FC Schalke 04

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Would be a great sign for Schalke, but I don't think he'll leave Fener.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Why not though ? Schalke are a much better and bigger club than Fenerbahçe and the Bundesliga tops the Turkish league anyday

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^ That's a fact, but Appiah is a loyal to Fener. Well, that's what Fener fans told me, anyway.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Schalke have arranged another close-season fixture, the club announced today. The Royal Blues will contest a friendly at Third Division South side Dynamo Dresden that is being staged under the motto "Foot down against violence" on Wednesday, 18 July.

The game is the idea of Schalke's principal sponsor, Gazprom. Further information will be disclosed at a press conference this Thursday.

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The proposed deal to take Ghanaian captain Stephen Appiah from Fenerbahce to Schalke appears to have faltered.

Appiah who is under contract in Turkey until 2009 has made his wish to leave Fenerbahce clear, and the prospect of playing for Schalke in the Champions’ League attracted him.

Negotiations began on Tuesday between Schalke manager Andreas Möller and Appiah’s representatives, in an attempt to bring to 26 year old midfielder to the Veltins Arena.

However the talks have not been particularly fruitful, as he is demanding too high a wage, and this is the sticking point for Schalke.

"The player knows that his demands can be met elsewhere," explained Möller. "But we cannot justify it financially.

"We will not make the mistake in our development, of taking the second step before we have taken the first," he added.

"A transfer is now very very unlikely unless Appiah lowers his wage demands."

Therefore no fee is being discussed with Fenerbahce at the moment.

Danish international Leon Andreason from Werder Bremen looks to be a more likely and cheaper option.

Goal.com - Germany - Appiah's Schalke Move Stalls Over Wages

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When Josef Schnusenberg addressed the audience as Schalke president for the first time, the clock fittingly showed 10:04 p.m.

And the 66-year-old immediately clarified how much the task means to him: "There can't be a bigger thing for an official than being Schalke president."

Sustained applause

That earned Schnusenberg the annual general meeting's sustained applause.

"We want to establish ourselves among the Bundesliga's top clubs. We will tolerate commercialisation, but not its negative spin-offs", Schnusenberg added.

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Frankfurt am Main, on an afternoon at the end of the 80`s:
A handful of children all of foreign origin, play football in the streets. They give their all during the game. Running, shooting and tricks. One lad stands out because he is much smaller and less built. His name is Mimoun Azaouagh.

Because he can not compete physically with the others he uses his skill. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn�t. But he never gives up and is always looking to dribble his way past the others.

"I have always played against older people who were bigger than me. Maybe that�s why it is no problem for me today to play�, explained the Schalke O4 player.

Straight out of school and on to the streets

The 24 year old remembers his games on the streets with joy, "As children we played until we fell over. Straight out of school and on to the streets."

The surroundings were ideal for him and his friends. In the industrial area where he played there were no cars after five or 6pm. "About 100 balls landed in Main", explained the midfielder with a grin.

Mimoun Azaouagh learned to apply himself on the streets. With technique instead of power. "It was a mistake to send him out to beef up. His game is based on technique", explained Jürgen Klopp from 1. FSV Mainz 05.

From Eintracht to Mainz

Jermain Jones und Christop Preuß played with the Moroccan born star In Frankfurt where he was also a ball boy, and have also followed him into the Bundesliga.

And he decided in 1999 to transfer to 1. FSV Mainz 05. A golden decision as finally his career started to take off. The game has also made the son of a factory worker financially secure.

No money for travel

Azaouagh could not afford the travel expenses of going to Mainz for training as a youngster. He took up an apprenticeship as a painter In Frankfurt.

The club at Mainz were totally convinced by his potential that they signed him up on an amateur contract. Azaouagh could end the apprenticeship and concentrate fully on football.

And he paid the trust of the club back. As a 21 year old he broke into the first team whilst Mainz were in the 2.Bundesliga. "Mimoun loves his training and is one of the players that I have to drag off the pitches after training", said Jürgen Klopp.

Transfer to Schalke in 2005

At the start of 2005 Mimoun Azaouagh moved to Schalke 04. A serious knee injury saw the midfielder make his debut for Schalke in 2006.

In order to give him some game time he returned to Mainz where he has just returned from.

Next season Azouagh will try and hold down a first team place. Just as he learned on the streets - with technique instead of power.

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The transfer of Albert Streit from Eintracht Frankfurt to Schalke has finally fallen through.

The player’s advisor Klaus Gerster told the ‘Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung’ that his client “will report for the start of pre-season training with Frankfurt on 2 July.” The two clubs have been unable to reach an agreement on a fee for the midfielder.

Streit’s contract with Frankfurt runs to 2009, but he announced his wish to join Schalke shortly before the end of the season.

Schalke offered €2 million for the player, whereas Frankfurt were demanding €4 million for the 27 year old.

Gerstner maintains there has been no contact with any other Bundesliga club. “The choice is Eintracht Frankfurt or Schalke. The player turned down an offer from Hamburg a few weeks ago.”

Frankfurt’s chairman Heribert Bruchhagen has maintained that Streit announced his departure a little prematurely. The player was dropped from the team towards the end of the season due to a drop in form and was told he could leave the club if the right offer was received. This however has not happened.

Gerstner is convinced however that Streit will now give his all for Frankfurt. “Albert has a contract with Frankfurt. He is a professional and he will behave like one” he assured.

Goal.com - Germany - Streit Move To Schalke Fails

[Oliver_Kahn]

Tough blow for Schalke, Streit would be a perfect replacement for Hamit

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Having lost Lincoln to Galatasaray, Schalke are looking to renew their interest in Fenerbahce’s Stephen Appiah.

