FC Schalke 04

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Unlucky Schalke.

Referees helped Dortmund a lot. 2nd Dortmund goal was offisde (Frei), and there shouldn't have been awarded a penalty for Dortmund, which Frei converted to a goal for 3-3.

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Rutten Not Happy With Dortmund Point

The Revier-derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke at the Signal Iduna Park was full of action, goals, and incident as BVB came from 3-0 down to rescue a point.

Schalke stormed into a three goal lead, only to have two players sent off and see Ruhr rivals Dortmund fight back to finish 3-3.

“It was an eventful derby for the fans. I am not so happy because at 3-0 the game was all but won” Königsblauen trainer Fred Rutten explained.

“The game has plenty of points that need talking about” he added.

German international striker Kevin Kuranyi was a little more concerned with the performance of the match referee.

“You have to ask whether the referee had a good game this afternoon. The second goal was well taken by Frei, but the ref has to see that he is offside.

“The penalty also should not have been given. Of course we should not have ended up with a point after leading 3-0.”

Dortmund trainer Jürgen Klopp was left delighted with the point against title contenders Schalke.

“We got into the game well but lost some of our impetus after going 2-0 down. Against a team as strong as Schalke it is unusual to come back but in the end the draw was a fair result.”

Goal.com - Schalke - Rutten Not Happy With Dortmund Point

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"Forget the Champions League"

Schalke have to leave Derby drama and Champions League disappointment behind them when they travel to Apoel Nikosia on Tuesday (18:00).

"We have to forget the Champions League. Now we want to do well in this competition", midfielder Ivan Rakitic says ahead of the UEFA Cup 1st round match.

Three suspensions

The 4-0 defeat in the Champions League qualifier at Atletico Madrid still has an effect, however: Christian Pander, Fabian Ernst and Jermaine Jones will all miss suspended.

"That won't be a walk in the park. But I expect the team to reach the group phase", sporting director Andreas Müller clarified.

"I hope that we come through the group stage as well. There are a few established teams in there who normally play Champions League", Müller added.

Matches against Milan, Ajax, Seville or Valencia could be a good compensation for missing out on Champions League qualification.

Engelaar comeback

Orlando Engelaar is expected to make his comeback after coming through a reserves match unscathed, and 19-year-old Ralf Fährmann will make his European debut in goal.

Line-ups as expected:

Nikosia: Morfis - Poursaitidis, Christou, Broerse, Haxhi - Kosowski, Michail, Morais, Pinto - Charalambidis - Zewlakow

Schalke: Fährmann - Rafinha, Höwedes, Bordon, Krstajic - Westermann, Engelaar, Kobiaschwili - Farfan, Kuranyi, Rakitic

Referee: Robert Malek (Poland)

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Suspension for Schalke's Ernst

Fabian Ernst (FC Schalke 04) has been suspended for three matches by the DFB disciplinary panel.

Ernst had been sent off after 77 minutes of Schalke's 3-3 draw at Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

Player and club have already accepted the verdict, the suspension takes immediate effect.

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APOEL Nicosia 1 - 4 Schalke

24' [0 - 1] H. Westermann
35' [0 - 2] I. Rakitic
40' [0 - 3] A. Haxhi (o.g.)
72' [1 - 3] N. Mirosavljevic
87' [1 - 4] H. Altintop

Wtf is up with Westermann? He's scoring in every match.
(LOL @ Haxhi, Tomor!)

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Schalke Duo Under Investigation

Schalke's Marcelo Bordon and Mladen Krstajic are being probed by the German Football Association after being accused of insulting the referee following the hotly contested 3-3 draw in the Ruhr derby.

Substitute Alexander Frei hit a late double as Borussia Dortmund came from three goals down to earn a point in Saturday's dramatic Ruhr derby at home to nine-man Schalke.

Referee Lutz Wagner came under fierce criticism for a missed offside call which led to the second goal, as well as gifting the hosts a penalty from Schalke's perspective.

While not commenting on the post-match incident directly, Wagner later confessed that the disputed 'offside' goal shouldn't have stood and said he was "annoyed, because you always want to do your job as well as possible.

"It was my responsibility as I am in charge, although I could say that it was my linesman's fault," he added.

