Schalke 04, summer timetable: Dates, friendlies, start of training

After a year in the 2nd division, Schalke 04 has fought back into the upper house of German football. The team of new coach Frank Kramer is now preparing for the upcoming Bundesliga season. Here we provide you with all information about the summer timetable of S04.

Schalke 04 is first class again! After a nerve-wracking year in the 2nd Bundesliga, including a change of coach, the traditional club from the Ruhr area managed to get promoted directly back to the Bundesliga – and that as champions of the 2nd division. Interim coach Mike Büskens led the S04 back into the Bundesliga with 65 points ahead of Werder Bremen.

Promotion hero Büskens is no longer at the helm of the S04. Frank Kramer, who coached Arminia Bielefeld last season, was introduced as the new coach at Schalke on June 7th. He is now responsible for getting the Schalke team in shape for the start of the season.

Schalke 04, summer timetable: Dates, friendlies, start of training

The Schalke 04 pros don’t have much time to celebrate the second division title during the summer break. The team is expected back on the pitch for the first performance test after the summer break on June 20th. The official start of training in the Parkstadion is scheduled for June 22nd. The fans can also watch the public training session there.

Coach Frank Kramer’s team will start their training camp on July 11th. The S04 is holding its training camp this summer in Mittersill, Austria. In the small town near Zell am See, the preparation for the 2022/23 Bundesliga season really begins. Two friendlies are also planned for the week, but Schalke’s opponents have yet to be determined.

Even before the training camp, Schalke will be playing a number of friendlies this summer, for example against Blau-Weiss Lohne on July 2nd. Schalke 04 officially opens the new season on July 24th.

Ejection seat Schalke: Kramer the seventh newcomer since 2019

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Former Bielefeld coach Frank Kramer is the new head coach at Bundesliga promoted Schalke 04. He is the seventh Knappen coach in the past three years. A look at all Schalke trainers since the end of Huub Stevens in 2002.

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Under Huub Stevens, Schalke 04 won the UEFA Cup in 1997 and the DFB Cup in 2001 and 2002. In 2002 he moved to Hertha BSC.

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His successor on the Schalke coaching bench was Frank Neubarth. However, the ex-Werder striker had to step down after just nine months.

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“Eurofighter” Marc Wilmots took over on an interim basis until the end of the 2003 season.

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For the 2003/2004 season, the Royal Blues signed a big name in Jupp Heynckes. But the later Bayern coach was fired after a poor start to the 2004/2005 season.

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The previous assistant coach Eddy Achterberg took over the office on an interim basis from September 15, 2004 to September 28, 2004 and was responsible for some fun press conferences.

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Ralf Rangnick’s first term of office followed. After the board planned to replace the coach for the 2005/2006 winter break, the coach said goodbye to the Schalke crowd with a lap of honor.

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The goalkeeper coach at the time, Oliver Reck, sat in for a game on the Schalke bench for Ralf Rangnick, who was fired.

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Rangnick’s assistant coach Mirko Slomka was appointed the new coach on January 4, 2006. After a 1:5 in Bremen on April 13, 2008, the club released Slomka early.

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Ex-players Michael Büskens and Youri Mulder took over the coaching post together until the end of the season.

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The Dutchman Fred Rutten then took over for the 2008/09 season. He came from Twente Enschede with great advance praise, but only stayed until March 26, 2009.

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Michael Büskens was allowed to play again on an interim basis. Despite good results, it was the end of the season for the Schalke veteran again.

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For the 2009/10 season, champion coach Felix Magath came from Wolfsburg. He turned the whole club upside down and quickly forgot about the Schalke crowd. Despite reaching the finals in the cup and quarter-finals in the CL, he had to leave in March 2011.

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His previous assistant coach Seppo Eichkorn took over the Royal Blues for the game against Bayer Leverkusen.

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Ralf Rangnick then began his second term and caused a stir with a 5-2 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League. On September 22, 2011 Rangnick had to announce his retirement due to burnout syndrome.

