Mining town hit rich seam and look to Brazilians to dig out goals

THOMAS ZEH
IN GERMANY

ONLY a few people outside Germany will have followed the fate of Hearts’ UEFA Cup opponents Schalke 04 over the years since the club sensationally won the competition in 1997, beating sides like Internazionale along the way.

The best way to describe the Royal-Blues, as they are known here, is as Germany’s answer to Newcastle United. The club was founded by miners in 1904 and is located in what is now a rather deprived, post-industrial area bearing an uncanny resemblance to England’s north-east.

Once notorious for what seemed like an endless succession of scandals and relegations, what was once a small, family-oriented club has been transformed into a serious enterprise by the iron fist of general manager Rudi Assauer.

The club now owns a hyper-modern stadium - the 52,000-seater ArenaAufSchalke, which is one of the venues for the 2006 World Cup - and is blessed with arguably Germany’s most loyal fans. Additional standing areas take the capacity to 62,000, but even then almost every game is sold out, as was the stadium for yesterday’s 3-2 win against VfB Stuttgart.

For years, the dominant foreign influence came from Holland and Belgium. Players such as Marc Wilmots had little difficulty learning German and soon became familiar with the customs and traditions of the club. Today, the arrival of three hugely influential Brazilians means that Schalke now rock to an entirely different beat - a samba rhythm.

Being frustrated about not playing regularly in the Champions League - although they won the German Cup in 2001 and 2002 - Assauer got rid of no fewer than 10 players this summer and also replaced former Bayern and Real Madrid coach Jupp Heynckes with Ralf Rangnick only four weeks into the 2004-05 campaign.

The cash was splashed out to bring in the Bundesliga’s top goal-getter Ailton, who had fired Werder Bremen to the domestic double with 28 strikes, and he was soon joined by two compatriots, play-maker Lincoln and tall defender Marcelo Bordon from VfB Stuttgart.

While Bordon, who has since become a full Brazilian international, quickly settled, the integration of the talented but moody Ailton seemed to be going horribly wrong. Until last week his signing appeared to be the giant mistake many had predicted when the pacy 31-year-old striker failed to endear himself to fans of his new club, saying: "Schalke’s all dark and in decline - I prefer to keep on living in Bremen."

With his annual £1.8m pay packet on the line, Ailton quickly apologised but the damage had been done. Unsurprisingly, his reception party at the ArenaAufSchalke turned rather cold and unfriendly.

Tony, as the player is known, finally found the net in some less-important InterToto Cup games which helped S04 to qualify for the current UEFA Cup campaign, but he failed to score in his first league games and grew increasingly frustrated about his lack of understanding with Heynckes, a hard task-master who is not willing to tolerate players turning up late for training or exchanging the club suit and tie for more extravagant clothing. Ailton finally snapped and was send off for slapping an opponent in the home defeat against Rostock. A four-game ban hardly helped to make the misunderstood diva feel at home.

Yet just when as speculation that he would force a move to Japan reached its peak, Ailton showed his other face by opening his Bundesliga account in the 2-1 home win over Mainz after a brilliant combination with compatriot Lincoln.

A converted penalty in the 2-0 away win over Nurnberg three days later helped to silence his critics, and he scored the first yesterday. New boss Rangnick, it seems, has found the key to the Brazilian’s eccentric mind-set.

"Tony is unique, he is just himself. We shouldn’t forget that in the beginning he had his problems in Bremen too as he didn’t get along well with his first two coaches. Under Thomas Schaaf he turned into the great player he is, but even Schaaf had to be very patient with him," Rangnick said of his player last week.

Schalke’s form has improved since the more relaxed Rangnick, who was formerly in charge of Hannover and Stuttgart, replaced his unpopular predecessor last month.

Four straight wins, including a 1-0 away win over Bayern Munich, have put them back into the top third of the Bundesliga, although the1-1 home draw with Switzerland’s FC Basel in their first Group A match served as a warning shot.

"We have been drawn in the toughest group and after stumbling at our first home game we can’t afford another slip-up," warned Rangnick, who is convinced that his team can take all three points from their trip to Edinburgh.

"Nothing is lost yet and a team which won at Bayern can certainly win at Hearts," he predicted.

The S04 coach has recently changed the regular 4-4-2 to 4-3-3, with Gerald Asamoah, Ailton and Denmark captain Ebbe Sand up front, but he might prefer to go back to the old system away from home with the unpredictable Turkish midfielder Hamit Altintop likely to replace Sand.

Leaving aside the Brazilians, watch out for the powerful Asamoah, Germany’s only black international to date, while keeper Frank Rost has repeatedly ruined fine performances by his weakness on high crosses and free-kicks.

Assauer’s controversial decision to bring in the moody Brazilians could help to lift the club back the glory they enjoyed in the 1930s and 40s, but it could also backfire if the players fail to put their own egos before the interests of the whole team. Next week’s Hearts attack will be very instructive.

Taken from the Scotsman