Karel Geraerts on his time at Schalke: “I once had a conversation with someone from management… less than 15 minutes later everything was online.”

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·26 de noviembre de 2024

Karel Geraerts on his time at Schalke: “I once had a conversation with someone from management… less than 15 minutes later everything was online.”

Imagen del artículo:Karel Geraerts on his time at Schalke: “I once had a conversation with someone from management… less than 15 minutes later everything was online.”

Speaking to Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, former Schalke head coach Karel Geraerts has shed light on his time at the club.

Die Königsblau has notoriously been run poorly over the past few years and Geraerts reveals the inner politics of the club and why so much information about the club has been revealed over the past couple of years:

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“There are many camps within Schalke. Everyone has their own agenda and does their own thing. I experienced more in one year at Schalke than in my entire career. I once had a conversation with someone from management. The conversation ended, we parted ways, and less than fifteen minutes later everything was online.”

The Belgian added:

“These stories about the players in the B team were often made up, but every week two or three things would come to me. Some things I knew nothing about, other things were twisted. And sometimes it was true, which made you wonder how they even found out.”

Geraerts then went into detail about his relationship with Ben Manga and how he had criticised him in the open previously:

“There was this big interview after the transfer window where he (Manga) openly criticized me. I haven’t heard from him since. It was a bombshell in Germany, everyone was talking about it. After that interview, everything was in flames and I knew nothing about it.”

Finally, the former Union Saint Gilloise boss then gave insight into the current mindset and outlook of the Schalke squad with a damning story about the current crop of players:

“Despite the lack of resources, all the tools were there. The team grew together, but not everyone in the club was pulling in the same direction. It is then impossible for a coach and a club to be successful. There was a training session scheduled. I arrived at the club at around seven, half past seven. There was no one there. I then called Marc: ‘I think we have a problem.’ He said: ‘Why? Is no one there? I’ll be there in five minutes.’ I’m telling you this with a smile, but it was pretty ugly of Schalke to handle it like that.”

Geraerts has since been replaced by Kees van Wonderen who himself has had a difficult time at the club, as performances on the pitch have not seen an improvement.

Schalke are currently 13th in the 2.Bundesliga is only two points away from the relegation zone. With the club in a poor place financially, and personnel not being up to the required quality to get promoted, die Königsblau are currently on a path to mimic Hamburg in having a longer stay than they would like in the second division.

GGFN | Jack Meenan