Key Figures — Schalke 04

Olaf Thon: century match on his birthday. One

Olaf Thon: century match on his birthday.

Olaf Thon: century match on his birthday. One day after turning 18, future world champion Olaf Thon delivered the match of his life. On 2 May 1984, in a ludicrous 6–6 after extra time in the cup semi-final against Bayern Munich, the star of one of Schalke’s greatest homegrown players was born.

Thon scored three times, three times he brought Schalke level, and three times he drove the drama to absurd heights. He would later captain the greatest modern Schalke side, the Euro Fighters, to UEFA Cup glory in 1997, then win the DFB-Pokal in 2001 and 2002. He could never bring the league title to Gelsenkirchen, though – only to Munich, where he won three with Bayern. After losing 0–2 in Munich in 1994, Schalke’s away support sang, “Come home, Olaf Thon,” and he did that summer.

After retirement, Schalke made him an official club ambassador.

Klaus Fischer: “Mr. Bicycle Kick”. Schalke’s record scorer

Klaus Fischer: “Mr.

Klaus Fischer: “Mr. Bicycle Kick”. Schalke’s record scorer – 182 goals in 295 matches – is, with 268 Bundesliga goals overall for Schalke, 1860 Munich, Köln and Bochum, second only to Gerd Müller in the all-time scoring charts as of December 2019. Fischer turned the overhead kick into an art form.

His acrobatic goal for Germany against Switzerland in 1977 was voted Goal of the Year, Goal of the Decade and Goal of the Century. A broken shin in 1980 and his involvement in the 1971/72 Bundesliga match-fixing scandal cost him a chance at greater international glory.

Huub Stevens: the “Coach of the Century”. Signed

Huub Stevens: the “Coach of the Century”.

Huub Stevens: the “Coach of the Century”. Signed in 1996 from Dutch club Roda Kerkrade as a virtual nobody in Germany, the blunt and straight-talking Stevens became a coaching idol at Schalke. In his first season he delivered the greatest triumph in the club’s history by winning the UEFA Cup.

A few seconds were all that separated him from becoming Schalke’s first Bundesliga-era title-winning coach in 2001. The cup wins of 2001 and 2002 made him immortal in Gelsenkirchen. He later returned twice more, in 2011/12 after Rangnick’s illness and in 2019 as an interim replacement for Domenico Tedesco. In a vote of more than 10,000 supporters, he was chosen Schalke’s Coach of the Century in 1999.

Manuel Neuer: the super-keeper who joined the “wrong”

Manuel Neuer: the super-keeper who joined the “wrong” club.

Manuel Neuer: the super-keeper who joined the “wrong” club. From the Nordkurve to the summit of world football – Manuel Neuer, born in Gelsenkirchen-Buer in 1988, lived the dream of thousands of Schalke fans. He displaced Frank Rost at just 20, saved Schalke in a penalty shootout at Porto in 2008, and won the 2011 DFB-Pokal with Schalke.

But the celebrations were overshadowed by his impending move to Bayern. A late-night talk with boss Clemens Tönnies could not change his mind. During the open-top bus parade through Gelsenkirchen, one “fan” even slapped him.

At Bayern, Neuer became one of the world’s best goalkeepers, won the Champions League in 2013 – against Schalke’s hated rivals Dortmund – and became the first Schalke goalkeeper to win the World Cup while actually playing.

Charly Neumann: Karl-Heinz Neumann joined FC Schalke 04

Charly Neumann: Karl-Heinz Neumann joined FC Schalke 04 in 1950 and worked for the club almost without interruption ever since.

Charly Neumann: Karl-Heinz Neumann joined FC Schalke 04 in 1950 and worked for the club almost without interruption ever since. He started by delivering bread rolls to Ernst Kuzorra as a trainee baker, later ran high-end hospitality venues in Gelsenkirchen, and from 1976 onward served as team attendant for Schalke’s professionals. He sat next to major coaches on the bench and embodied “old Schalke” – the Schalke of the Glückauf-Kampfbahn and honest emotion.

He also had a special weakness: eavesdropping on committee meetings to learn what people thought about him and others. He died in 2008 after several strokes. For the first match after his death, Schalke wore “Charly” on their shirts.

Ernst Kuzorra (1905–1990): “Clemens the miner”. No player

Ernst Kuzorra (1905–1990): “Clemens the miner”.

Ernst Kuzorra (1905–1990): “Clemens the miner”. No player stands more for Schalke’s era of glory from 1933 to 1942. Kuzorra, who had actually worked underground at the Consolidation pit until the mid-1920s, helped build the myth of the footballing miner and, together with Fritz Szepan and the famous Schalke short-passing carousel, left opponents in despair. Six championships fell in his era.

The fact that he later coached arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund never damaged his astonishing popularity on Schalke.