. The national team coach should really start thinking about what kind of goalkeeper he has and how he plays.”
With Muslić’s lads looking to compete against the big boys next season, Karius’ experience with the good, the bad, and the ugly of our beautiful game could prove crucial. He should probably expect to be a little busier, however.
As an institution, Schalke deserve to be in the Bundesliga, it wasn’t too long ago they were competing in the latter stages of the Champions League. They’re still a long way off from doing that again, but regardless of loyalties, their return should be celebrated.
Unless you’re a Dortmund fan…
(Images from IMAGO)
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