Bordon and Krstajic were so livid that they allegedly confronted the official on the way to the dressing room and both will now have to state their version of events in writing based on which the DfB will decide whether to take further action.

Goal.com - Schalke - Schalke Duo Under Investigation

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Schalke do the business early

Schalke 04 have one foot in the group phase of the UEFA Cup already after a convincing away win in the first leg of their first round match.


The "Royal Blues" beat APOEL Nicosia 4-1 (3-0) in Cyprus, leaving their opponents in need of little short of a miracle in the second leg in Gelsenkirchen (October 2nd) to qualify.

The 6,500 crowd in Nicosia's G.S.P. Stadium saw Schalke virtually wrap the show in the first half with goals from Westermann (24.), Ivan Rakitic (35.) and Vicente Sanchez (39.).

Kuranyi out

Fred Rutten's side switched down a gear after the break, allowing the hosts to pull one back through Nenad Mirosavljevic (71.) before Halil Altintop restored the three-goal cushion with three minutes of regulation time remaining.

Despite missing Christian Pander, Fabian Ernst and Jermaine Jones - all suspended following the Champions League eliminator against Atletico Madrid - Schalke were rarely troubled at the back. Striker Kevin Kuranyi had to be substituted at half time however with a reoccurrence of a hip problem.

Westermann gets the ball rolling

Schalke opened their account with their first real chance of the match. Jefferson Farfan and Gerald Asamoah paved the way for Westermann to fire in a slighty deflected shot from the edge of the area.

A one-two between Farfan and Rakitic ended with the latter rattling home number two from 16 metres ten minutes before the break, and four minutes later Sanchez saw his miscued effort take a deflection into the net off Altin Haxhi.

From then on, the visitors did only the necessary minimum to maintain their advantage. And on this occasion, when the opposition clawed one back - in contrast to Saturday's game at Dortmund - the "Royal Blues" remained well on top of proceedings.

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Rutten Underwhelmed By Display

Schalke 04 boss Fred Rutten showed himself to be in critical mood during the post match press conference despite that his side managed to move a massive step closer towards the Uefa Cup group stage with a comprehensive victory over Cypriot challengers APOEL.

Heiko Westermann, Ivan Rakitic, Vicente Sanchez and Halil Altintop were all on target in Cyprus, thus making the return leg in Schalke in a fortnight's time little more than a formality and going some way towards getting over the disappointment of squandering a three goal lead against arch rivals Borussia Dortmund on the weekend.

Nevertheless, their Dutch manager refused to gloss over problems that he saw in the performance.

"All in all, we are heading in the right direction, but there remain many small details that we can improve on," Rutten insisted.

"I am happy with the result and it was a performance with a lot of substance and some great goals.

"I am always annoyed to concede a goal, but apart from that we looked good.

"I have always said that we have a lot of quality in the dressing room and a lot of players are improving," added the ex FC Twente coach.

"In general, I am having even more fun with our midfield. We had a lot of attacking players on the field today but because we were so well organised, that did not matter."

Goal.com - UEFA Cup - Rutten Underwhelmed By Display

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Bundesliga 2008/09, Matchday 5 (PREVIEW):
Schalke – Eintracht Frankfurt

Schalke welcome Eintracht Frankfurt to the Veltins Arena looking to continue their positive start to the new season. Eight points from their first four games sees them third in the table level on points with Bayern Munich and it certainly seems that their disappointment at missing out on the Champions League has not unduly affected their league form.

They did however throw away a 3-0 lead last Saturday in the Ruhr-derby with Borussia Dortmund to finish 3-3. Trainer Fred Rutten saw his side win rather easily in midweek in the Uefa Cup against APOEL, and will be targeting three points this weekend.

Fabian Ernst and Christian Pander are both out suspended following their red cards against Dortmund last weekend. Kevin Kuranyi is a slight injury worry with a hip problem, and if he doesn’t make it then either Halil Altintop, Vicente Sanchez or Gerald Asamoah will fill in. Manuel Neuer could make an appearance on the substitute’s bench.

Frankfurt trainer Friedhelm Funkel will not be altogether happy with the start his side have made this season. They lost their opener to Hertha Berlin before taking successive points from Wolfsburg and Köln. Their match last Friday however had to be postponed thanks to a Madonna concert leaving the Commerzbank Arena pitch unplayable.

