Part Two – Ruhr rivals in disarray – Schalke

By Kevin Hatchard

Schalke finally dropped the Sword of Damocles that has been hanging above coach Jens Keller for months. Less than a fortnight after a morale-boosting win over bitter rivals Dortmund, Keller was given his marching orders, and replaced by former Chelsea coach Roberto Di Matteo.

Keller’s supporters would highlight a prohibitive injury list, and the club’s impressive third-place finish last season. However, there’s no escaping the fact that Schalke had a genuine inferiority complex against elite sides throughout Keller’s reign, and he often came up short tactically.

The writing was on the wall after a chaotic 4-1 defeat at Borussia Monchengladbach in September. If there was a tactical scheme in place, it was pretty well disguised as Schalke’s opponents ran riot. Players simply weren’t listening to the coach, especially perennial mischief-maker Kevin-Prince Boateng, who has put in some performances that transcend laziness.

From the opening weekend of the season, when Schalke lost 2-1 at Hannover, skipper Benedikt Howedes was accusing team-mates of being selfish and not working hard enough. After the Gladbach defeat, star striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar revealed his dismay. “We knew Gladbach would hit us on the counter, and we just let them,” he complained. “They could have scored 10. We have to pull together as a team, and we have to come up with a plan.”

The final comment was the most damaging. Not for the first time, the finger was pointed at Keller when it came to tactical acumen.

Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Hoffenheim left Schalke 12^th with just eight points, closer to the relegation zone than the Champions League places. While Keller was talking about the team’s plight on television, the trapdoor was being primed. He was dismissed on Tuesday, but sporting director Horst Heldt first met with Di Matteo the week before, after a dismal 1-1 draw at home to Maribor in the Champions League.

Like a cat losing interest in a maimed bird, Schalke have finally ended Keller’s footballing purgatory. Heldt has gushed about how Di Matteo can bring stability to the club and can deal with star players, and in theory the Italian should garner respect. Not only is he a Champions League-winning coach, but he was also an accomplished player.

I spoke to Di Matteo regularly when I covered his West Brom side, and he is a charming, thoughtful guy who knows the game inside out. However, there are question marks against him. He led West Brom into the Premier League, but struggled in the top division after a bright start, and was fired in the February of his first top-flight campaign.

He did superbly to lead Chelsea to Champions League and FA Cup glory, but was jettisoned just three months into his first full season as coach.

If Keller’s tenure is anything to go by, Di Matteo will be given time to turn Schalke’s fortunes around. He has an excellent core of young players to work with, as well as experienced talents like Howedes and Huntelaar. The Champions League campaign is salvageable, and intriguingly includes an impending clash with Di Matteo’s old club Chelsea.

I’d love Di Matteo to do well, and transform Schalke into a club that can challenge for the Bundesliga title. With big egos to conquer in the dressing room, and a shaky defence to shore up, success is by no means certain.

Given that the Ruhr is the industrial heartland of Germany, it seems apt that there is plenty of building work required in both Dortmund and Gelsenkirchen.