Schalke 04: El Hombre de Oro

NEUER WANTS NO MERCY

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has stated his team will be “out to kill” Schalke 04’s season when the two clubs meet this month.

The ex-Schalke shot stopper, who will face his former side for the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal in a space of two weeks, believes Bayern Munich will shatter the dreams of those in Gelsenkirchen awaiting silverware this season.

”If you are asking what I’m expecting from our clash, it’s simple. I expect us to win, as does everyone in our camp.

“After missing out on the Bundesliga title last season, we want to set the record straight with Schalke, so our duel starts here. We are out to kill.”

However, Neuer insists his hunger to get one over Schalke has nothing to do with them being his former club.

When quizzed, Neuer simply answered ”Why Schalke? Ask the Deutscher Fussball-Bund. They made the draw, not me.

Neuer made a total of 156 Bundesliga appearances for Schalke before a £24 million move to the Bavarians; where he’s gone on to win two Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal titles, as well as being a UEFA Champions’ League and FIFA Club World Cup winner.

November 2015

Bulut (3), Yilmaz (pen 24) - Höwedes (28), Jovetic (30)





Bendtner (67) - Pastore (89)



Draxler (pen 16), Damiao (17)





Pastore (5), Neustädter (54)





Brandt (14) – Damiao (80)

Bundesliga Table

UEFA Champions’ League Group D

Schalke’s Player of the Month

Javier Pastore

Pastore has certainly struggled to find his feet so far, but where would we be without him this month? Pastore grabbed some vital goals and had it not been for him, we could have lost a lot more ground to Bayern Munich and even Borussia Dortmund. This should reignite his career.

Maradona’s Verdict

We’re only in November and I’m beginning to feel that this season will be nothing but a rollercoaster. Our away form is looking very suspicious at the moment as shown in our first two games. Ironically, we followed those two games with two massive results versus Bayern Munich and Manchester United. We certainly look very naïve at times, but I can’t argue with those two wins.

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December 2015

Höwedes (4), Santana (72) – Kroos (18), Lewandowski (29, 64)





Pastore (9), Goretzka (35)





Höwedes (47), Damiao (60)





Weiss (79), Djordjevic (80) - Höwedes (48), Jovetic (60, 84)



Höwedes (14), Jovetic (pen 21, 41), Draxler (68)

Bundesliga Table

UEFA Champions’ League Group D

Schalke’s Player of the Month

Benedikt Höwedes

Der kapitän really frustrated me in the game versus Bayern Munich, needlessly backheeling the ball back to Matip in the lead up to Robert Lewandowski’s winner. I blasted his actions in front of his team mates and I felt that really helped him up his game. He’s been class since and led us through a very difficult psychological barrier versus Gladbach. Here’s begging that kind of form continues long into the season’s conclusion.

Maradona’s Verdict

I was gutted to lose to Bayern Munich in the cup but we must focus on what is ahead of us. We’ve done well to get out of a very difficult UEFA Champions’ League group and produced a four win streak just before the winter break.

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UEFA CHAMPIONS’ LEAGUE LAST 16 DRAW

Real Madrid - Arsenal

Manchester United - Paris Saint-Germain

Chelsea - CSKA Moscow

FC Barcelona - Manchester City

FC Porto - Zenit St. Petersburg

Atletico Madrid - Borussia Dortmund

Juventus - Schalke 04

Celtic - FC Bayern Munich

Important Notice

Hello all! I'm just writing to inform you that I'll be taking a break from this story. The motivation seems to be slipping away and I just want to take a step back before I get sick of it.

I will, however, be looking to start an international story. With the whole World Cup fever building up, it's one thing I'd like to get going before the summer for others to hopefully look back on.

I will be continuing this story sometime in the future, so don't panic. Partly why I have chosen to do an international save is so I don't lose interest in this club story. Think of it as a hall pass (for this who have seen the movie). I have a lot planned for this Schalke story and hope to come back with even fresher ideas.

In the meantime, I'd like to thank you all once again for nominating this for Story of the Month. After the abrupt end to my Juventus story, it's great to see many of you have stuck around once more. For those who don't know, you can vote for Story of the Month HERE! Thanks again guys for the continued support and long may it continue!

MESSI SEVENTH HEAVEN

Barcelona star Lionel Messi has won the FIFA Ballon d’Or award for a record breaking seventh consecutive time.

Messi took top spot ahead of his Juan Mata from Manchester United in second and third placed Eden Hazard from Chelsea, with Cristiano Ronaldo missing out on a nomination.

The Argentine was a hot favourite for the award once again, scoring 39 goals in 46 games last season for Barcelona, totalling a huge sum of 321 La Liga goals at the age of 28.

Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse was the surprise winner of the European Golden Boy award after a sensational season with ‘The Saints’.



The 21-year-old appeared a total of 33 times altogether for Southampton under Mauricio Pochettino, scoring eight goals in all competitions and assisting six times.