A season without a heart attack
It is not easy to be a Schalke fan, Of course, not because of the performance Gelsenkirchen team show, but because of the fact that they have been waiting for the title for 50 years. It slipped away in four minutes in 2001. and in a half-time in 2007. Still, they have hopes; so many fans believe that now is the time to reach the throne. The fact that they ended up third last season speaks in favour of the mentioned optimism. The lack of options in the attack and lonely Kevin Kuranyi sometimes left the team without the idea of possibility to deal the final blow. Points were left on some weaker teams' tally. Another reason for their setback is excellent performance in the Champions League where the Blues got to European top eight. The finance earned through the qualification for Champions League quarterfinals were invested back in the squad.
Dutch stars
Mentioned Kuranyi will be joined by excellent, former PSV striker, Jefferson Farfan. The idea is that the team shouldn't depend on the form of experienced and lonely Kuranyi, but to share the responsibility thus gaining the quality attack. Besides mentioned attackers, a Dutch international, Orlando Engelaar, who will aside from defensive tasks, be a real threat from set-pieces, considering his height. A tough task of fitting the back-ups in and imposing a champion's play in the team will be trusted with another Dutchman, Fred Rutten. His former squad, Twente, showed excellent performance in the last season in both Dutch championship and on Euro scene, so we expect the attacking play characterized by great ball possession to be transferred on Veltins Arena.
In
Orlando Engelaar (Twente), Jefferson Farfan (PSV Eindhoven)
Out
Zlatan Bajramovic (Frankfurt), Mimoun Azaouagh (Bochum), Soren Larsen (Toulouse)
Verdict
Everything speaks in favour of the fact that Gelsenkirchen club management are preparing the squad for the next seasons. Hiring a successful trainer and several players, whose career is yet to reach the climax confirm this. The generation of famous starts like Rafinha (23), Farfan (23), Heiko Westermann (24), Christian Pander (24), Ivan Rakitic (20and keeper Manuel Neuer (22), are about to be the main football force in Bundesliga in the next seasons. It is hard to believe that they can jeopardize Bayern this season but they can certainly gain significant experience that will help them bring the title to Gelsenkirchen in years to come
CL
CLQ
UEFA
RELEG