Understanding Schalke 04

FC Schalke 04: A different football experience

Some people think that going to the Veltins Arena to see Schalke 04 is just like any other German footballing experience.

You will have a ticket that did not require a second mortgage to buy. You will sit or stand amongst a passionate, partisan crowd. You will hopefully see some excellent football and you will have a couple of beers and a Bratwurst. In short, you will enjoy a typical Bundesliga game.

I believe that if you are willing to take your time and if you have a little background information, you can get much more from the day. Let me be your guide to a richer Schalke experience and let me help you better understand this club, its fans, history and culture.

A town built on coal

If you can, travel to Gelsenkirchen by train, and take a good look at the industrial and post-industrial landscape around this former mining town. You will probably pass though cities like Duisburg, Essen, Dortmund or Bochum – famous in their day for coal, steel, heavy industry.
A few winding towers indicate where some of the many mines used to be and isolated factory chimneys help you imagine what the skyline must have looked like 100 years ago.
Some large plants remain, but you will mainly see the reminders of what was once Germany’s industrial power house – empty plots of land that were once covered by huge factories, slag heaps converted into walking trails, abandoned railway buildings.

Get there early

Make sure you arrive at Gelsenkirchen station at least four hours before kick-off. Spend a bit of time in the station forecourt where hundreds of fans will have already gathered. Someone will have set up a sound system nearby which is blasting out classic club songs. People will be meeting friends, eating, drinking beer, talking about the game ahead.

A little further from the station you go down a set of steps to catch the 301 tram towards the Veltins Arena. But don’t go all the way there straight away. Make sure you get off at a stop called Schalker Meile.

The Schalker Meile

Schalke was the name of the working class district of Gelsenkirchen where the club was born. Players and fans came from this area of town. This is where the miners and their families lived, worked and played. This is where Schalke’s first stadium – Glückauf-Kampfbahn was built. This is where the triumphs of the 1920s and 1930s were celebrated and talked about.

Since those heady days, everything has changed. Thanks to de-industrialisation the district has gone into steep decline and the thriving working-class community of old is no more. The club moved three kilometres to the north many years ago – first to the Parkstadion and more recently into the shiny new Veltins Arena. But many fans still cherish Schalke’s roots. They remember that Schalke is a place as well as a club. They lament the fact that you can support the modern Schalke 04 without ever setting foot in the part of town whose name the club carries and without knowing a thing about its origins and history.

In 2006 a group of fans got together to do something about this – to make sure that this part of town and its history do not get forgotten. They wanted to create a second royal blue haven.
And so the project Schalker Meile was born. The idea was to fill a stretch of the road between the old Schalker Markt and the original Glückauf stadium – the route once walked by hundreds of thousands of fans – with as many reminders of Schalke 04 as possible.
Electricity pylons are painted in the club colours and empty shop windows are decorated with signs. The branding and advertising of local businesses all reference the club. There is even a tram stop called ‘Schalker Meile’.

The Schalke fan club (90,000 members) runs a pub called ‘Auf Schalke’.

There is a fan shop next door.

A bit further on, you pass the tobacconist shop run by former player Ernst Kuzorra until 1974when it was taken over by another Schalke legend – Reinhardt Libuda.

Schalke 04 fan shop on the Schalker Meile

Towards the end of the Meile and right next to the old stadium there is another pub called ‘das Bosch’. This is where the players used to drink. A sign indicates Ernst Kuzorra’s regular seat. Its now the home of a fan group called ‘ Kuzorra’s grandchildren’ as well as pub of choice of countless Schalke fans. It gets its name from the famous landlord Gerd Bosch. Although he died in 1998 none of his successors have dared to change the name.

And finally you arrive at the old Glückauf-Kampfbahn. Although looking sadly run down, it is still in use for youth games.

On match days you will see hundreds of Schalke fans outside both pubs or just standing and talking ahead of the game. It is not difficult to imagine this street in the 1930s when Schalke were literally unbeatable at home, winning trophy after trophy for over a decade.

Don’t rush to get in the ground

You can get back on the 301 tram at the next stop. This will take you to the stadium.
Get off at the Veltins Arena stop and follow the flow of fans towards to ground. But don’t go thumb_P1020589_1024

inside yet. If you have followed my advice and arrived extra early it won’t be open anyway, but even if it is, follow the pathways round to the left and walk through the training pitches. The fact that these are just open on match days for fans to wander around is remarkable in itself – but just as impressive is what is available for them. At the far side of the pitches there is a fan shop, of course, but also a huge bar with a massive outside area serving beer and sausages. The message from the club is clear – we value and welcome our fans.

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Directly opposite the shop there is a wagon used to transport coal donated by a local mine.

