FC Schalke 04

[Oliver_Kahn]

Come on Gekas!!

This might the slip up we were all expecting.
If Bayern doesn't win the BL, then let it be Bremen

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The Bundesliga title race was thrown into further intrigue on Friday night when leaders Schalke 04 crashed to a shock 2-1 Ruhr derby defeat at lowly Bochum.

Mirko Slomka's side, two points clear at the top of the table with only four matches to play, had an opportunity to stretch the lead to five points ahead of Werder Bremen's match with Bielefeld on Sunday.

German international striker Kevin Kuranyi seemed to put them on their merry way when his ninth-minute header found the Bochum net. Strike partner Gerald Asamoah then had a superb chance to double the advantage, but saw his 14th-minute shot brilliantly saved by Jaroslav Drobny in the home goal.

That plunging right-handed stop inspired Bochum and it was no great surprise when the equaliser arrived, Zvjezdan Misimovic stealing past a static defence to flick a magnificent goal past the despairing Manuel Neuer on 33 minutes.

Christian Pander drove a free kick against the outside of a Bochum upright, but Theofanis Gekas, the Bundesliga's leading scorer, slotted home at the far post on 42 to give Bochum a half-time lead.

Kuranyi and Marcelo Bordon both came close for the visitors in an exciting second period, but Bochum always looked dangerous on the break and Misimovic and Gekas were subsequently foiled by the superb Neuer.

Schalke had two worthy penalty appeals waved away, but their performance was not one befitting champions, and questions will now be raised about the character of a side that now looks to have relinquished the initiative in a championship race that looked to be going their way.

The win eases Bochum's relegation worries, and presents VfB Stuttgart with an opportunity to narrow the gap to Schalke to just one point if they win against basement club Gladbach on Saturday. Bremen, however, can go clear by a point if they are victorious the following day.

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Gekas the Great scores again, hahahaha. Thank you Gekas!
I know Bayern won't win the title, so I'd rather see any other team winning it than Schalke. Scheiss Schalke!

[Oliver_Kahn]

You tend to forget this part:

9' [0 - 1] K. Kuranyi
33' [1 - 1] Z. Misimovic
42' [2 - 1] T. Gekas

[Oliver_Kahn]

Anyway, great win for Bochum and I'm sure that Schalke will regret not having won this match.

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Hamit Altintop did really well, obviously Schalke's best player yesterday.
Really looking forward to see him in Red.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Nice one, I want him to excell for us, instead of Bayern spending cash on Robben.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Schalke slip to 2-1 defeat in Bochum

The Royal Blues suffered a major setback in the championship race last night, going down 2-1 at VfL Bochum in front of 31,238 fans. Kevin Kuranyi had given Mirko Slomka's men the lead after eight minutes, but goals from Zvjezdan Misimovic (33') and Theofanis Gekas (41') won the game for the home side. Schalke remain on top of the table, but would relinquish this position were Bremen to win in Bielefeld on Sunday.

Slomka placed his faith in the side that beat Energie Cottbus 2-0 last week, with Dario Rodriguez continuing to stand in for the injured Mladen Krstajic and Mesut Özil operating up front alongside Kevin Kuranyi and Gerald Asamoah.

The match was a lively affair from the outset with chances for both sides. And the Royal Blues got off to the perfect start on eight minutes when Kevin Kuranyi converted Schalke's first chance of the game, heading home Christian Pander's cross from five metres out. Schalke dominated the proceedings after that, stringing together some neat passing moves in midfield, but apart from an opportunity for Gerald Asamoah on the quarter hour they failed to carve out any more openings. On top of this, the Royal Blues began to give the ball away in midfield with some regularity midway through the half, thus allowing the home side to get back into it. "After going one up you have to do better than that away from home. We failed to maintain our dominance and passing accuracy", explained Slomka after the final whistle.

Bochum were more aggressive and constantly sought to play quick balls up to Gekas, their most prolific striker. Yet Marcelo Bordon and Dario Rodriguez were assured in central defence. "Only when we showed more composure going forward did we start creating chances", said Bochum coach Marcel Koller. The home side's equaliser resulted from a counterattack. Grote's cross caught the Schalke defence napping, allowing Misimovic to head home unchallenged.

Nevertheless, roared on by well over 10,000 travelling fans, the Royal Blues continued to go forward and were unlucky on 38 when Pander's free-kick struck the upright. But just before the interval they suffered a further setback when a quick counterthrust and ball into the middle by Maltritz found Gekas unmarked at the back post, and the Greek striker left Manuel Neuer with no chance with a shot low into the corner. "Bochum had two strong, quick strikers who made life difficult for us. Twice we defended very badly", said Slomka.

After the restart Schalke threw everyone forward in a bid to find an equaliser and had great chances through Özil (53') and Kuranyi (67'), the latter hitting the post with a header. "I've no complaints about my players, they tried everything in the second half," added Slomka.

There was controversy in the 79th minute when referee Knut Kircher opted not to penalise Imhof when he handled the ball in his own penalty area. And Imhof was involved again minutes later when Lincoln went down in the box, only for Kircher to wave play on a second time. "It's a shame when matches are decided by decisions like that. For me they were definite penalties", said Slomka, clearly unhappy with the referee's decisions. And so it remained 2-1 to Bochum. The Royal Blues are now in danger of losing their lead at the top of the table should Bremen win in Bielefeld on Sunday.