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Seppo Eichkorn initially looked after the team on an interim basis, then Huub Stevens took over.

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Stevens was succeeded by Jens Keller in December 2012. Although he was counted on from day one, he stayed until October 2014. A false start in the Bundesliga cost him his job.

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On the day of Keller’s dismissal, it was official: Roberto Di Matteo, Champions League winner with Chelsea, takes over the Knappen.

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For the Swiss, however, it was already over after the end of the 2015/15 season. The new one: Andre Breitenreiter, previously relegated to SC Paderborn.

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Markus Weinzierl created a real sense of optimism when he introduced himself as the new Schalke coach. He could not confirm his successes with FC Augsburg in Gelsenkirchen. In the end it was only enough for tenth place.

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After the attempt at long-term cooperation with Weinzierl failed early on, Schalke started the next new start with Domenico Tedesco in July 2017.

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After the surprising runner-up, 2018/19 was anything but smooth. The result: Büskens and Stevens returned to the Royal Blues’ bench again.

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David Wagner should lead Schalke back to form under Tedesco, but after the historically worst second half of the season (one win and six draws) S04 only ended up in twelfth place. The beginning of the negative streak of 30 games without a win…

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Manuel Baum followed Wagner, who was able to pack his bags after eleven games and a point average of 0.64. The growl came again…

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Huub Stevens bridged the time between the years to give those responsible the necessary time to search for the next “saviour”. The Dutchman reached the third round of the cup, but lost 1-0 to Bielefeld.

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Christian Gross clinched the long-awaited victory (4-0 against Hoffenheim) shortly after taking over, but Royal Blue then fell back into old patterns. After eleven games and a player revolt it was over.

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Then came Dimitrios Grammozis, who was ultimately relegated to the second division with S04. It was over there after less than a season. Lying in 6th place, six points behind the promotion places, he had to pack his bags.

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Grammozis’ assistant coach Mike Büskens took over as head coach in March 2022. The Schalke veteran won seven of his eight games and this run enabled S04 to climb back up. Under Kramer, Büskens is back in second place.

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Kramer has now signed a contract for two years. “Frank is an absolute team player. Someone who can lead people and likes to gather experts around him to find the best possible solution for the team,” said sporting director Rouven Schröder.

In the first round of the DFB Cup, things will get serious for Frank Kramer’s team. The game against Bremer SV is not yet exactly scheduled, but the game will take place between July 29th and August 1st. A few days later, Schalke 04 contests the first matchday in the Bundesliga.

Schalke 04, summer timetable: Dates, friendlies, start of training – information at a glance

20./21. June: performance tests
June 22: First public training in the Parkstadion
June 29: test match, Opponent still unknown
July 2, 3:30 p.m.: Test match, Blau-Weiss Lohne vs. Schalke 04
July 6: test match, Opponent still unknown
July 9: test match, Opponent still unknown
July 11-18: Training camp in Mittersill, two more friendlies
22nd of July: test match, Opponent still unknown
24th July: season opening
July 29th to August 1st: 1st round DFB Cup, Bremer SV vs. Schalke 04
5th of August: Bundesliga start

Schalke 04: An overview of the past seasons

The upcoming Bundesliga season 2022/23 marked the return of Schalke 04 to the German football upper house. In the years before Schalke were relegated to the Bundesliga, Schalke’s performance curve was clearly down – the Revierklub was once a permanent guest in European competitions. A new era is now beginning at Schalke with the return to the Bundesliga.

season	league	place	Gates	Points
2012/13	Bundesliga	4	85:50	55
2013/14	Bundesliga	3	63:43	64
2014/15	Bundesliga	6	42:40	48
2015/16	Bundesliga	5	51:49	52
2016/17	Bundesliga	10	45:40	43
2017/18	Bundesliga	2	53:37	63
2018/19	Bundesliga	14	37:55	33
2019/20	Bundesliga	12	38:58	39
2020/21	Bundesliga	18	25:86	16
2021/22	2nd Bundesliga	1	72:44	65