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Next to it is the Kumpelkiste. This is a collection point for donations of food and clothing to be passed on to people in need. ‘Kumpel’ is slang for pal or workmate. For me the two objects reveal not only a sense of history, but also a feeling of solidarity.

The Schalke Museum

Now make your way back to the stadium and go inside. Your ticket will tell you the best gate to enter by. But don’t go to your seat yet Go and find the Schalke Museum, which opens two hours ahead of kick-off. This is plenty of time to take a look at the club’s history. Even if you don’t speak a word of German, half an hour wandering amongst the displays will give you a feel for Schalke’s roots and go some way to explaining why fans are so passionate and proud. You will learn about the club’s beginnings in 1904 and its early struggle for stability. You find out that Schalke didn’t lose a single home game from 1933 to 1942, were unbeaten in six of those seasons and appeared in 14 out of 18 national finals . There is, of course, plenty of detail about all the silverware the club as gathered. There are pictures of Schalke greats like Ernst Kuzorra and Fritz Szepan. You can enter a ‘sitting room’ packed with memorabilia. TV scree thumb_P1020613_1024

ns show footage of games from the early days until the present. And if you enjoy nothing else in the museum, I guarantee you will be blown away by the view of the stadium from here, and which justifies the 5 euro entrance fee on its own.

Something to eat

Next, I suggest you have a beer and something to eat. Like most German stadiums, prices are really affordable and you can take you drink with you to your seat.

One thing that’s a bit thumb_P1020697_1024 different at Schalke is that you can’t use cash. You have to go to one of the many kiosks and pick up and load a Knappenkarte. It then works just like a debit card – and if you don’t spend all the money on the card you can get it back before you leave.

Refreshed and fed, it’s time to go to your seat and enjoy the crowd. Notice how full the stands are and how much noise the fans are making well before kickoff. Don’t miss the pictures and names of great former players posted high up where everyone can see them.

An emotional moment

I think that what comes next is the most magical part of the Schalke experience. Just before the teams come out the entire crowd stands up to sing a slow, sad song called the Steigerlied (the miner’s song). It almost feels like you are in church. Everyone joins in and the emotion and respect are palpable. This song is a traditional mining song about a miner about to go down to the coalface. It’s been sung here, at other local grounds, and at political meetings for decades and is basically a tribute to the brave men who risked their lives and health every day to bring up the coal which powered German industry. These were the men who founded the club. This was the background of Schalke’s players and fans. To underline the message, black and white footage of miners at work is shown on the big screen. The song starts and ends with the words ‘Glück auf’, which is a traditional miners’ greeting recognised all over Germany. The words mean something like ‘Good luck and a safe return’, but the greeting evokes memories of harder times.
The message is clear : “Schalke might be the twelfth wealthiest football club in the world and play in one of Europe’s most modern stadiums but we have not forgotten our roots.”

The anthem

Then we get the Schalke Anthem : Blau und weiß wie lieb ich dich (blue and white how I love you). Again, everyone joins in noisily. Scarves and flags are waved and the emotion rises yet another notch. You can hear this song for yourself on YouTube.

A crowd in full voice

By now the players are out and the game will begin. Enjoy the sights and sounds of a 61,000 crowd in full voice. Notice the huge standing area behind one of the goals.
In the UK, there are quite often periods of quiet in a game. Crowds tend to shout and sing in response to the action on the pitch. In Germany this is always different – the ultras at the home end, choreographed and directed by people at the front with megaphones, make a noise from start to finish. The difference at Schalke is that there is noise for the entire game from all sides of the ground.

Songs and chants

If Schalke score the crowd will sing
Ein Leben lang
Blau und weiss ein Leben lang
Blaue und weiss ein Leben lang
Blaue und weiss ein Leben lang
A lifetime long
Blue and white a lifetime long …

You might also hear them singing :
FC Schalke mein verein
Ich steh immer für dich ein
Ob du gewinnst oder verlierst
Ich stehe immer hinter dir
FC Schalke my club
I will always stand up for you
Whether you win or lose
I will always be behind you

Don’t hurry home

Hopefully you will see lots of good football, an exciting game and a few goals. At the end of the game, don’t rush off. There’s a bit of a crush to get back on the tram to town, and the first trains out of Gelsenkirchen can be a bit crowded. So stay in your seat and watch the players come and thank the fans. Notice how many fans are still in the stands.
Why not then hang around the stadium for a while, have something to eat and drink along with the thousands of others who are still there.

Come and see for yourelf

I hope that this short article has inspired you come to the Veltins Arena and enjoy the full Schalke experience in person. I guarantee that you will not just attend an exciting sporting event. You will also witness and celebration of history, community and shared values.