FC Schalke 04 fans could almost set their watch to it: Barely had the 70th minute of the game begun than Rodrigo Salazar’s working day was over. The lively midfielder, who can make the difference between a relegation battle and a secure midfield place at the club from the Ruhr area, was so exhausted in each of the previous three Bundesliga games that Schalke coach Frank Kramer took him off the field. “The intensity is new territory for the players,” says the coach almost apologetically.
The climber could have used Salazar’s skills quite well. After all, the 23-year-old is one of the few bright spots in terms of dynamism, technical ability and playfulness in a Schalke team whose self-image tends to focus on conservative defensive work.
Coach Kramer’s game idea is clear: The 50-year-old primarily doesn’t want to concede a goal. His means for this are a lot of effort and leg work. A rather destructive approach to the game that has seen his team take two points from their first three meetings.
Schalke try to achieve (scoring) success with quick transitions – which is also due to the lack of creative and high-quality players. None of this would be a problem if not only Salazar but also his teammates were not physically declining by the second part of the second half at the latest.
In the last 20 minutes in particular, the pros looked particularly tired compared to their opponents. Apparently they don’t divide their forces well enough. Or are they simply not fit enough to be able to last 90 minutes of this type of football? Schalke are probably not in a position to stage an exhausting and inspiring race to catch up in the last few minutes, as Werder Bremen showed last week in the 3-2 away win against Borussia Dortmund.
The fact is: the team conceded all five goals so far in the second half. “You have to get used to the intensity first,” says attacker Marius Bülter. “We have to make sure that we have more phases in the game in which we can recover with the ball and don’t always have to chase after it.”
Schalke’s permanent defense with constant pressing and intense duel behavior requires special physical requirements. And the players don’t seem to have this – yet. After three match days, Schalke are in eighth place with a mileage of 341.7 kilometers, although the team had to play with one man less for a long time in Cologne – which means at least an average value. But on closer inspection, the running values leave questions unanswered.
In the sprints, the S04 is currently only in 15th place in the Bundesliga, and in the intensive runs only in 14th place. In other words, in the categories with which they actually want to appear in front of the opposing goal and be successful. And even in the duels, the previous record of 13th place is anything but convincing for a climber who wants to stay in the league primarily with physicality and constant presence.
In addition, there is the unfavorable circumstance that Schalke, with their tactical approach, practically condemn themselves to permanently panting their opponents. With only an average of 32 percent possession per game, they are far behind in the league comparison in last place. In front of them by a noticeable distance (43 percent) is 1. FC Union, who will be visiting the Schalke Arena on Saturday. “It’s a question of development,” says former Unioner Bülter. “It’s not our aim to have 30 percent possession of the ball every game. We have to find solutions there.”
With their extreme form of refusing the ball, however, it is difficult to imagine that Schalke can control an opponent until the final whistle and take the lead over time. Kramer’s team can only hope for mistakes by the opponents and rely on their own callousness in the end. An extremely risky approach to achieve the goal of staying up for the season.