“At the moment we are in discussions with his advisor. First of all we will have to determine the conditions for him to play for us, then we can talk to Fenerbahce. But we will do all we can to get the player” announced new Schalke president Josef Schnusenberg at a press conference for the start of pre-season training.

Earlier reports stated that Schalke were being put off by the players wage demands and the asking price, but after receiving €5 million for Lincoln the coffers are a little fuller.

They have just paid out €3 million to Basel for Ivan Rakitic, but trainer Mirko Slomka has confirmed his interest in Appiah as well as Leon Andreason from Werder Bremen.

Goal.com - Germany - Schalke Not Giving Up On Appiah

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The "massive transfer activity" should be over. "We are absolutely ready to compete", emphasizes Schalke's head coach Mirko Slomka on the subject of more new commitments.

Now the "Royal Blues" need to address only two candidates: Stephan Appiah and Leon Andreasen. It's already been decided that Albert Streit will not be moving to the club from the Ruhr area.

With Jermaine Jones, Ivan Rakitic, Mathias Schober, Heiko Westermann and home-grown star Benedikt Höwedes, Schalke have now taken on five new players for the coming 2007-08 season.

Lincoln transfer has made funds available

"We've accomplished everything we set out to do at the end of the last season", says a satisfied Mirko Slomka, who adds: "If we can fulfill one more wish, we'll be even more satisfied."

And there's a very good chance that another newcomer will find his way to Schalke. The departure of the Brazilian Lincoln has made this possible.

"We'll do everything we can to get Appiah"

Jupp Schnusenberg, Schalke CEO, agrees: "We've always said we'd see if we could use our extra transfer revenues to implement the vision of the sporting director and head coach."

In this regard the CEO thinks of Stephan Appiah, who is under contract with Fenerbahce until 2009. "We'll do everything we can to get that player", says Schnusenberg. But he knows it'll be anything but easy. "I'm expecting tough talks".

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The 2007/2008 Bundesliga fixture list has been announced, and champions VfB Stuttgart will host runners-up Schalke in a fantastic season opener!

What a way to kick off a Bundesliga season! Champs versus runners-up, Stuttgart versus Schalke. The league has come up with a cracking idea to herald a new campaign!

Stuttgart will host their title rivals on Friday, August 10th in the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion. The season opener will be shown live on German TV and will also be broadcast in scores of countries around the globe.

"An intriguing clash"

Stuttgart coach Armin Veh is convinced that the season opener will be a massive game, commenting, "Of course this is a highlight! The reigning champions are taking on the runners-up. Schalke have strengthened their squad, and they had plenty of first-class talent already. It will be an intriguing clash for the fans, and it could be a decisive one. We have to ensure that we win; otherwise Schalke might end up with a three point lead over us after just one game. We are looking forward to the match�.

Statisically, a very close match between Stuttgart and Schalke is on the cards (Click here for club comparision VfB Stuttgart - FC Schalke 04).

Both teams have won three of the last six encounters between the two rivals. Since the founding of the Bundesliga back in 1963, Stuttgart and Schalke have clashed 74 times, and Stuttgart walked away as winners on 35 occasions. Schalke have won 27 times, and the two teams shared the points twelve times.

Kick-off times to be decided

Now that the fixture lists for the 2007/2008 season has been announced, the DFL must now decide when matches will be kicking off within a round of play. The league will continue to have one match played on Friday evening (20:30 cet), six on Saturday afternoon (15:30 cet) and a further two games on Sunday (17:00 cet). As ever, the participation of Bundesliga clubs in the Champions League and UEFA Cup will play a major role in match-day planning.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Fitness test helps define training targets

The very second day of Schalke's pre-season preparations pointed the way for the players and the nature of their training programme over the next few weeks. On Tuesday the Bundesliga squad underwent a rigorous performance/fitness test.

The test has been developed by Professor Jürgen Freiwald, who advises the Royal Blues on performance diagnostics, fitness training and the re-integration of injured players, and a team headed by scientists Dr Sven Pieper and graduate engineer Christian Baumgart. Under the watchful eye of Schalke boss Mirko Slomka, his coaching staff and Prof. Freiwald, the players were put through some extensive testing in the areas of speed, endurance and power at the club's indoor football complex and the rehab centre medicos.AufSchalke.

Among the test elements were sprints with and without a change of direction that were timed electronically using a light barrier system, endurance tests designed to ascertain the players' lactate values, for example, bench presses, half knee bends and various jumps. The results were recorded by staff from the University of Wuppertal's research centre for performance diagnostics and training consulting.

"These tests are designed to give Mirko Slomka valuable insights for the training programme over the next few weeks which will allow him to set realistic targets for his work with the squad as a whole and with individual players", explained Professor Freiwald, highlighting one beneficial aspect of the test. Whether these targets are achieved will be ascertained in a further test at a later stage of the pre-season preparations. The test also produced a valuable set of data that would prove extremely useful in the event of an injury, the professor added. This makes it possible to set targets for guiding a player back to full fitness following an injury using measurable data. Schalke will certainly be taking one aspect of this approach to heart: "A good level of fitness doesn't automatically make you a good player, but without fitness you won't be a good player", said Freiwald.

[jan]

Steven Appiah is sending out all sorts of misleading information. He told turkish newspapers that he is happy with Fenerbahce and would only leave if the club no longer wanted him, in that case he would only go to GB. On the other hand he seems to have told some friends, who happen to be in contact with the German tabloid Bild that he is very interested in a move to Schalke. We'll see.;-)