FC Schalke 04

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Krstajic Goes Under The Knife

Schalke centre back Mladen Krstajic has had surgery on his injured arm to rectify a problem sustained nearly two years ago.

The Serbian defender broke his left arm during the 2006 World Cup in Germany and had metal plates inserted at the time to protect it.

Now that the German season has reached its conclusion, the Königsblauen centre back has had the plates removed.

“Everything went well and the wound will heal in 10 to 12 days” Schalke club doctor Bernd Brexendorf told the club's website.

“This incision will not affect him in pre-season at all.”

Krstajic agreed to delay the operation to help the club secure a top three finish, which they duly did by finishing third behind Werder Bremen to secure their place in next season’s Champions League.

Goal.com - Schalke - Krstajic Goes Under The Knife

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Mutu Rubbishes Schalke Rumours

Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu insists that he would like to stay with the Viola following rumours linking him to German side Schalke 04.

The Romanian international has scored 23 goals in all competitions for the Viola this season. His stunning strikes have caught the eye and attracted interest from several European teams.

Bundesliga side Schalke 04 were favourites to land the striker according to reports in both Italy and Germany but Mutu claims he has no intention of leaving the Artemio Franchi.

"Me to Schalke? I don't know anything," Mutu told Kicker.

"If Fiorentina have offered me for sale then I would be really disappointed but I don't think that this is the case at all.

"Schalke are a prestigious club but I have always said that I would like to remain in Florence."

The former Juventus and Parma man has been in sensational form this season and he has also contributed with several assists as well as all his goals.

It seems very unlikely that Fiorentina will sell him given their Champions League commitments next season.

Goal.com - Mutu Rubbishes Schalke Rumours

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Best Dutch Coach Plans Netherlands Raid

Fred Rutten has been voted by his colleagues as the best coach in the Netherlands for the 2007-’08 season, but he will no doubt frustrate some of them should his Schalke transfer plans materialize…

The 45-year-old boss has just ended his second spell with Twente in style, leading them into the European Champions League for the first time in their history. He also helped several footballers, such as Romano Denneboom, Eljero Elia and Youssouf Hersi, reach the peak of their game so far and The Reds played some very attractive football over the past two years.

Rinus Michels Award

As a result, Rutten was today presented with the prestigious Rinus Michels Award during the national coach congress in Tilburg, getting the nod ahead of Ernie Brandts, who’ll be succeeded at Breda by Bob Maaskant, Gertjan Verbeek, leaving Heerenveen to take over at Feyenoord, and Stanley Menzo, who’s just guided Volendam back to the Eredivisie.

Just over a month ago Rutten was officially announced as the next Schalke boss and it’s been reported that he’s counting on several players he knows well to boost his new side. Although Fiorentina’s Adrian Mutu has played down rumours linking him with a move to Gelsenkirchen, it could be that some Netherlands-based stars move across the border to Germany in the summer.

Spoiling Van Basten’s party

Besides PSV Eindhoven’s Jeff Farfán, Rutten is allegedly targeting his former Twente player Orlando Engelaar, Heerenveen’s wiz-kid Miralem Sulejmani and the Ajax duo of Luis Suárez and Kennedy Bakircioglü!

Together with Schalke’s general manager Andreas Müller, Rutten has decided that Die Königsblauen desperately need to sign a left back, a midfielder and a forward, with the latter position their top priority, according to Kicker sports magazine. “We need someone special up front,” explains Müller, a former Schalke defensive midfielder. “We want someone who is flexible, capable of occupying all three offensive positions.”

Farfán, Suárez and Ajax-target Sulejmani are all high on that wish-list, alongside 20-year-old centre-forward Nikola Kalinić of Hajduk Split, described by national side boss Slaven Bilić as “the future of Croatian football”.

The Engelaar situation

While even Sulejmani is seen as a possible attacking reinforcement, Engelaar is the main target to complete Schalke’s midfield puzzle. “He’s an interesting player for every club, therefore also for Schalke.” Rutten has said.

However Engelaar, much like Sulejmani, has received a number of offers for a transfer this summer, even though his contract runs until mid-2011. Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, West Ham United and Olympique de Marseille have all contacted his agent Edward Burleson, according to the Algemeen Dagblad. A move to Amsterdam fell through earlier this season, as Twente asked for 15 million euros to let go of the 28-year-old international, but it is estimated that he could leave for a lower amount now, somewhere in the region of five million.

Bakircioglü and Farfán have previously worked together with Rutten, and that is exactly why Engelaar seems to favour Schalke. And Burleson told the AD today that his client will announce his decision soon enough. “Orlando is on the verge of a very important decision, which won’t be taken before Marco van Basten names his final 23-man squad for the remainder of the European Championship. But if he is included he will then weigh all his options.”