Bochum: Drobny - Maltritz, Dabowski, Zdebel, Misimovic, Butscher, Schröder, Grote (Grote 69'), Epalle (Drsek 90'), Gekas, Yahia.
Schalke: Neuer - Rafinha (Kobiashvili 62'), Bordon, Rodriguez, Pander - Hamit Altintop, Ernst, Lincoln - Asamoah (Halil Altintop 62'), Kuranyi, Özil (Larsen 80').
Goals: 0-1 Kuranyi (8'), 1-1 (33') Misimovic, 2-1 Gekas (41')
Attendance: 31,328 (sold out)
Referee: Knut Kircher (Rottenburg)
Yellow cards: Dabrowski, Grote, Maltritz, Zdebel - Kuranyi, Asamoah, Hamit Altintop, Rodriguez

[Oliver_Kahn]

VS

MD 32: FC Schalke 04 vs FC Nürnberg
Stadium: VELTINS-Arena, Gelsenkirchen
Date: Saturday, 5th May, 15:30 C.E.T. (GMT +2)

Quick Schalke stats
Current League Form: LWWWL

Schalke have a very tough match, if they drop pts, they can wave the title goodbye

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If Bochum could make them loose points, Nurnberg can absolutely make them loose points aswell. Hopefully...

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FC Schalke 04 are forging ever-closer sporting links with their Russian partner club, FC Zenit Saint Petersburg.

Following the recent visit to Gelsenkirchen by two Zenit youth teams, the Russian club is now to receive more than 100 guests representing the "Royal Blues."

Schalke fans head east

The FC Zenit board have invited some 120 Schalke fans to their club's upcoming home match (Sunday, May 6th) against Krylya Sovetov Samara.

Schalke's upper echelon will also be well represented, with president Gerhard Rehberg, vice-president Josef Schnusenberg, sporting director Andreas Müller, managing director Peter Peters and chairman Clemens Tönnies all set to attend.

Above all, however, this is an opportunity for fans of the two clubs to get together. The chairman of the Schalke fan club association, Rolf Rojek, said, "Our fans are really looking forward to this trip." According to Rojek, the north Russian metropole is currently a hot destination among "Royal Blues" supporters:

Rather Russia than Spain

"Once it became clear last year that our quarter-final opponents in the UEFA Cup would be either FC Seville or Zenit, many of the fans had their fingers crossed for the Russian side. That surprised me at first, because normally our fans love travelling to Spain."

Rojek was a member of the Schalke delegation that rounded-off a four-day trip to Russia with main sponsors Gazprom in St.Petersburg in late March. "I got confirmation there of something our fans knew already: St. Petersburg is a beautiful city. And when we heard about the Zenit supporter who travelled 11,000 kilometres for an away match, it was clear to everyone - they're just as crazy as us."

Ties will grow closer

Some of the fans of the two clubs will be meeting both on and off the pitch on Sunday. Following the game against Samara, the Petrovsky stadium will host a friendly between teams representing Zenit and Schalke supporters.

"Of course, it takes time to develop the kind of relationship that's grown over the course of more than 20 years with the Nürnberg fans," Rojek added. "But we're keen to get to know our Russian partner club better, and for that reason there's a lot of excitement among our fans about this trip."

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Being on the pitch is simply not enough. That is the conclusion the Royal Blues have drawn from last week's 2-1 defeat at VfL Bochum. Head coach Mirko Slomka is banking on his players showing "more determination in attacking the goal" on Saturday, when Nürnberg (Nuremberg) guest at the VELTINS Arena.
Slomka described the events of last weekend as an "emotional roller-coaster".

The setback in Bochum was followed by two days of nervous waiting until everyone connected with the club was able to breathe a sigh of relief when Werder Bremen lost at Arminia Bielefeld, a result that saw Schalke maintain their place at the top of the Bundesliga table.

"We're in a very good position. We've been top since Week 20 and it's a role we feel very comfortable in", emphasised Slomka, who apart from bringing in Levan Kobiashvili for Mesut Özil will place his faith in the personnel who played in Bochum. "They will mobilise everything they have to make sure the three points stay in Gelsenkirchen."

And though he was reluctant to single anyone out, the 39-year-old coach admitted that he had had some stern words to say to his players. "I had to come down a bit harder on a couple of them because being on the pitch simply isn't enough."

This certainly didn't apply to Kevin Kuranyi. Along with Marcelo Bordon the Germany striker was one of the few players to get anywhere near the top of their game, Slomka said. Kuranyi had "worked his socks off" and was "justifiably angry" after the match, he added. "Unfortunately, however, two are not enough", concurred the Schalke boss, who called for his side to show more ambition in going for goal on Saturday.

His appeal was primarily aimed at his midfield. "We aren't posing enough of a threat in the centre", he complained, adding that Fabian Ernst and Co. should have more courage to shoot from outside the box.

This is by no means the worst approach to adopt against a compact Nürnberg rearguard. "Along with us they have the best defence in the Bundesliga", explained Slomka. Both clubs have conceded just 29 goals this season, a record that cannot be bettered. So it will be no easy task for the Royal Blues, who have been told by Slomka to spread the play wide: "Our full-backs are also tasked with getting involved in our attacks."

The Schalke boss is also relying on his team to show the qualities that have brought them three home wins in succession. "We have to be patient and keep our composure. We simply cannot afford to panic." Because Slomka is certain of one thing: "There's no way we'll have as much luck as we did last week. It's now up to us to take our chances."

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New contract for prospect

FC Schalke 04 have extended Sebastian Boenisch's contract until 2010.

The defender's contract was due to expire in 2008, but he has now put pen to paper under a new deal that will keep in Gelsenkirchen until June 30th 2010.

Nine Bundesliga matches

The 20-year-old had joined Schalke from Rot-Weiß Oberhausen in 2003, and he has played nine Bundesliga and one UEFA Cup match for Schalke so far.

"It's exactly the right step for Sebastian, because he is a real Schalker. He is an option for both full back positions in the upcoming seasons", head coach Mirko Slomka commented.

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Schalke 1 - 0 Nurnberg

63' [1 - 0] K. Kuranyi