The Adler should have Marco Russ back in their back four meaning Brazilian Chris will return to his role in defensive midfield. Frankfurt’s injury list still contains the likes of Christoph Preuβ, Zlatan Bajramovic, Umit Korkmaz, and Ioannis Amanatidis.

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Schalke 1 - 0 Eintracht Frankfurt

41' [1 - 0] P. Ochs (o.g.)

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Narrow Win Sees Schalke Top

Schalke 1-0 Eintracht Frankfurt

An own goal from Patrick Ochs proved enough to see Schalke to victory over Eintracht Frankfurt at the Veltins Arena and sees the Königsblauen topping the table at least until Hamburg play tomorrow.

First Half

Schalke took control of possession right from the off as you would expect from the home side, but were unable to find any holes in the Frankfurt defence. Chances were a rarity in the opening minutes although the visitors did have a good chance from a free kick but Toski’s delivery found no-one.

On 10 minutes Kevin Kuranyi came to the fore beating Russ with a clever trick before narrowly missing the target with his shot. That effort seemed to inspire the Königsblauen and Farfan broke down the right flank before cutting inside and unleashing a shot on goal. His effort however fizzed just wide of the post.

The chances that continued to arrive fell to the home side with both Farfan and Kuranyi having good attempts on the Frankfurt goal.

On 22 minutes Ivan Rakitic flighted in a well delivered free kick after Ochs had fouled Jones and Nikolov was forced to palm the ball away for a corner. The resulting set-piece saw Marcelo Bordon miss a header by a narrow margin.

Two minutes later and Rafinha produced a superb moment. The Brazilian played a one-two with Kevin Kuranyi and forced keeper Nikolov into a fine save to prevent the opening goal. Frankfurt attempted to push forward and Liberopoulos was denied by Fährmann on 26 minutes after a long through pass from Ochs.

Eintracht then had their first real effort on target when Alex Meier cut inside after good combination play from Spycher. Fährmann in the Schalke goal was able to gather the mis-hit effort with ease.

Then on 34 minutes the visitors were rather unluckily reduced to tem men when midfielder Chris was sent off for an elbow on Heiko Westermann. TV replays showed that the Brazilian was a little hard done by to see red.

The man advantage paid off four minutes before the break when Patrick Ochs put through his own net. Farfan went through on goals and the unfortunate Ochs’ attempted tackle flew past keeper Nikolov for the opening goal.

Schalke could have gone two up before the break but keeper Nikolov produced a fantastic save to deny Rakitic with a header from close range on 42 minutes.

Second Half

The home side started the second half well with Jermaine Jones taking a pot shot from distance which flew just wide of the goal. Ivan Rakitic also sent an effort narrowly wide with a left foot shot on 48 minutes. Kevin Kuranyi then produced an awful miss after good work from Westermann. With an empty goal to aim at, the German international sent his shot high into the stands.

Greek striker Liberopoulos tried his luck with an audacious effort on 55 minutes after spotting keeper Fährmann off his line, but the Schalke keeper got back well to clear the danger. The mood inside the stadium was fantastic with the home fans producing a unique atmosphere.

Frankfurt for their part continued to press forward and Bordon had to be alert to deny Liberopoulos on 66 minutes, while Ochs forced Fährmann into a save from a free kick with 20 minutes left. Schalke were becoming far too passive and inviting the ten men onto them.

With eight minutes left the home side did then cause some excitement when Kobiashvili forced Nikolov into a fine save from distance. The keeper also had to deny Vicente Sanchez with the rebound.

Both sides had their chances in the closing minutes but Schalke held on and went top with an important three points.

Goals:

1-0 Ochs o.g (41)

Schalke: Fährmann, Rafinha, Bordon, Krstajic, Kobiashvili, Engelaar, Westermann, Jones, Farfan, Rakitic (Sanchez 72), Kuranyi (Streit 83)

Eintracht Frankfurt: Nikolov, Ochs, Galindo, Russ, Spycher, Fink, Chris, Meier, Toski (Bellaid 39), Fenin (Steinhöfer 85), Liberopoulos

Goal.com - Germany - Narrow Win Sees Schalke Top

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Rutten: Not Easy Against Ten Men

Despite going top of the league, Schalke trainer Fred Rutten was not happy with his side’s second half display against ten men Eintracht Frankfurt.