The Netherlands boss will announce his definitive party for the Austria and Switzerland final stage in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

Goal.com - Schalke - Best Dutch Coach Plans Netherlands Raid

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Schalke among the seeded teams

FC Schalke hope to reach the group stage of the UEFA Champions League by winning their round round qualifyer.

The draw will be made on Friday, August 1 in Nyon/Switzerland. 16 seeded teams will face 16 unseeded teams.

Crucial will be the UEFA club coefficient based on each club's European performances in the past five seasons.

The "Royal Blues" have 67.078 points, which means that they will be among the seeded clubs and can't be paired with the likes of Liverpool FC, FC Barcelona, Arsenal FC, Juventus, Olympique de Marseille, Steaua Bucuresti, Olympiacos, Shakhtar Donetsk, Fiorentina or Spartak Moscow.

Glasgow Rangers, Panathinaikos, FC Basle, Fenerbahce or RSC Anderlecht will join the list if they make their way into the third qualifying round.

Galatasaray, Atletico Madrid or Slavia Prague are among the teams Schalke could be drawn against in the matches on August 12/13 and 26/27.

Bundesliga - Die offizielle Webseite

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S04 legend Marc Wilmots talks to bundesliga.de about Schalke's season, the old and the new coach and his player of the season.

bundesliga.de: Moster Wilmots, Jermaine Jones, your successor as "battle pig" at Schalke, has been axed from the German squad for the EURO 2008. Do you understand the decision?

Marc Wilmots: There have been deficult decisions all around. France have axed Djibril Cisse, for example. That shows how strong the squad is. The coach has to look who fits into the team and make his decision. Jermaine Jones is a good player, but he has little international experience.

bundesliga.de: Do you fear that the decision might have a negative effect on Jones, with negative consequences for Schalke?

Wilmots: No. This is like a lost match. It's a blow you have to recover from - always. That's football! Of course it's a tough decision for Jones, but who would have thought that a call-up would come so soon anyway? You have to see the positives, too. He had a superb season and now has to set himself new goals, for example a title with Schalke and a regular place in the national team.

bundesliga.de: How do you rate Schalke's season?

Wilmots: The performance in the Champions League was impressive. But they had the goal of being involved in the Bundesliga title race, and they weren't. They had a poor spell. They finished third and Champions League participation isn't secured yet. But they've got that chance, so they have accomplished their minimum goal.

bundesliga.de: Was it a good decision to part ways with Mirko Slomka after 28 games?

Wilmots: That's hard to say from outside. Slomka was successful and finished second in 2006/07. In the second half of the season he experienced a difficult situation for the first time and had to go. That had been different with Huub Stevens back then. He too had difficult spells, but he always had the club's support and that enabled him to lead S04 back to success.

bundesliga.de: And what about the decision to establish Mike Büskens and Youri Mulder as interim coaches?

Wilmots: That was exactly the right decision at the right time. I immediately sent sporting director Andreas Müller a text message saying "well done". These two lads are Schalke with heart and soul and - as players - helped to build what Schalke is today.

bundesliga.de: New Schalke coach Fred Rutten is relatively unknown in Germany. What do you think of him?

Wilmots: Huub Stevens was unknown too when Schalke signed him from Kerkrade. And he brought a lot of success. You have to wait and see, but I trust Andreas Müller and the Schalke board. It has to be a good decision if they made it. The minimum goal for next season, a top 3 finish, shouldn't be a problem.

bundesliga.de: Which Schalke player was the most positive surprise for you last season?

Wilmots: Every player had a good spell last season, but I'd go for Marcelo Bordon. He is the key performer and made the right decisions in pressure situations. He stabilised the defence with his experience. Jermaine Jones was excellent in the first half of the season. Heiko Westermann too was a big surprise for me with his mentality and his willingness to run. These two have good prospects.

Bundesliga - Die offizielle Webseite

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Mutu To Schalke Rumours Return

The speculation linking Romanian striker Adrian Mutu with a move to Schalke has not died down, with new reports claiming he is close to agreeing a switch to the Bundesliga.

A summer move from Fiorentina to the Königsblauen seems on the cards with Bild reporting that the international striker is already in negotiations and is keen on the move.

However Schalke manager Andreas Müller is baulking at the €12.6 million asking price. He has however tabled a bid of €10 plus Danish striker Soren Larsen.

Bild claims that Mutu has already expressed a wish to join Schalke and his arrival would be an enormous boost to the Königsblauen as they look to strengthen their squad ahead of a renewed challenge for the Bundesliga title.

