Schalke's struggle to find new identification figures

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By Oliver Trust

BERLIN, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Just before their match against FC Bayern Munich this Tuesday evening, one of Germany's most famous clubs has been hit by a rather unusual crisis.

While the Schalke's CEO Christian Heidel is trying to restructure the team, fans are accusing him of betraying the club's tradition. Before kick-off, the former car salesman might again be confronted with banners proclaiming, "From a car dealer to an identification violator".

Schalke, the name of a district in the city of Gelsenkirchen, is not only the third largest football club in Germany (150,000 members) but the one traditionally causing the most emotions. Football in the mining region is equivalent to a religion even though the club has failed to win the Bundesliga ever since it started in 1963.

Identification figures play a major role in the five-time German Cup winners and 1997 UEFA Cup winners. Tears ran down the faces of thousands of fans in 2001 when the side started celebrating its first league title. Celebrations however only lasted four minutes as rivals Bayern scored in stoppage time to snatch championship away from Schalke who were then named the "Champion of the Hearts".

Between 2012 and 2016, the club qualified for an international competition but never gained any significant success. Some assumed it was down to their mindset. Heidel joined the club in 2016 from league rivals FSV Mainz 05 and was fully intent of changing things for the better but they only finished 10th in the league and promptly gave coach Markus Weinzierl the sack.

To break old patterns, Heidel and his new coach, 32-year-old Bundesliga newcomer Domenico Tedesco, have changed the team's face.

Fans are now complaining that Schalke, nicknamed the "Konigsblauen" (the Royal Blues), has lost its face. Their protests reached a climax when Heidel and Tedesco first dismissed 29-year-old Benedikt Hoewedes as the team captain and then relegated the 2014 corld champion to the bench for the first games of the 2017/2018. Hoewedes has since joined Italian league champions Juventus Turin and in doing so has left an emotional gap at his home club.

Heidel and Tedesco's squad only contains five players that have learnt their trade at the club. In 2014 the figure was 14. After Hoewedes and fellow crowd favorites like Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Atsuto Uchida, all part of the 2011 cup-winning squad, left, Heidel is now trying to simultaneously satisfy the fans' needs and guide Schalke to footballing modernity, or so he claims.

Heidel is under attack because he demands Schalke has to develop and modernize its infrastructure but at the same time sold talents and bought new players for 70 million euro in his first year. "Without infrastructure investments, the club is in danger to lose contact. In the last years not enough money was spend to modernize infrastructure but to buy players," Heidel commented.

Now the club is investing 75 million in new pitches and facilities. Heidel reduced the squad size from 29 to 22 and claimed to save up to 30 million.

In the past, players like Hoewedes, Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Mesut Oezil and Sead Kolasinac (Arsenal), Julian Draxler (Paris St Germain) and Leroy Sane (Manchester City) went through Schalke's academy system. "I'm protecting Schalke's heritage," Heidel claims.

More and more home-grown talents are however considering a move to a new club. Youngster Max Mayer recently rejected an offer from the club and German international Leon Goretzka is said to be talking to Bayern Munich. Heidel said he would ignore the club's salary limits to entice Goretzka to stay.

More identity problems are on the horizon due to Schalke efforts to break into international markets such as the US and China. According to Heidel, one of the Royal Blues' priorities is to find a Chinese player to gain more awareness in the Far Eastern country's lucrative market.

While most fans are hoping for a good performance against last season's league champions and with it new heroes, some Schake supporters fear that Heidel's strategy will lead to the club losing its heritage. Enditem

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