An own goal from Patrick Ochs in the first half proved decisive as did the sending off of Eintracht midfielder Chris.

“We played very well in the first half with a high tempo and we created a lot of chances” explained Rutten. “The goal came a little late otherwise we would have found things easier.

“In the second half the tempo was too slow, the opposition were well organised and we found it difficult to find a way through their defence” he added.

“Playing against ten men is not as easy as it looks from the outside.”

Frankfurt counterpart Funkel was however left with admiration for his side for the display they put on with a man less.

“It was a deserved victory for Schalke, there is no doubt about that. But I have to congratulate my team.

“They played for nearly an hour with a man down, but we were well organised, played with passion and stood up well.

“We unfortunately lacked the power to counter attack, but the will, effort and passion was there.”

Goal.com - Germany - Rutten: Not Easy Against Ten Men

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Rutten Distressed Over Kuranyi Treatment

Schalke 04 boss Fred Rutten has hit out the club's fans for booing Kevin Kuranyi during the 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.

The German international striker received a real earful as a result of missing a couple of golden opportunities, and the verbal abuse reached an ugly climax when he was substituted in the 83rd minute.

"That disappointed me because whistles do not help the team," said the Dutch coach.

"Sometimes the team really needs the fans and if we had received more support, it would have been a great atmosphere in the arena."

Schalke general manager Andreas Muller also spoke out in support of the misfiring striker.

"Obviously it does not help when one player is under the microscope, but there are always phases in which certain players are criticised," he said.

"But the coach and the team are all behind Kevin."

Goal.com - Schalke - Rutten Distressed Over Kuranyi Treatment

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Schalke Chief: We Were Perfect

Schalke 04 general manager Andreas Müller has heaped the ultimate praise on his side even though they just barely managed to edge newly promoted Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 on the weekend.

An own goal from Patrick Ochs proved enough to see Schalke to victory over Eintracht Frankfurt at the Veltins Arena and sees the Königsblauen topping the table.

"For me that was perfect football," he said after Saturday's match. "The margin of victory was narrow, but after the 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt delivered a positive summary of the first few weeks - precisely because of the way today's game unfolded.

"Frankfurt did what they usually do here and parked the bus in front of their goal. If you fail to keep the tempo high, like we did in the second half, and your opponents have got eight or nine on the edge of their box, it looks a bit like handball. But then it's difficult to get through."

"For me it was very important to see how the players reacted when it stayed at 1-0. Do they throw everyone forward in a bid to score a second or do they keep their shape?" he added.

"Our tactical shape and discipline was very good today. Other evidence for this is the fact that we have yet concede a goal in three home games in the league this season - and won all three. If you want to be in contention at the top you can't afford to concede many goals. With five games gone we've only let in four",

"Okay, last week it was two too many, but the foundations are there", he continued. "Today it was important we got the three points, though with just five games played the table doesn't tell you much. Far more important, however, is the positive development that is setting in step by step. For me that's preferable to starting the season with massive euphoria, suffering a setback and then getting hectic."

Schalke will go into next weekend's action as league leaders after Hamburger SV were mauled by Wolfsburg on Sunday.

Goal.com - Schalke - Schalke Chief: We Were Perfect

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Up for the cup

The all-Bundesliga clash between Schalke 04 and Hannover 96 looks like the pick of the Tuesday cup games. But the guests are struggling to put a team together.

H96 have performed for the most part below their own expectations so far this season, winning just one and losing three of their five league games to date, and are currently 14th in the table.

Coach Dieter Hecking has massive personnel problems at the moment, with only nine fully fit professionals at his disposal in final training for the tie. "I've never experienced a run of injuries and illness like this in all my time as a coach", he says, while adding that "Schalke didn't play against Frankfurt in the kind of manner that would have us freezing in admiration, even with a patched-up eleven."

Neuer not in squad

The "Royal Blues" did however win that one, and it was enough to put them top of the table. Coach Fred Rutten will persevere with Ralf Fährmann in goal.

Number one keeper Manuel Neuer is fit again and played for the reserves on Sunday after ten weeks out with a broken bone in his foot. But, says Neuer, "I'd like to train with the team again and see how things go first."

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