Goal.com - Schalke - Mutu To Schalke Rumours Return

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Schalke Counting The Pennies

Schalke manger Andreas Müller has told incoming Dutch manager Fred Rutten that he may not have the funds he thought in the summer as he plans he transfer spending.

Müller has informed Rutten that unless the club can offload some players first, the expenditure in the summer will have to be reduced.

The Königsblauen had reckoned with selling both Peter Lövenkrands and Soren Larsen, but neither player have attracted much interest.

"At the moment, there are only a few tentative inquiries for Peter Lövenkrands and Soren Larsen so it is looking possible that we will only be able to buy two new players and not three" Müller told the Bild newspaper.

"If we cannot afford to buy a striker, then we will have to look at alternative methods and, although I am not a fan of it, maybe we could loan out a player from a top European club who is not getting enough match practice."

The announcement comes after Schalke made it to the quarter finals of the Champions League and finished third in the Bundesliga. That achievement was not however enough to spare trainer Mirko Slomka the chop.

Now new trainer Fred Rutten may have to curb his own spending plans as the club struggle to provide him with funds.

Goal.com - Schalke - Schalke Counting The Pennies

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Schalke Hunt Arshavin

With Schalke on the lookout for a top striker to play alongside Kevin Kuranyi, it is being rumoured that Zenit St Petersburg star Andrei Arshavin is a top target for the Königsblauen.

According to Sportbild, the Russian attacker is high on the wanted list at Schalke and Zenit manager Dick Advocaat has already admitted it is likely that he will lose Arshavin.

Ottmar Hitzfeld described the Arshavin as “almost world-class” after Bayern’s Uefa Cup semi-final exit at the hands of Zenit. He is widely seen as the best player in Russia and it is not only Schalke who are showing an interest.

Manchester United have reportedly made a €16 million offer. Schalke’s advantage however is their close relationship they have with Gazprom (the owners/ financiers of Zenit).

Schalke’s board and in particular President Josef Schnusenberg have close contacts with the Zenit management and that would smooth any potential transfer between the two clubs.

Schalke do not want to comment on the story at the moment, but co-trainer Youri Mulder has admitted that: “It’s possible that he is on our wanted-list.”

Goal.com - Schalke - Schalke Hunt Arshavin

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Mutu: I Hope To Stay In Florence

Fiorentina star man Adrian Mutu insists that he hopes to stay at the club, amid reports that he could be set for a move to Schalke 04.

Mutu has been heavily linked with the German-outift recently, and only a few days ago there were reports in Bild that that the Romanian is already in negotiations and is keen on the move.

However the 29-year-old has denied this speculation, and says that he is the dark about any possible talks with Schalke.

"I do not know anything directly about negotiations with the Germans of Schalke,” he stated.

“I hope that I can stay with my club."

Yesterday Mutu’s agent Alessandro Moggi admitted that Schalke did want to sign Mutu, but also revealed that other clubs were showing an interest.

“Mutu is wanted by several clubs apart from Schlake,” the son of former Juventus transfer guru told Sky Sport Italia.

“However, at this moment in time, he would like to concentrate on the European championships.

“The player loves the Florence scene but only after the Euro’s can we see what will happen with him.”

Mutu scored 17 goals in 29 Serie A games last season, and will go into Euro 2008 with Romania full of confidence.

Goal.com - Fiorentina - Mutu: I Hope To Stay In Florence

[Oliver_Kahn]

According to the Portuguese press, Schalke are in the run for Sporting's striker, Milan Purovic. Gladbach are also interested.


Absolute rubbish player, he is 5th option at Sporting.. That says enough.

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-Shaking my head off - Those signings are ruining Bundesliga.

Lots of Gazprom millions, and bastards can't get shit.

FC Scheisse 04.

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If They Sign Another Good Player Like Engelar Or Arshavin ..
I Think They Will Be A Hard Team On The Bundeslia Next Season .. and they will work hard on the CL ... bremen needs to worry

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New contract for Varela

Gustavo Varela will stay at FC Schalke 04.

The 30 year old attacking player will extend his expiring contract until 2009.

A lot of injuries

Varela has played 110 competitive games (12 goals) for Schalke since making the move from Nacional Montevideo in 2002.

He had to deal with a lot of injury set-backs in that spell, several knee injuries or a thyroid disease among them.

"He deserves a fair chance"

"We have always been convinced of his sporting qualities and his attitude. After overcoming all those injuries, he deserves a fair chance for a new start. I'm confident that Gustavo has a future here. He just has to get through a season without major injuries once", sporting director Andreas Müller said.

Gustavo Varela wants to take the chance. "I have just one wish: to play football again at last and contribute to the team's success here at Schalke."

Bundesliga - Die offizielle Webseite