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Keystone
Christian Gross takes on the most difficult task of his coaching career. It should save the desolate Schalke from relegation. The mission begins on Saturday with the game at Hertha Berlin.
If you haven’t won a championship in almost a year, you stick with the little things. Schalke 04’s rear-pilot hopefuls are a coach who has effectively resigned and hasn’t worked in the Bundesliga for ten years, and a new left-back who hasn’t played a league game since September.
But new coach Christian Gross, who will make his return to the Bundesliga at Hertha on Saturday at 6.30pm after 3744 days, and the yet-ineligible returnee Sead Kolasinac bring some hope. Gross, 66, should bring the experience and confidence that his significantly younger predecessors, David Wagner and Manuel Baum, lacked in Schalke’s hectic and tense environment.
Kolasinac, on loan from Arsenal for half a year, is supposed to put the lost virtues into play with speed and robustness. As a former youngest and prodigal son, he even caused euphoria in places with the nostalgic note that was so important to Schalke. “We are really proud that a true Schalke is coming home to him,” said sporting director Jochen Schneider: “Sead embodies exactly the values that distinguish Schalke and that are fundamental in the fight to stay in the league: an irrepressible will and a strong character”.
Bosnia-Herzegovina International, which described the return as an “absolute matter of the heart”, could also become captain directly. In Berlin, the 27-year-old, who only appeared once at Arsenal in the current Premier League season, will remain missing due to transfer rules.
Gross of descent “firmly convinced”
So on Saturday all eyes are on Zurich’s Christian Gross, who celebrated his biggest Bundesliga win as a Bochum player in 1981 6-0 at Schalke, later relegated. But unlike his predecessor Baum, who wanted to attract attention with distinctive words and flowery language, the veteran completely relies on objectivity. After 29 games without a win – only two missing from Tasmania Berlin’s negative record – it is, of course, a “special mission”. But if the team gets everything out of it, it is “firmly convinced” of relegation.
This could even secure continued employment for veteran overall player Gross, who had actually already declared his career over in May. “I still have a lot of energy,” he said. “We will see what the future brings.”
The days of words ended at Schalke. The action must now continue. “With a clear line” should and will work. Gross, known as a tough dog, said Schneider, who still knows him from their shared days in Stuttgart.
For his difficult mission, Gross is supported by an experienced assistant. Rainer Widmayer receives a contract until the end of the season, the club announced. The 53-year-old German has worked as an assistant for 20 years. He worked at Hertha Berlin, Hoffenheim and Stuttgart, among others.
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