FC Schalke 04 was founded in the Gelsenkirchen region in North Rhine-Westphalia. Created in 1904, which is where the 04 portion of the name comes from. It has been a major multi-sports club for many years in the country.
The football side plays in the top flight of German football and has more than 155,000 members. In other words, this is the second-largest football club in the nation and the fourth biggest in the globe in membership terms. Some of the other sports it also participates in includes winter sports table tennis, handball, basketball and athletics.
Over the years, the team has won seven German championships, 5 DFB-Pokals, a UEFA Cup and a DFL Supercup. It was in 1937 that FC Schalke 04 became the first club in the country to have successfully won the double.
The club has played at the Veltins-Arena which holds more than 62,000 fans since 2011. The main local rivalry is with Borussia Dortmund, being one of the most hotly contested rivalries in football in the country.
As well as being a strong side, FC Schalke 04 is also known for being a very financially stable club.
History of FC Schalke 04
1904
FC Schalke 04 was started in 1904 by a group of high school students. It merged with a local gymnastics club a few years later so they could take part in the official league. It was in 1928 that a stadium for the club was built, with the club earning their first-ever West German championship victory in 1929. However, the following year they received a ban for paying their players too much money.
1930s
The team was highly popular during the 1930s between 1933 and 1942, FC Schalke 04 took part in 14 of the 18 national finals. During this 11 season spell, FC Schalke 04 never lost a home fixture and were unbeaten during the whole season on a number of occasions. Their first title came in 1934, winning a total of seven German Championships before the introduction of the Bundesliga in 1963.
1971
The club struggled for a number of years in the Bundesliga, with some of their players getting banned permanently from football after deliberately losing a game in 1971. These bans were later reduced but they had a significant impact on the fortunes of the club.
1997
It was in 1997 that FC Schalke 04 won its first piece of significant silverware since winning the DFB-Pokal in 1972 after capturing the UEFA Cup. They beat Inter Milan on penalties in the final.
2011
Around the turn of the century, the club had many good finishes in the Bundesliga, finding runner-up three times and winning back to back DFB-Pokals. The club managed to get to the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League in 2011 but lost out to Manchester United. The past couple of seasons, FC Schalke 04 have struggled domestically in the league.
Notable players
There have been a lot of notable players that have played in the FC Schalke 04 jersey over the years. They include Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Gerald Asamoah, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Julian Draxler, Kevin Kuranyi, Jens Lehmann, Manuel Neuer, Christian Poulsen and Marc Wilmots.
Supporters
FC Schalke 04 regularly sells out its stadium that has a capacity of nearly 63,000. It has many uses as a stadium and is one of the most modern on the continent. The fans are very passionate and it is the second-largest sports club in the nation. The big game every year is the Revierderby with Borussia Dortmund. Both are closely located in the Ruhr region, being about 30 kilometres away from one another.
Betting on FC Schalke 04 games
FC Schalke 04 have long been one of the bigger teams in Germany, with their golden era coming back in the 1930s. The FC Schalke 04 games are always highly anticipated, with plenty of attention from the great fan base.
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