Schalke 04: 2010/11 season at a glance – Bundesliga special
Schalke 04 are one of the most successful clubs in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Germany-c2904. The club have won seven league titles and five German Cups and have recently established themselves as one of the top clubs in Europe. Die Knappen had a rather contrasting 2010/11 season which had
many highs and lows. From being terrible in the Bundesliga to being one of the best sides in the UEFA Champions League, it was a rollercoaster ride for the Schalke faithful.
Schalke finished their league campaign in 14th place with 40 points, just marginally avoiding relegation. The club won only 11 of the 34 games played and lost a staggering 16 times in the process. The Gelsenkirchen-based club made some high profile
additions to the squad before the start of the season but that did not help their disappointing form in the league.
Felix Magath was sacked in March after a series of poor results and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ralf-c30492 Rangnick was brought in but the situation went from bad to worse as the club finished 14th in comparison to 10th when Magath had left.
On the brighter side, Die Knappen reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history, beating the likes of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Inter-c39567 Milan in the round-of-16 and quarter-finals respectively.
The http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Royal-95-c40387 Blues also won the DFB Pokal and therefore ended the season with silverware after thrashing MSV Duisburg 5-0 in the final. The final was rather an easy win, but winning 1-0 against defending champions Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena courtesy
a Raul goal was a fantastic achievement.
Rangnick will be willing to revive the club next season and would hope that the mistakes would not be repeated in the new campaign.
Season High
The club’s best moment, surely, was the sensational 5-2 win at San Siro against Inter Milan – then reigning European champions – in the first-leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final. Die Knappen came back from being 2-1 down to end the match 5-2,
completely stunning the home side with five away goals. A brace from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Edu-c12016 and goals from Raul and Joel Matip secured the brilliant win for the visitors. The club went on to win the second-leg 2-1 at the Veltins Arena to qualify for the last four.
Season Low
The Royal Blues’ embarrassing 5-0 loss to FC Kaiserslautern in November last year was the least the Schalke supporters expected from their team. Kaiserslautern were promoted to the Bundesliga last summer and were one of the weaker sides in the league, but
the result showed the lack of consistency and quality from Die Knappen in the domestic league.
Star Player
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Karim-Benzema-c20350 in the ranks.
The forward joined the German club in a two-year deal and turned out to be a revelation. His performances in Europe were http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Vitalô-c40903 in the club’s dream run to the semi-finals.
Raul scored 19 goals in 51 appearances for Schalke last season and had many match winning performances to his name including the stunning 1-0 win in the semi-final of the German Cup against Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena.
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