Schalke’s sporting director Horst Heldt has insisted that his side is better than Borussia Dortmund, at least at the European stage.
Borussia Dortmund secured their second consecutive Bundesliga title last term and they will be bidding for a hat-trick of league titles as they enter the next season. On the other hand, Schalke had a mixed campaign last term as
they ended in third place, hence qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.
However, Jurgen Klopp’s side have been rather poor in Europe as they failed to progress from the group stages last year. They ended the campaign at the bottom of their group as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429 and Olympique Marseille progressed to the
knock-out stage with Olympiacos making their way to the UEFA Europa League.
Heldt claimed that his side is definitely better than the German champions if the performances in Europe are to be considered. Die Knappen reached the semi-final of the Champions League two years ago, but lost to Manchester United
in the last four stage.
Die Knappen are 51 places above their German counterparts in the UEFA club rankings and have performed considerably better in the continental competitions in the recent past.
The sporting director admitted that the Borussians performed brilliantly in the league and deserved to win the title, but criticized the side’s performance in Europe. He added that Jurgen Klopp’s team will have to do better in
Europe to prove their detractors wrong.
Heldt added that Schalke are looking to diminish the gap with the top two teams and is looking forward to a successful season next term. He is confident that the side will compete with the likes of Dortmund and Bayern for the league
title.
“If you look at how we have got on in Europe in recent years, then we are ahead of Dortmund. They deserved to win the league, but we want to get closer to the two teams ahead of us. I think there are lots of people who would wish
for a team like Schalke's,” he concluded.
Schalke have added Roman Neustadter and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Tranquillo-Barnetta-c35516 to their ranks this summer, both on free transfers.
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