The official confirmation came late in the morning – anything but surprising. It seemed inevitable that there would be personnel consequences at FC Schalke 04 after the 3:5 debacle in their own stadium against Darmstadt 98. And they have turned out to be even more extensive than initially expected. In addition to coach Karel Geraerts, Geraerts’ Belgian compatriot, sports director Marc Wilmos, also has to leave the Gelsenkirchen second division football club.
While 42-year-old Geraerts is leaving Schalke after less than a year as coach, Wilmots, 55, only signed a long-term contract at the beginning of the year. Peter Balette will initially be in charge of training and will probably also take over the team’s supervision in next Saturday’s game against Preußen Münster. Wilmots’ tasks will initially be divided up internally. There was no official confirmation of this at the moment.
Schalke has had a disappointing start to the new season in the second division, with four points from six matches – not enough for the traditional club, which wants to be up there and return to the Bundesliga as quickly as possible. Last season, Schalke fought against relegation for a long time.
After the 0:2 defeat at Karlsruher SC on matchday 5, sporting director Marc Wilmots expressed his trust in his Belgian compatriot Geraerts. But the 3:5 defeat after a 3:0 lead against Darmstadt on Friday evening was probably too much for the club’s management.
Especially since Geraerts was no longer undisputed. Even before the match against Darmstadt there had been speculation that a defeat would cost the Belgian his job. Geraerts had recently had clear differences of opinion with the powerful squad planner Ben Manga.
Geraerts himself sounded combative after the bitter defeat. “I’m a sportsman. I don’t give up,” said the Belgian after the almost bizarre 3:5 defeat against Darmstadt. “I always keep going. That will be the case tomorrow, that will be the case next week. That will be the case for my entire football career.”
Even a 3-0 lead on Friday was not enough for Schalke to secure their second win of the season. In a completely inexplicable way, the team squandered their comfortable lead against the previously winless Darmstadt team. Schalke have now lost three games in a row in the league, and four points from six games are far too few for the traditional club’s ambitions. The team’s defensive work is representative of the crisis. Schalke have already conceded 16 goals.
Even for the long-suffering fans, Friday evening’s events were too much. After the game, they greeted the players in front of the north curve with a shrill chorus of whistles. “We want to see you fight!” echoed through the arena. “It’s understandable that they booed us,” said captain Kenan Karaman. “When you’re leading 3-0 against Schalke, you can’t lose.”
Geraerts also explained: “I understand the fans.” When asked whether he expected to continue as coach at Schalke, he simply said: “That is not my decision.” (dpa)
